Damian Lewis, Guy Pearce to star in 'Spy Among Friends' streaming series

Oct. 6 (UPI) -- British actor Damian Lewis, who announced Monday he left the U.S. television series Billions after five seasons, has signed on to star in the U.K. streaming drama, A Spy Among Friends.

Mare of Easttown and Jack Irish alum Guy Pearce will co-star in the new six-episode show, which will stream via BritBox UK and and Spectrum Originals.

Based on the non-fiction book by Ben Macintyre, the limited series began production in London this week. Scenes will also be shot in Romania.

"How could I resist the opportunity to dramatize the true story of Nicholas Elliott (Damian Lewis) and Kim Philby (Guy Pearce) -- two spies and lifelong friends, one of whom was betraying the other all along?" writer and executive producer Alexander Cary said in a statement Wednesday.

"A friendship that resulted in the gutting of British and American intelligence at the height of the Cold War and shaped the field of play for the dangerous game against Russia that we're still trying to win today. Macintyre's books about spies from recent history are relevant and exciting because they examine the larger universal themes of human behavior that drive individuals among us, and like us, to excel in the murky world of espionage and, for better or worse, leave a lasting impact on the world."

Anna Maxwell Martin, Stephen Kunken and Adrian Edmondson will co-star.

Nick Murphy -- whose credits include Save Me and A Christmas Carol -- will direct the series.

Lewis' wife, Peaky Blinders and Harry Potter actress Helen McCrory, died in April. She was 52. The couple have two children.