EXCLUSIVE: Former CIA analyst turned espionage writer David McCloskey (Damascus Station) has struck an exclusive multi-year first-look deal with Prologue Entertainment, the independent production studio behind the 2025 Netflix thrillers A House of Dynamite and Zero Day.
Under the pact, Prologue will team with McCloskey to develop film and television projects based on his existing and future writing. McCloskey will serve as an executive producer on all projects under the deal and also consult on other Prologue titles.
News of the deal comes following the release of McCloskey’s fourth novel, The Persian, which debuted at #3 on the Sunday Times’ fiction hardback bestseller list this past weekend.
In a statement to Deadline, Prologue Entertainment co-founder Sarah Bremner said, “David’s propulsive page-turners somehow manage to blend relentless specificity and firsthand knowledge of CIA tradecraft with phenomenal characters at every turn. We’re such fans, and look forward to bringing his incredible narratives to the screen.”
Said McCloskey: “I’m absolutely thrilled to be in partnership with Prologue Entertainment. Their commitment to authentic portrayals of geopolitics and the espionage business, set inside compelling dramas, makes this a natural home for my work. I’m a huge fan of what they’re doing and excited to see what we’ll do together.”
McCloskey published his first novel Damascus Station, centered on fictional CIA case officer Artemis Procter, in 2021, continuing to follow Procter’s work across the Middle East and Russia with Moscow X (2023) and Sunday Times best seller The Seventh Floor (2024). His fourth novel, The Persian, which takes readers into the shadow war between Iranian and Israeli intelligence agencies, was released in the U.S. in October 2025 and in the UK and Commonwealth in January 2026.
In December, McCloskey published The Influencer, a short story about a content creator who crosses paths with her Russian super fan. His next novel, London Station — which also features Artemis Procter — will debut in September 2026, published in print by Norton with an audio edition published by Tantor.
In addition to critical acclaim, McCloskey’s writing has earned him praise from U.S. military and intelligence leaders including two former CIA Directors, former Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta and Ret. General David Petraeus.
While at the CIA, McCloskey wrote regularly for the President’s Daily Brief, delivered classified testimony to Congressional oversight committees, and briefed senior White House officials, Ambassadors, military officials, and Arab royalty. He worked in CIA field stations across the Middle East throughout the Arab Spring and conducted a rotation in the Counterterrorism Center focused on the jihad in Syria and Iraq. Subsequently, as a consultant at McKinsey & Company, he advised national security, aerospace, and transportation clients on a range of strategic and operational issues. Currently co-hosting the podcast The Rest is Classified, he is represented by Steve Fisher at IAG and Lisa Erbach Vance at Aaron Priest Literary Agency.
Prologue Entertainment was founded in 2024 by Lloyd Braun (former chairman of WME and ABC Entertainment Television Group), Sarah Bremner (former president of Ava DuVernay’s Array Filmworks and veteran Netflix executive), and Noah Oppenheim (award-winning screenwriter of Jackie and former president of NBC News), with backing from Jeff Zucker and RedBird Capital Partners. The company’s recent work on Kathryn Bigelow’s A House of Dynamite and the Robert De Niro starrer Zero Day reflects its focus on premium, compelling dramas inspired by real life characters and events. The company announced a first-look agreement with The Atlantic to develop films and TV series based on the magazine’s journalism in December.