My business partners and I keep hearing from a couple studios, a couple different producers, and even a big-name actress, who are all on the lookout for a John le Carre-esque limited series. Something in the vein of The Night Manager / The Little Drummer Girl / The French Connection / Bourne / etc. It's in the air, and could be a relatively "easy" lay-up if we can find the right book/IP, so I figured the board would be a great place to ask.

Years ago, my partners and I went after the rights to Peter Temple's Identity Theory, though the deal unfortunately fell through. But something along those lines, or anything in the ballpark of the titles above. If you guys have any recommendations at all, it would be much appreciated. Could be old, new, it doesn't matter, as long as the rights are available (we can check) and it hasn't already been adapted.

Thanks!

Not sure if it technically fits your requested genre or not, but Erik Larson has a great catalog of books that I think could be spun into films or series. Obviously Devil in the White City is already being developed, but In the Garden of Beasts (American diplomats in Berlin just prior to WWII), Isaac's Storm (the devastating Texas hurricane of 1900), Thunderstruck (a murder mystery that coincides with the invention of the telegraph), and my personal favorite Dead Wake (the story of the sinking of the Lusitania told from the perspective of both the people on the ship and the German sailors on the U-boat that sunk her).

Not quite the vibe we need, but those all sound super interesting and will look into them regardless. Thanks!

this is my favorite book genre and I prefer the smarter, more complex stuff like Tinker Tailor to the stylized violence. (Robert Littell is my favorite author), but since you said series. I would suggest the John Rain series by Barry Eisler. Unfortunately, the last two have been weak as he has tried to combine two different characters, but the early stuff is very good.

Awesome, thanks. Will definitely look into this one.

And btw, I only meant "series" in terms of the TV format. It can totally be a single book that can be adapted into multiple episodes.

What about Jack Barsky's story? German born KGB agent living in America.

He wrote a book- Deep Undercover: My Secret Life and Tangled Allegiances as a KGB Spy in America

His story is less violent/Bourne stuff, and more espionage, but I imagine you could adapt the story to something palatable in thriller-spy format. Although this story might could be seen in the same vein as FX's The Americans.

Yeah, The Americans would almost assuredly be an issue, but will still check it out. Thanks!

Surely one out of the 5000+ Clive Cussler books should fit the bill

Agristotle said:

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I would suggest the John Rain series by Barry Eisler.

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Not quite what you are asking for, but this is my favorite series. DARPA, soldier scientists, historical stuff tied to current day. Tons of content, each book could make a big blockbuster movie or better a season of a series.

https://jamesrollins.com/series/sigma-series/

I thought I read that at least one of the books was optioned though.

Good to know. Thanks.

I've enjoyed the books "The Lion's Game" by Nelson Demille and "The President's Assassin" by Brian Haig. Both are thrillers and part of a series following the main character but can stand on their own as a mini series tv show..

Awesome. Will definitely check both out. Thanks.

Gabriel Allon Israeli spy books by Daniel Silva are excellent.

Shibumi

Written by Trevanian (pseudonym of Rodney Whitaker)



Edit.... just read on Wiki there is a film adaptation already in the works.

If you liked The Americans on FX, you might want to consider the book Charm School by Nelson DeMille. It's about a Potemkin US village deep inside the USSR where the KGB trains spies to look, think, talk, etc. like Americans.

OKCAG02 said:

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Gabriel Allon Israeli spy books by Daniel Silva are excellent.

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Awesome, thanks.

Zeke1995 said:

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If you liked The Americans on FX, you might want to consider the book Charm School by Nelson DeMille. It's about a Potemkin US village deep inside the USSR where the KGB attains spies to look, think, talk, etc. like Americans.

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The Charm School is one of my favorites.

Not really what you are looking at with this but figured this is as good of a place as any to recommend making a t.v. show out of something.

The Daemon book series (2 books) by Daniel Suarez. Tech thriller. Insane plot but highly enjoyable and makes you think.

The Stainless Steal Rat series. Sci Fi light that is just fun and several books and stories.

As a big fan of the genre, let me second "the Presidents Assassin", entertaining and twisty, and "Charm School" which is a classic, one of the best ever.

I just started The Spy and the Traitor and I'm really enjoying it. It's nonfiction though so I don't know if that complicates things when it comes to securing the rights.

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If anyone could be considered a Russian counterpart to the infamous British double-agent Kim Philby, it was Oleg Gordievsky. The son of two KGB agents and the product of the best Soviet institutions, the savvy, sophisticated Gordievsky grew to see his nation's communism as both criminal and philistine. He took his first posting for Russian intelligence in 1968 and eventually became the Soviet Union's top man in London, but from 1973 on he was secretly working for MI6. For nearly a decade, as the Cold War reached its twilight, Gordievsky helped the West turn the tables on the KGB, exposing Russian spies and helping to foil countless intelligence plots, as the Soviet leadership grew increasingly paranoid at the United States's nuclear first-strike capabilities and brought the world closer to the brink of war. Desperate to keep the circle of trust close, MI6 never revealed Gordievsky's name to its counterparts in the CIA, which in turn grew obsessed with figuring out the identity of Britain's obviously top-level source. Their obsession ultimately doomed Gordievsky: the CIA officer assigned to identify him was none other than Aldrich Ames, the man who would become infamous for secretly spying for the Soviets.

