Primeridian Entertainment announced today that it will be producing and financing a new television series about the post-World War II space race between the United States and the USSR. The project will purportedly span the time between the collapse of Nazi Germany through the 1960s, covering the contentious competition between the two superpowers and their technological successes and failures.
The newly launched company, who at Cannes announced a feature about Soviet dissident Alexander Solzhenitsyn to be written and directed by Cyrus Nowrasteh (“The Stoning of Soraya M.”), have hired Nicholas Meyer to write the pilot. Meyer, who was nominated for an Academy Award for adapting his own novel to screen for 1976 Sherlock Holmes film “The Seven-Per-Cent Solution,” directed “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan” and “Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country,” though he only received screenplay credit for the latter.
The yet untitled TV project has several expert advisors on board from both countries, including Sergei Khrushchev, the son of former Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev. Primeridian has also optioned the rights to “Red Moon Rising: Sputnik and the Hidden Rivalries That Ignited the Space Age,” Matthew Brzezinski’s award-winning book.
Cold War tensions are currently being explored on screen at FX, where spy drama “The Americans” had a successful first season and has been renewed for a second.
Sign Up: Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Sign up for our Email Newsletters here.
