John R. Maxim’s spy book series “Bannerman” will get the TV adaptation treatment from Netflix and AMC Global Media, marking the companies’ first co-production.

The drama series hails from executive producers Shane Black (“Lethal Weapon, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang”), Craig Silverstein (“Nikita,” “Turn: Washington’s Spies”), Greg Nicotero (“The Walking Dead,” Pulp Fiction”), Brian Witten (“Creepshow”). AMC Studios serves as the lead studio.

Silverstein is also attached to showrun and write, while Black co-wrote the first episode and will direct the first two episodes. “Bannerman” marks Black’s first written-directed TV series after writing and directing films like “The Nice Guys,” “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang” and “Iron Man 3,” among others.

The official logline is as follows: “Paul Bannerman, a lethal covert operative, convinces a group of the world’s most deadly assassins to quit the spy game for a chance to lead normal lives in the suburbs of Connecticut. Old enemies, bad habits, a paranoid government and an unrelenting ex-cop will make retirement their most difficult mission yet.”

As a result of the co-production, which marks the company’s first collaboration to jointly develop and produce select original series, “Bannerman” will premiere on AMC in the U.S. and Canada, and will drop on Netflix in the U.S. and Canada 90 days after the season finale airs on AMC.

Netflix and AMC will jointly premiere each episode in Australia, New Zealand and Spain, and everywhere else, Netflix will debut the show exclusively.

“Bannerman” was announced to be in the works at AMC back in 2023, but it appears that the partnership with Netflix enabled the project to move forward.

“Bannerman is a smart, high-octane thrill ride of a series, powered by an extraordinary creative team,” chief content officer of AMC Global Media and president of AMC Studios Dan McDermott said. “This is the perfect premium drama to kick off our first co-production with Netflix, and we are thrilled to continue evolving and expanding our partnership by jointly developing and producing select original series for our respective platforms.”

Spanning five books, the Bannerman series centers on ex-spy Paul Bannerman, who gets pulled out of suburban life and back into the world of crime. Matters are made more complicated when his girlfriend’s father, Raymond Lesko, comes crashing into Paul’s life as a grizzled former NYPD officer who suspects Paul is not who he says he is, per the official logline.

Nicotero is represented by UTA, Mosaic and JSSK. Craig Silverstein is repped by WME and HJTH. Shane Black is repped by WME, Greenlit and Eric Brooks.

Disney TV acquisitions executive Chuck Saftler is exiting the company after more than 32 years.

Saftler, whose last day in the office will be Oct. 16, said in a memo to staff that he is stepping down from his role as he considers a “new professional chapter.” Most recently, he served as head of acquisitions for ABC, Disney Kids and Family, FX and National Geographic.

“Chuck’s enduring commitment and countless contributions over the past three decades have had a profound impact on the company,” FX Chairman John Landgraf and Disney Entertainment Television Chair Debra OConnell said in a joint statement. “Chuck was a part of FX from the very beginning and played a defining role in shaping and strengthening the network at every stage. His intelligence, humility, and remarkably good judgment have made him a trusted voice, and his influence will be felt for years to come.” 

Sean Cocchia EVP, Global Entertainment Networks, Research and Business Operations, Disney Entertainment Television, will assume leadership of network acquisitions, integrating the team into his broader programming strategy and business operations portfolio following a transition period.

More to come…

No modern media property captures the chaotic joy of life in New York City better than “SubwayTakes.” Kareem Rahma’s man-on-the-train interviews manage to celebrate the city’s eclectic characters and extensive public transit systems while providing a platform for the 21st century’s definitive art form, the hot take. With guests that range from Jennifer Lopez and Ethan Hawke to Rahma’s New Yorker friends who have yet to crack the mainstream, the show illustrates how strong opinions and a willingness to defend them are universal human traits.

“The show came out of my love of debate and discussion and, honestly… fun,” Rahma said during a recent conversation with IndieWire. “Really the show is about having fun, and about showing the world how much fun a conversation can be.”

That commitment to fun is reflected in the conversations, in which guests throw out silly opinions before Rahma replies with “100 percent agree” or “100 percent disagree,” creating an environment in which nuance and compromise are gleefully discarded in favor of arguing about life’s smallest topics.

“What’s happened is that the best takes are the most Larry David-ian,” he said. “They’re micro observations about the world around us and the way we move through life. And I think that’s what people like. It’s part of the bit that you can argue about something that doesn’t matter, but you’re just doing it for the sake of argument.

But while the casual nature of the conversations are part of the charm, producing “Subway Takes” is as elaborate of a process as you’ll find in the online media landscape. Filming a talk show on a moving train brings its own set of audio and visual problems, but making this show any other way would be sacrilege.

“The challenges of doing a talk show in public are plentiful,” he said with a laugh. “The biggest one is the fact that we have literally no control over our setting.”

Rahma explained that the show’s intimate production value is possible through the hard work of a dedicated team, all of whom go to great lengths to ensure that the finished product captures the feeling of riding a New York Subway while still delivering professional quality audio.

“It came out of a need for free studio space,” he said of the show’s origins. “I would rather invest in the quality of the content than invest in the physical location where the content is created. We invested in the team and making sure we had the best equipment possible. Because there is a version of this show that looks unprofessional, but my team is professional.”

A typical episode of “SubwayTakes” uses four cameras and five audio channels, with a talented post-production team ensuring that the final mix is easy to hear without losing its authenticity.

“The team does make the show that’s shot on a subway look incredibly professional and cinematic,” he said. “That’s why we can make a show that’s legible and has no sound problems in such a loud environment.”

And when the conversations conclude, the work of crafting an episode is just beginning. While Rahma has learned how to steer his subway debates towards viral moments, the editing process has required the team to hone a knack for finding the story within otherwise chaotic conversations.

“I’m definitely writing the episode while it’s happening,” he said. “We build a plane while we fly it. Almost every episode I’m sitting there saying ‘Oh shit, how I am I gonna land this plane?’ Because I don’t know what they’re going to say.”

All of the hard work that goes into “SubwayTakes,” much of it unseen by viewers, all serves the same goal: facilitating an environment that makes every guest feel free to express themselves and turning it into a show that keeps audiences laughing.

“It’s not a debate show in the sense you have to win the debate. It’s entertainment,” Rahma said. “I wanted to create an environment that was safe for discussion, for humor, for play, and for childlike wonder.”

This conversation is presented in partnership with YouTube.