The broadcaster is bringing the Cold War thrills to BBC iPlayer. 

The BBC has announced that it has picked up the Romanian Cold War thriller series Spy/Master. It’s an intense defection drama set in the late 70’s.

Here’s what we know about Spy/Master…

The six-part series, filmed in Romania and Hungary, spans one perilous week in the life of fictional character Victor Godeanu, the right-hand man and most trusted advisor to Romanian President Nicolae Ceaușescu. With his government poised to uncover that he’s a secret agent for the Soviets, Godeanu uses a diplomatic trip to Germany as a springboard to defect to the United States. Helped by undercover Stasi agent Ingrid Von Weizendorff and up-and-coming CIA agent Frank Jackson, Godeanu must elude the KGB and his own country’s spooks – all while his wife and daughter face the fallout back home.

Spy/Master stars Alec Secăreanu (Happy Valley), Claudiu Bleonț, Svenja Jung (Deutschland 89) and Parker Sawyers (The Mummy). The cast also includes Aidan McArdle (Ridley), Ana Ularu, Laurențiu Bănescu, Andreea Vasile, Nico Mirallegro (Our Girl), lulian Postelnicu and Elvira Deatcu.

Sue Deeks, Head of BBC Programme Acquisition, says:

“A classic spy drama set at the height of the Cold War, Spy/Master is an atmospheric, complex thriller, dripping with style and suspense.”

The six-part series comes from Proton Cinema and Mobra Films. It was created and written by Adina Sădeanu and Kirsten Peters. The director is Christopher Smith and the producer is Ioanina Pavel.

While there’s not a BBC trailer yet, HBO Romania provides…

There’s no suggestion yet of a start date, or where it might land on linear channels. However, it looks like classic BBC Four material to us!