In one of the biggest co-production deals unveiled at Content London, Mediawan‘s label Atlantique Productions has joined forces with Participant to make an ambitious limited espionage thriller series based on the Pegasus spyware scandal.
Amit Cohen (“False Flag,” “Bad Boy”) and Ron Leshem (“Euphoria,” “No Man’s Land”) are on board as creators and showrunners for the mini-series which will adapted from the bestseller “Pegasus: How a Spy in Our Pocket Threatens the End of Privacy, Dignity, and Democracy.” The book charts the sprawling international investigation conducted in 2020 and 2021 which revealed how governments used Pegasus spyware technology to spy on politicians, activists and business executives.
Executive producers on the highly anticipated “Pegasus” show are Nathalie Perus for Atlantique Productions, Thomas Anargyros for Mediawan Studio France, Jeff Skoll and Miura Kite for Participant. Maria Feldman (“False Flag,” “Fauda”) and Claire Rudnick Polstein (“Austin Powers,” “August Osage County”) are also attached as executive producers. The project is being presented today (Tuesday) at Content London.
“Pegasus: How a Spy in Our Pocket Threatens the End of Privacy, Dignity, and Democracy” was written by the journalists who initiated and coordinated the international investigation, Laurent Richard and Sandrine Rigaud, alongside Mark Zwonitzer, for which Atlantique optioned the rights in December 2022.
Mediawan Rights is representing “Pegasus” in international markets.
Atlantique Productions also signed a pact with Forbidden Stories, a network of investigative journalists founded by Laurent Richard. Under the exclusive deal, Atlantique Productions will be able to bring to the screen some investigations, both published and forthcoming, carried out by Forbidden Stories. Mediawan Rights previously signed a pact with Forbidden Films in 2021 to board investigative documentaries which have played at festivals, notably “Green Blood” and “The Caviar Connection.”
