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Lewis and Pearce Make For a Formidable Pairing
by Simon Thompson | Forbes | March 15, 2023
There is a simple explanation for why the story of Kim Philby, a British intelligence agent spying for the Russians, might seem familiar. The fascinating real-life tale has been the inspirational jumping-off point for countless characters in the genre, from books to movies.
In A Spy Among Friends, a limited series streaming on MGM+, Philby, played by Guy Pearce, takes center stage in his own right. Damian Lewis plays Nicholas Elliott, his friend and the man given the job of bringing the double agent to justice. It’s based on the Ben Macintyre’s New York Times NYT best-selling book.
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Duplicitous Characters
by Maggie Boccella | Collider | March 15, 2023
Imagine finding out your best friend of nearly thirty years had completely betrayed you and everyone else they loved, for the entirety of your friendship. That’s the concept behind MGM+’s newest thriller series, A Spy Among Friends, except the tensions are racketed to an all-time high: not only are Nicholas Elliott (Damian Lewis) and Kim Philby (Guy Pearce) friends, but also intelligence officers for the UK’s MI6, and Philby is one of the most notorious double agents in history, supplying information to the KGB.
A Spy Among Friends follows the two men in the aftermath of Philby being found out, and subsequently pursued, by British intelligence in the 1960s, flipping back and forth between the beginnings of Philby and Elliott’s friendship and the present, where Elliott is being questioned about his attempts to bring Philby into custody in Beirut, where he escaped and eventually defected to the Soviet Union. The truth is twisted and obscured as the series follows the two men throughout their lives, questioning just how much we can really trust those we hold dear.
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Why Alex Cary Cast Damian Lewis
by Caitlin Tyrrell | Screen Rant | March 13, 2023
A Spy Among Friends is based on Ben Macintyre’s best-selling book of the same name, which examines the true story of the most infamous double agent in the Cold War. The limited series, adapted for television by Alexander Cary, examines the friendship between Nicholas Elliot and Kim Philby both before and after Philby’s status as a KGB double agent was revealed. Following this revelation, Elliot met with Philby to gather information, but the double agent escaped to the Soviet Union.
Elliot was closely scrutinized after this by American and British intelligence agencies. While under investigation, Elliot attempts to discover any other KGB moles that are hiding in the British government. A Spy Among Friends features an impressive cast led by Guy Pearce, Damian Lewis, Anna Maxwell Martin, Adrian Edmondson, Stephen Kunken, Nicholas Rowe, and Anastasia Hille.
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Who Is Nick Elliott?
by Roxy Simons | Newsweek| March 12, 2023
Damian Lewis found making A Spy Among Friends with Guy Pearce a “surprising” experience, he told Newsweek, because of the intricacies of the real story the MGM+ drama is based on.
Lewis plays Nicholas Elliott, the best friend of Pearce’s Kim Philby, who is widely seen as one of the most notorious double agents in history. The British Intelligence agent was a member of the Cambridge Five, a spy ring that secretly fed information to the Soviet Union during World War II and the Cold War.
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Episode 1 Now Streaming for Free
by Gingersnap | damian-lewis.com | March 12, 2023
Per MGM+ website, A Spy Among Friends premieres tonight at 9:00 CST/10:00 EST, but episode one is available now for free. Episode two is in queue with subscription. Then remaining episodes drop each Sunday thereafter. Visit MGM+ here or add MGM+ to your Amazon Prime account.
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It’s a Role Lewis Plays Beautifully
by Daniel D’Addario | Variety | March 12, 2023
The story of Kim Philby is perhaps too good to make up. The British spy, a double agent for Moscow, operated at the highest levels of the intelligence community; his ability to disseminate information to the Soviet Union, to which he eventually defected, is proof, perhaps, of the power of personal charm and erudition to cover over what’s lying in plain sight.
That’s the powerfully told story of “A Spy Among Friends,” which streamed on ITVX in the United Kingdom last year and which now arrives on nascent streamer MGM+. Guy Pearce plays Philby, who has at the series’ outset been a valued Soviet source for many years; likely his closest friend in tradecraft, Nicholas Elliott (Damian Lewis), must get a confession from him. We see the pair’s relationship over time in layered flashbacks, adding context and understanding to Elliott’s failure to nail down Philby.
The story is adapted by Alexander Cary from Ben Macintyre’s novel, which embroiders on the real-life Philby and Elliott’s tale; it’s rather a clever thing to use likely the most infamous real-life British espionage scandal as the backbone of a John Le Carré-esque tale. The story is told through Elliott’s recollections: Anna Maxwell Martin plays a fictional interrogator who walks through the story of Elliott and Philby’s relationship, and who brings a crystalline level of distrust and disdain to her work. Among the pleasures of “A Spy Among Friends” is the spectacle of Elliott’s performing for the woman scrutinizing him, adding shading and dimension to his memories.
For what passed between Philby and Elliott is perhaps unknowable even to the men themselves — how, indeed, could a spy as experienced as Elliott let Philby slip away? Part of it, “A Spy Among Friends” argues, is the dynamic nodded at by the title: The clubby and parochial world of intelligence ran on social connections, befitting a culture undergirded by endless unwritten codes of what is socially appropriate.
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“Russia Has Never Been More Topical”
by Stephen Schaefer | Boston Herald | March 12, 2023
“A Spy Among Friends,” streaming Sunday on MGM+, reflects on a key chapter in post-WWII espionage history when the Cambridge Five, a quintet of Cambridge University graduates, were exposed as Russian spies.
The most notorious and most damaging, guilty of a thousand deaths, was British MI6 officer Kim Philby, a double agent for the Soviets. He served in postwar Washington, DC and cleverly escaped exposure in the early 1950s when two of his fellow Cambridge spies defected to Moscow.
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Damian Grapples with Friendship, Betrayal and Producing in MGM+ Drama
by Charna Flam and Katie Reul | Variety | March 10, 2023
Following Sony’s “A Spy Among Friends” premiere and red carpet in New York, the cast and crew of “A Spy Among Friends” took to the stage to discuss the process of differentiating the series from the 2014 nonfiction book by author Ben Macintyre about one of Britain’s most notorious espionage scandals. Alexander Cary, showrunner and creator of the Sony Pictures Television series for MGM+, was joined by star Damian Lewis, director Nick Murphy and producer Chrissy Skinns.
Moderated by Variety’s TV business writer Jennifer Maas, the conversation began with Lewis’ reflection on why the series was the right opportunity to make his debut as an executive producer. Best known for his starring roles in Showtime’s “Billions” and “Homeland” and the 2001 HBO miniseries “Band of Brothers,” the Emmy winner tried his hand at a behind-the-screen job on the series, working with fellow executive producers Cary, Murphy, Macintyre, Bob Bookman, Alan Gasmer, Peter Jaysen and Patrick Spence.
