The series, which was nominated for the first Berlinale TV Series Award, highlights a week in the life of Victor Godeanu. Victor is the right-hand man and chief adviser to the Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu, but he is also a KGB secret agent, and must flee Romania and Ceaușescu before his cover is betrayed. With only one chance to stay alive, he uses a diplomatic trip to Germany as a springboard to the United States.
Secăreanu recently played arch-villain Darius Knezevic in the successful BBC series Happy Valley.
Created by Adina Sădeanu and Kirsten Peters, the six-part Cold War thriller series was the winner of HBO's national screenwriting competition in Romania. Svenja Jung (Die Kaiserin) and Parker Sawyers (P-Valley) also play in it. The director is Christopher Smith (Temple, Alex Rider) with cinematography by Ben Wheeler BSC (The Tourist, The Baby) and Ádám Fillenz HCA (Vienna Blood).
In an interview with Variety, creators Sădeanu and Peters were clear that Victor is an ambiguous character, and certainly not a smooth type. "He's ambivalent, an unreliable narrator of his own story," said Peters. Sădeanu's journalistic background, as well as her Romanian roots, came in handy more than once. "I've met several people over the years who worked for secret services. They weren't James Bond types, and it helped me gain more insight," says the creator.
Antony Root and Johnathan Young serve as executive producers for HBO Max, with Ioanina Pavel serving as creative producer. Anke Greifeneder is the executive producer for Warner TV Series. Viktória Petrányi and Judit Sós are producers for Proton Cinema and Tudor Reu is the producer for Mobra Films.
Spy/Master can be seen from Friday May 19 on HBO Max, then you can watch the first two episodes. The remaining four episodes will then be put online on a weekly basis.