Unfolding the delicious three-way gamesmanship between America, Britain, and the Soviet Union, and culminating in the gripping cinematic beat-by-beat of Gordievsky's nail-biting escape from Moscow in 1985, Ben Macintyre's latest may be his best yet. Like the greatest novels of John le Carr, it brings readers deep into a world of treachery and betrayal, where the lines bleed between the personal and the professional, and one man's hatred of communism had the power to change the future of nations.

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Cardinal of the Kremlin by Tom Clancy. Would make a great 10 episode or so series. A movie wouldn't be able to do it justice.

Since you said Bourne, Brad Thor's Series on Scot Harvath are an entertaining genre. Very technical in terms of accuracy with navy seal / secret service plots.

One of the most popular is Lions of Lucerne

https://bradthor.com/book/lions-lucerne/

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THE STORY

On the snow-covered slopes of Utah, the unthinkable has just become a nightmarish reality: thirty Secret Service agents have been viciously executed and the vacationing president of the United States is kidnapped by one of the most lethal terrorist organizations in the Middle Eastthe dreaded Fatah.

But one man, surviving agent and ex-Navy SEAL Scot Harvath, doesn't believe the Fatah is responsible for the attack. Driven by his professional code of duty and honorand a solemn vow to avenge his fallen comradesScot creates his own rules to get some answers. But his search for the truth raises the blood pressure of his superiors…and casts his own life in mortal jeopardy. The deadly machinations have been set in motion by a shadowy coalition, comprising some of the highest-ranking officials in government and businessmen who operate above the law, men who realize the threat Scot poses to their hidden agenda…men who will do anything to stop him.

Now framed for murder and on the run, Scot goes for broke and takes his own brand of justice to the unlikeliest place of allthe towering mountains of Switzerland. It is there that he finds an improbable ally in the beautiful Claudia Mueller of the Swiss Federal Attorney's Office. Together they must brave the subzero temperatures and sheer heights of treacherous Mount Pilatusand enter the den of the most notorious team of professional killers the world has ever known.

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Alistair MacLean Dark Crusader or The Black Shrike (same book titled twice).

It has the benefit of having a large female lead role.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dark_Crusader

The Scot Horvath and Gabriel Allon recs are very good. Can't go wrong with either one. I would add the Ted Bell "Hawke" series to your list as well.

Many thanks for the continued recommendations. Gonna start digging into these next week.

Ben Coes is contemporary writer. Very cool stories. Hero is more physical than espionage but has both elements. Very fun.

I was going to recommend something a little bit different for the sake of variety. But when I tried to find a link for this post I found out Spielberg's production company already bought the rights. I'll share anyways in case anyone else is looking for an entertaining book to read:

Thursday Murder Club. It's about a group of retirees in the UK who get together to try to solve old murders. But then a murder happens in their area. It's a fun whodunnit that is pretty funny - there are no "jokes" per se written into the dialogue but the situations and reactions from characters are intentionally funny. Think the movie RED meets Knives Out. It's a series of three books.

Honestly the first thing I thought of after reading the thread title was this guy.

It's not a novel but check out Report from #24 by one of key members of the Norwegian resistance in WW2. Could be worthy of a series and you could call it based on real life events.

Dekker_Lentz said:

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Alistair MacLean Dark Crusader or The Black Shrike (same book titled twice).

It has the benefit of having a large female lead role.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dark_Crusader

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Is the movie Spy starring Melissa McCarthy based on this novel?

OKCAG02 said:

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Zeke1995 said:

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If you liked The Americans on FX, you might want to consider the book Charm School by Nelson DeMille. It's about a Potemkin US village deep inside the USSR where the KGB attains spies to look, think, talk, etc. like Americans.

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The Charm School is one of my favorites.

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It's been thirty years since I read Charm School. It is still one on my favorite books that I have ever read.

Great thread for book recommendations. I picked up Identity Theory today. President's Assassin didn't really hit it out of the park for me, the Along came a spider plot twist was too similar and too obvious.

I always wanted to see some of Jack Higgins best books done justice.

Personally, Cold War spying has been done to death across multiple mediums. If you are looking for original, I'd look to a different era. (I'm not saying I wouldn't watch, because I watch anything with espionage)

Two shows that come to mind that stayed with me that were a bit outside of the normal genre were Turn and the Sascha Baron Cohen Netflix show on the life of Eli Cohen.

Also, although the books are easy reads, the WEB Griffin series on the OSS could at least inspire some ideas for a more complex story. Or perhaps someone else has a better idea on source material for the OSS.