Joel Kinnaman Series ‘Debriefing The President’ Racks Up Sales: Drama Follows CIA Operative Who Interrogates Saddam Hussein

Debriefing The President, the series based on John Nixon’s revealing book of the same name, has sold to a raft of territories. The limited series stars Joel Kinnaman as CIA analyst Nixon, who became the first American to positively identify and interrogate Saddam Hussein in the wake of the ill-fated invasion of Iraq.

The series has been acquired by Canadian streamer Crave. It has also struck a chord in Scandinavia; NRK has snagged rights for Norway, SVT for Sweden, YLE for Finland and DR for Denmark, marking a quartet of deals with major pubcasters.

Deadline revealed earlier this year that the drama will play on TNT in the U.S. It is made by AR Content and StoryFirst. Academy Award nominated Alexander Rodnyansky (Leviathan) and Leslie Greif (Hatfields & McCoys) are producers, along with Stuart Manashil, Michael Kupisk, Peter Gerwe, Shelley Browning and the show’s star, Kinnaman. Krzysztof Skonieczny directs.

“Debriefing the President is a show that would not only entertain the global audience but might provide some answers to the most discussed issues that face the world today,” said AR Content’s Rodnyansky. “It is both a nuanced drama about two people from very different cultural backgrounds and experience and a gripping thriller that is sure to captivate the viewers”.

Anthony Appell from Escapade Media, which is across distribution, concluded the abovementioned sales, with more tipped to follow. Debriefing the President is one of Deadline’s Hot Ones selection of dramas to look out for at MIPCOM and the pre-market deals give the show impetus ahead of the trip to Cannes.

Natalie Lawley, Managing Director at Escapade Media said: “This is a captivating drama which reveals the intimate story of two men at the heart of one of the 21^st Century’s most formative conflicts, which would lead to significant consequences throughout the globe”.