BBC unveils first look at "masterpiece" spy thriller from the team behind The Night Manager

The BBC has unveiled a first look at new spy thriller Legacy of Spies. The upcoming series, which comes from The Ink Factory – who worked on The Night Manager – is adapted from The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, written by John le Carré.

The author of course wrote the original Night Manager, with the new show including the writer's classic character George Smiley, here played by Matthew Macfadyen.

The Succession star is seen in a new still from the series, sporting the character's famous spectacles, while another picture shows co-star Charlie Hunnam as "world-weary agent-runner and field operative" Alec Leamas.

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Legacy of Spies sees Leamas recruit Doris Quinz (Devrim Lingau Islamoğlu), "a young and dynamic East German woman, to smuggle high-value Stasi documents into the West", which "sets in motion a series of events that threaten to explode in the crucible of Cold War Berlin".

The pair are pursued by Josef Fiedler (Daniel Brühl) and Hans-Dieter Mundt (Felix Kammerer), two Stasi operatives "whose ferocious desire to shut down the intelligence leak is matched only by their internal rivalry and an iron will to outmatch each other".

"Pulled into the action is Liz Gold (Agnes O’Casey), an idealistic young woman whose courage and conviction force Leamas to navigate a world where loyalties fracture and betrayal is inevitable," the synopsis adds.

Meanwhile, behind the scenes spymaster Smiley "orchestrates operations while the elusive Soviet mastermind Karla looms in the shadows, setting the stage for a conflict that will define a generation".

Fans can expect personal lives to "become collateral in a ruthless intelligence war", and "as the lines between duty and love begin to blur, every emotion becomes a weapon".

The series is also set to star Night Manager alum Hugh Laurie as Smiley's boss Control, The Brutalist's Joe Alwyn as Jim Prideaux, We Are Lady Parts' Anjana Vasan is Connie Sachs, Ghosts' Charlotte Ritchie, Andor's Lee Ross, The Empress' Devrim Lingnau, and Legion's Dan Stevens, among others.

Le Carré's The Spy Who Came in from the Cold was first published in 1963, and was described as an "espionage masterpiece" by the BBC.

Legacy of Spies will air on BBC One.

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Sam is a freelance reporter and sub-editor who has a particular interest in movies, TV and music. After completing a journalism Masters at City University, London, Sam joined Digital Spy as a reporter, and has also freelanced for publications such as NME and Screen International.  Sam, who also has a degree in Film, can wax lyrical about everything from Lord of the Rings to Love Is Blind, and is equally in his element crossing every 't' and dotting every 'i' as a sub-editor.