Series about the origin of the witness protection program in development at HBO

HBO is developing a new drama series based on the non-fiction book WitSec: Inside the Federal Witness Protection Program by Pete Earley and Gerald Shur. The series Witsec follows an attorney from the U.S. Department of Justice and a hardened mafia hitman, both of whom have lost their faith in corrupt institutions. Together, they form a shaky alliance to convict top criminals and save lives during the turbulent early years of the witness protection program.



The production is being developed by Peter Chernin's Chernin Entertainment, with Justin Piasecki (Relay) and David Kob (Foundation) as screenwriters. Producers of the series include Alex Jackson, Pete Earley, and Miriam Shur.

Piasecki, who has multiple projects at Amazon MGM Studios, released his film Relay this fall through Bleecker Street, starring Lily James, Riz Ahmed, and Sam Worthington. Kob, who has been involved with the science fiction series Foundation on Apple TV+ since the beginning, was recently promoted to co-showrunner; the series has now been renewed for a fourth season.

The production is supported by The North Road Company, an international content studio founded three years ago. Their labels include Chernin Entertainment, North Road Television, Words + Pictures, and Kinetic Content.

The company previously released films such as Back in Action and Fear Street: Prom Queen, both of which topped Netflix's viewing charts. They are also working on new projects like Apex, 11817, and Altar (featuring Kyle MacLachlan and January Jones), along with television projects like Chief of War (starring Jason Momoa) and The Backrooms (formerly Man on Fire) with Chiwetel Ejiofor and Renate Reinsve.