ABC is making good on its promise for more limited series.
The Disney-owned broadcast network has secured the small screen rights to the book Circle of Treason: A CIA Account of Traitor Aldrich Ames and the Men He Betrayed, by retired CIA officers Sandra Grimes and Jeanne Vertefeuille, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed. The effort, titled The Assets, is expected to air in 2014.
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The series will explore CIA members' personal stories about the conclusion of the Cold War. The order comes on the heels of the breakout success of spy drama The Americans, which delves into the similar subject matter for FX. BBC, too, is prepping a Cold War telepic entitled Legacy.
ABC Entertainment Group boss Paul Lee spoke of his desire to make a strategic push into the increasingly trendy limited series space during a conference call with reporters in May. At that time, he described a desire to break up 24-episode seasons of certain serialized shows into two uninterrupted batches of 12 and fill in the gap with limited series. At that time, he pointed to unscripted adventure series The Quest as an example.
Assets will be produced by Lincoln Square Productions, with Morgan Hertzan, Rudy Bednar and Andrew Chapman attached as executive producers. Last team, Lincoln Square produced ABC's Final Witness, another lower-budget, multi-part true crime series that combined recreations and documentary elements.
