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by Kim Muntinga
"Sopranos" creator David Chase works on new HBO series about CIA project "MKUltra"
24.10.2025
Translation: machine translated
David Chase's new HBO series focuses on the scandalous CIA programme "MKUltra". Inspired by John Lisle's book, the author combines historical facts with a narrative about power and morality.
David Chase, the legendary creator of «The Sopranos», is back - and with a topic that sounds as dark as it is fascinating. After years of creative radio silence, the 78-year-old is working on a new series for HBO that revolves around one of the darkest chapters in post-war American history: the secret CIA programme «MKUltra».
New material for an old master
«MKUltra» - this stands for a real CIA research project that took place between the 1950s and 1970s under the strictest secrecy. During the Cold War, the US secret service wanted to find out whether human behaviour could be deliberately influenced or even controlled. It was also a reaction to reports that Soviet and Chinese authorities were conducting similar experiments.
The programme comprised hundreds of individual research projects at universities, clinics and military bases. Under the code name «MKUltra», drugs such as LSD and mescaline were administered to unsuspecting test subjects, hypnosis and electroshock therapies were tested and methods of psychological manipulation were trialled. Many test subjects - including prison inmates, soldiers and psychiatric patients - were unaware that they were part of a CIA project.
It is against this background that David Chase is now developing his series. Based on his previous works and his approach, I could well imagine that he will not turn the material into a simple conspiracy story, but a character drama about power, morality and the price of progress.
The series is based on the non-fiction book «Project Mind Control: Sidney Gottlieb, the CIA, and the Tragedy of MKUltra» by historian John Lisle. It centres on the real-life chemist Sidney Gottlieb - known internally as «The Black Wizard» - who ran the secret programme and became a key figure in American intelligence history.
Chase's return to series work
For David Chase, the project marks a remarkable return to the centre of US television. He had been quiet since the end of «The Sopranos» (1999 to 2007) and the prequel film «The Many Saints of Newark» (2021). His new series is being developed by Riverain Pictures, Chase's own production company, in collaboration with HBO. The format is designed as a limited series - a self-contained story with a clearly defined scope.
The fact that Chase is taking on this material is hardly surprising. He already dissected the dark sides of human nature and social power structures in «The Sopranos». Now he extends this view to the state level. Instead of mafia bosses, this time the focus is on government officials and scientists. People who transgress moral boundaries in the name of security and progress.
Between fact and fiction
In terms of content, «Project: MKUltra», the provisional working title, promises a mixture of historical thriller and psychological drama. The series aims to explore the tension between scientific curiosity and ethical madness: a topic that seems frighteningly topical. While AI ethics and data control are being discussed today, Chase reminds us that power over the human mind was already a dangerous fascination in the past.
Little is yet known about the cast or release date. Industry reports assume that the project is still at an early stage of development. A programme launch before 2027 is therefore considered unlikely.
Why this is important
The fact that an author like David Chase is realising a new series idea after two decades is an event in itself. «The Sopranos» is regarded as the foundation of modern quality television. Without Chase, series such as «Breaking Bad» or «Mad Men» would hardly be conceivable. His new project could therefore be more than just another retro thriller: a statement about how television today tells stories about power, guilt and truth.
Header image: Paramount Pictures
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