EXCLUSIVE: The latest spy series from Apple International Safe Houses, looks to have landed some top tier talent as Jennifer Connelly and Ana de Armas are in negotiations to star in the series from Homeland scribe Gideon Raff. Deadline was first to report the shows development with Raff on board as exec producer and showrunner.
Apple had no comment on the casting. For de Armas, the film marks her first major TV series after recently signing with WME last month.
The eight-episode series is based on the Dan Fesperman novel an international espionage thriller set in the aftermath of the killing of a high-ranking CIA officer in Madrid. The show is centered on Sofia Jiménez (de Armas), a fugitive agent accused of the crime, and Ambassador Elizabeth Winthrop (Connelly), his widow, as they each investigate the murder from opposite sides, unraveling a vast conspiracy that could upend the balance of global power.
Fesperman’s novel was released in 2018 by Knopf. The title is one of at least a dozen books written by the former reporter, which are inspired by the real-life assignments he covered across the globe.
Safe Houses is a co-production between global independent studio Wiip and Apple Studios. Otto Bathurst (Peaky Blinders) is set to direct the opening block of the series, with Raff directing several additional episodes and serving as executive producer alongside Alexandra Milchan. Paul Lee and David Flynn executive produce for Wiip. Sara Gonzalo will produce. Fesperman will serve as consulting producer.
She was most recently seen in the John Wick spin-off Ballerina for Lionsgate opposite Keanu Reeves. She also recently joined J Blakeson’s next film Sweat. She is repped by WME and Grubman Shire Meiselas & Sacks.
Connelly makes her return to Apple TV after recently starring opposite Joel Edgerton in the TV series Dark Matter. On the film side, she was recently seen in Top Gun: Maverick. She is repped by CAA. Fesperman is repped by Ann Rittenberg Agency and Echo Lake.