Matthew Macfadyen dons Smiley's glasses as BBC and MGM+ release first-look images from 'Legacy of Spies'
From the Newshound archive · first published 29 September 2026 · last updated 30 September 2026.
Matthew Macfadyen in George Smiley's trademark thick spectacles and Charlie Hunnam as field operative Alec Leamas, in first-look images from the eight-part series produced principally in the Czech Republic.
Filming has wrapped on the BBC and MGM+ eight-part espionage thriller 'Legacy of Spies', with first-look images showing Matthew Macfadyen in George Smiley's trademark thick spectacles alongside Charlie Hunnam as world-weary field operative Alec Leamas. The series marks Smiley's return to television after roughly four decades, adapted from John le Carré's 1963 novel 'The Spy Who Came in from the Cold' and his 2017 follow-up 'A Legacy of Spies'. Production took place principally in the Czech Republic, with locations in the UK, Germany and Liverpool also used.
Hugh Laurie plays Control, Smiley's morally fickle superior, with Dan Stevens as Bill Haydon and Daniel Brühl as Stasi officer Josef Fiedler.
Stephen Cornwell, le Carré's son, serves as showrunner, with 'Derry Girls' director Michael Lennox leading production — the same team behind 'The Night Manager'.
The series will launch exclusively on BBC iPlayer in the UK and on MGM+ in the US, though no broadcast date has yet been announced.
