J.J. Abrams sells another spy drama to NBC

J.J. Abrams, known in Hollywood as a multi-hyphenate (i.e. writer/director/producer) and responsible for such TV hits as “Alias” and “Lost” as well as the movies “Mission: Impossible” and “Star Trek” has just sold a new spy drama to NBC. Abrams has a history in espionage—“Alias” starring Jennifer Garner was a five-season success—but his new series borrows a theme from the movie “Mr. and Mrs. Smith,” featuring two lead characters who are “married and deeply in love,” writes The Wrap.

Read more at The Wrap:

“Alias” creator and “Mission: Impossible” director J.J. Abrams is getting back into the spy business, teaming with writer Josh Reims (“Felicity”) for an action-adventure-romance series that generated bids from three networks.

NBC appears to have snatched up the project after some late-night negotiating. The Peacock agreed to a rich deal for the show, people familiar with the talks said. That likely means there will be significant penalties attached at the pilot and series stages of development.

People familiar with the script describe the Abrams- Reims project as a “fun romp” in the vein of past classic TV spy adventures. The two main characters are spies who are also married and deeply in love.

Abrams and Reims have worked together before on “Felicity” and the Abrams-produced “What About Brian.” More recently, Reims has worked on ABC’s “Brothers & Sisters” and “Dirty Sexy Money.”