” executive producer and co-creator David Vainola, one of the buzz titles being presented during the co-production forum at Rome’s MIA market this week.
The show follows Canadian intelligence agent Sam Garrison, who’s tapped by the CIA to recruit a key asset in China who holds vital information that could lead to rising tensions between the global superpowers. Upon her arrival, she catches the eye of Chinese secret agent Ulan Bayar, setting off a cat-and-mouse game between the rival spies. But when someone from Sam’s past re-emerges, putting her life and mission in jeopardy, Ulan may be the only person she can turn to – if she can be trusted.
To achieve that, they’ve enlisted the help of co-creator MacDougall, a 26-year veteran of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service who Vainola described as “a full-blown spy.” The former spook added insight into the “drama and intimacy” at the heart of the relationship between a recruiter and field agent, bringing a riveting human element to the story’s larger geopolitical drama.
Along with his experience with the inner workings of the Canadian intelligence services, MacDougall has tapped contacts at the CIA and even defectors from China’s secretive Ministry of State Security. “Getting information about how the Chinese intelligence services work is not an easy task,” said Vainola, who also served as consulting producer on the Hulu crime drama “Cardinal.” “And we want to be as credible and realistic as possible with that.