BBC-ZDF Thriller 'Honey' Puts Romance Back in Cold War Berlin

The BBC-ZDF Cold War thriller 'Honey' had its world premiere Monday evening at Mipcom. Fifth Season handles sales. The series stars Ann Skelly as Martha, a young MI6 agent entangled in a dangerous love triangle in East Berlin in 1982.

Lead writer and executive producer Emma Moran built the show on a simple premise: romance and espionage sharpen each other.

"Romance and spy thriller feel like two genres that don't necessarily go together, but they sharpen each other in writing. If the violence is really gory and the spy elements are really dangerous, then the sexy elements have to be really, really sexy," Moran said.

How much of the absurdity is real?

Almost all of it, according to Moran. The comedy of 'Honey' is rooted in actual spycraft.

"I didn't have to reach that far for a lot of the set pieces because real-life CIA or MI6 spycraft is ridiculous. They literally have prosthetic testicles in which they hide notes. Notes that would bring down civilization are stuffed in a plastic ball sack! When you start from that benchmark, it's not that hard to get the comedy in," she said.

Research took the writers to a spy museum in Berlin. Moran described "room after room of these elaborate cigarette cases that were cameras, and they even strapped cameras to pigeons." She cited the Q moments in Bond films as an influence.

"There's an innate comedy and absurdity to spying. You're putting on a silly little costume and saying: 'I'm someone else'," Moran said. Skelly deadpanned: "It's the story of my life."

Who stars in 'Honey'?

Skelly, known for 'House of Guinness' and 'The Nevers,' leads a cast that includes Nate Mann, Jannis Niewöhner and Rory Kinnear.

"When I first read it, I just thought it was so funny. Like, genuinely funny. Sometimes, when you get through auditions as an actor, you go: 'Crap, I'm going to have to learn all this.' But now, I was really excited to do it," Skelly said.

She and Moran are both Irish. "I think we connected with some sort of rhythm," Skelly said.

The actor was drawn to Martha's boldness. "I didn't really grow up with many female characters like that. She's just incredibly ambitious and full of confidence, but not quite the experience. It's so much fun to watch a character like that."

Filming posed physical challenges. The production shot in Lithuania during what Skelly called the coldest winter there in decades. "I think it was the coldest winter they'd had in a really long time. Since the '70s!" she said. She compared the role to ordering a really big steak: "It was so satiating."

What does the romance add to the Cold War setting?

Moran set the love triangle against repression. "We're in a semi-totalitarian society where you have to watch yourself and desires have to be restrained. With the love triangle dominating the show, it was so satisfying to play with these two poles of 'I can't say who I am, I can't do this, I have to do something that way.' Then, desires crashing into that felt just so rich for romance," she said.

Executive producer Sally Woodward Gentle of Sid Gentle Films, the company behind 'Killing Eve,' said the team never wanted a "brown, turgid period show." Instead, they leaned into Moran's instinct for romance. "You've got these extraordinary young people living on the edge, who are also very lustful," Woodward Gentle said.

"I think it makes it something that's not just about history; it's about human beings," she added.

What does this change for Fifth Season?

Fifth Season, the studio distributing the series, sees 'Honey' as proof that distinct voices can still carry commercial weight. Jennifer Ebell, EVP of television distribution at Fifth Season, framed the project as a partnership rather than a repeat formula.

"We've had the pleasure of working with Sally before, but it's not like you bring in the same recipe. What Sally and the team have done is bring in a very distinct voice. We have trust and a partnership, and we're relying on repeat business as an indie studio," Ebell said.

"It's very hard to find commercially viable content with a distinct voice. But Sally's nailed it. You're going to get home, it's going to be winter, and you're not going to want to do anything other than take off your shoes and watch 'Honey,'" she said.

The creative team already has its eye on more seasons. The Berlin Wall fell in 1989, ending 28 years of division between East and West Berlin. "It's only 1982 [in the show] so we've got seven years left to do a lot of stuff," Moran said.

Skelly has her own pitch for a future shoot: "I am still pitching for maybe Hawaii? Somewhere warm – with a touch of spring."