Atlantique Productions has teamed up with Participant, to adapt the book "Pegasus: How a Spy in Our Pocket Threatens the End of Privacy, Dignity, and Democracy," written by the journalists who initiated and coordinated the international investigation, Laurent Richard and Sandrine Rigaud, alongside Mark Zwonitzer, for which Atlantique optioned the rights in December 2022.
“We could not have hoped for better studio partners for this project than Participant, for whom meaning and impact are key," Nathalie Perus - General Director of Atlantique Productions said. "Nor more suitable talents than Amit and Ron, who, in addition to being brilliant screenwriters, have themselves been journalists and know the stakes and dangers of the job. Our extended association with Forbidden Stories will, beyond the Pegasus scandal, shed light on the mission of these teams and the vital necessity of the investigations they pursue.”
Through this agreement, Amit Cohen and Ron Leshem will create and showrun the series. Executive Producers are Nathalie Perus for Atlantique Productions, Thomas Anargyros for Mediawan Studio France, Jeff Skoll and Miura Kite for Participant, while Maria Feldman and Claire Rudnick Polstein are attached as Executive Producers. Atlantique Productions has also extended its collaboration with the same journalists by signing a framework agreement with Forbidden Stories, the network founded by Laurent Richard. This exclusive agreement enables Atlantique Productions to bring to screen the investigations, both published and forthcoming, carried out by Forbidden Stories."From India to Mexico, from drug cartels to corrupt entrepreneurs, the reality of our investigations often surpasses fiction," Laurent Richard - Founder and Executive Director of Forbidden Stories said.
The agreement with Forbidden Stories will enable the dissemination of their message and mission to a broader audience, leveraging the power of fiction. The consortium brings together journalists and media from all over the world and has made it its primary mission to continue the investigations of other murdered journalists: "killing the messenger won't kill the message". The group's work includes investigations into drug cartels, the disinformation industry and electoral manipulation, the Daphne affair, and the Project Green Blood investigation.
In 2021, Mediawan Rights, the Group's distribution subsidiary, already signed a framework agreement with Forbidden Films. Thanks to this exclusive partnership, critically acclaimed investigative documentaries that have played at festivals such as "Green Blood," "The Caviar Connection," "Slovakia - the Murdered Lovers," "Daphne, Pegasus - The Spy in your Mobile" and "The Rise of Wagner" have been added to the Mediawan Rights line up and sold internationally.
“The story of the Pegasus investigation is a crucial unveiling of how surveillance can be grossly misused, and it reads like a contemporary global thriller. Participant is thrilled to partner with Atlantique to bring it to life,” Miura Kite - Participant’s Executive Vice President of Global Television said. “Amit and Ron are inspiring and provocative showrunners who understand the urgency of this story and the bravery of the journalists behind it.”