Spy series The Gray House gets a temporary SAG-AFTRA deal

The Gray House, a Civil War espionage drama produced by Kevin Costner and Morgan Freeman, has been awarded an interim contract by SAG-AFTRA. The Gray House tells the story of the three women General Ulysses S. Grant believes helped the North win the Civil War. It focuses on the unsung women who turned the tide of the American Civil War in favor of the North. A Richmond socialite and her daughter, a former enslaved African-American and a courtesan build the first successful female spy ring operating right under the noses of the Confederate Supreme Court. They risk their lives and freedom to win the war and preserve American democracy.



Costner (left) is an executive producer through his Territory Pictures banner with Rod Lake and Howard Kaplan serving as producers. Freeman (right) produces with his producing partner Lori McCreary through Revelations Entertainment and Greif produces through his Big Dreams Entertainment with Alex Kerr.

The Gray House has managed to secure an interim deal - with the producers agreeing to the terms of the guild's latest counteroffer to the AMPTP - despite international distribution going through Paramount Global.

Since the strike earlier this month, SAG-AFTRA has already handed out more than sixty interim contracts to films and series. Apple TV+'s Tehran became the highest-profile series to receive one, after films such as The Watchers, with involvement from Warner Bros. Discovery's New Line, were added to the list, as well as Glenn Close's The Summer Book and A24 films Mother Mary and I Dream Of Unicorns.

Who gets an interim deal is a complicated question, especially since some of these projects appear to have ties to AMPTP companies like Paramount Global.

SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director and chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland told Deadline: "It reflects the complexity and the business relationships and structures in this industry."

He added: “If there are AMPTP connections to the project then waivers are not granted. That is the big answer. Everyone needs to be examined and evaluated individually because the question 'are there AMPTP fingerprints or connections to the project? ' That means it takes us a few days to a week, depending on the volume, maybe a little more to evaluate whether a project can get an interim agreement."

The Gray House is based on an original script by Leslie Greif and Darrell Fetty and Oscar nominee John Sayles. The film is directed by Oscar-nominated Roland Joffe. The series is filmed in Eastern Europe.

Paramount Global Content Distribution, led by Dan Cohen, will distribute the six-part series, which currently has no U.S. network or streamer associated with it.