Emilia Clarke is set to lead Peacock's Cold War-era spy thriller series
"Ponies", which hails from co-creators
Susanna Fogel (
"The Flight Attendant",
"The Spy Who Dumped Me") and
David Iserson (
"Mr. Robot"), and has been ordered straight to series.
Set in 1977 Moscow, two ‘PONIES’ (‘persons of no interest’ in intelligence speak) work anonymously as secretaries in the American Embassy. That is until their husbands are killed under mysterious circumstances in the USSR, and the pair become CIA operatives. Bea (Clarke) is an over-educated, Russian-speaking child of Soviet immigrants. Her cohort, Twila, is a small-town girl who is as abrasive as she is fearless. Together, they work to uncover a vast Cold War conspiracy and solve the mystery that made them widows in the first place.
Fogel will also direct for the series, while Iserson will serve as showrunner. Fogel and Iserson are co-writing the series. Clarke is set to executive produce in addition to starring.
Jessica Rhoades executive produces under her Pacesetter Productions banner. Pacesetter's
Alison Mo Massey will co-executive produce along with
Katherine Bridle. Universal Television will produce.
Clarke is currently filming another streaming series, Amazon Prime Video's
"Criminal", in which she stars opposite
Charlie Hunnam, Richard Jenkins, John Hawkes and
Adria Arjona. The show is based on the graphic novel by
Ed Brubaker and
Sean Phillips.
