BBC-ZDF Cold War Thriller "Asal" Features Sex, Lies and Fake Testicles: "Espionage Has an Inherently Absurd Comedy"

BBC-ZDF's upcoming series "Asal," which premiered worldwide Monday evening at Mipcom, is not your typical Cold War thriller. Distributed by Fifth Season, the show follows MI6 agent Martha (Anne Skelly), who in 1982 is caught in a dangerous love triangle in East Berlin, navigating a hidden world of counterintelligence. "Romance and […]

Jahani "Honey", which debuted in the fifth season at Mipcom, was shown at the TV Show on Monday evening.

The upcoming BBC-ZDF series "Honey," which made its world premiere at Mipcom on Monday evening, is not your typical Cold War thriller.

In the show, sold by season five, a young MI6 agent Martha (Ann Skelly) is caught up in a dangerous love triangle in 1982 East Berlin, where she navigates the hidden world of counterintelligence.

Lead writer and executive producer Emma Moran said, "The romance and the spy thriller are like two genres that don't necessarily belong together, but they sharpen each other's writing. If the violence is really gruesome and the spy elements are really dangerous, then the sexy elements have to be really, really sexy." Related Stories Taylor Swift's 'Patient Zero' Holds No.1 on Singles Chart for Second Week Taylor Swift has spent her 100th week at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 as 'Life of a Showgirl' tops the second week of the 'Encore'.

Moran admitted before Monday's show that he embraced the silliness, which is actually rooted in real life. Popular in Variety

"I didn't have to go that far for a lot of sets because real CIA or MI6 espionage is ridiculous. They literally have artificial testicles that they hide notes in. Civilization-destroying notes are put in a plastic ball bag! When you start from that standard, it's not that hard to get comedy," he laughed.

"We went to this spy museum in Berlin that had room after room of these wrapped cigarette boxes that were cameras, and they even strapped the cameras to the pigeons. I love the cue moments in the Bond [films]."

He added: "Espionage is an inherent, absurdist comedy. You put on a silly little dress and say, 'I'm somebody else.'" Scully deadpanned, "This is the story of my life."

Skelley, known for "Guinness House" and "Never," stars alongside Nate Mann, Janice Newhaner and Rory Kinnear.

"When I first read it, I thought it was very funny. Like, really funny. Sometimes, when you're auditioning as an actor, you're like, "Shit, I have to learn all this." "But now, I was really excited to do it."

"We're both Irish [with Moran], so I think we connected with a kind of rhythm."

He appreciated Martha's boldness and impudence.

"I didn't really grow up with a lot of female characters like that. She's just incredibly ambitious and full of confidence, but not quite experienced. It's a lot of fun to watch that kind of character."

The role was challenging, also because of the cold weather in Lithuania where they shot, but in the best possible way.

"If I'm not fishing again, I can go back to the snow. I think it was the coldest winter they've had in a long time. Since the 70s!"

"When you order a really big steak, it was just as challenging," he joked. "It was very filling."

Moran found a lot of vulnerability in his characters, who often don't follow their emotions too hard.

"We're in a semi-holistic society where you have to take care of yourself and the urges have to be curbed. With the love triangle that dominates the show, it was very 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, the passions in it feel so rich for romance." he said

"We wanted to do something very different," he said. But he was really eager to bring up the romance. You have these extraordinary young people living on the fringes, who are also very sensual."

"I think that makes it not just about history, but also about people."

"We've had the pleasure of working with Sally before, but it's not like you're coming up with the same recipe," noted Jennifer Ebel, EVP of Television on Season 5. What Sally and the team have done is come up with a very distinct sound. We have trust and partnership, and as an independent studio we rely on repeat business."

“Finding viable commercial content with a distinctive voice is very difficult but Sally nailed it. "You're going to come home, it's going to be winter, and all you want to do is take off your shoes and watch Honey."

"It's only 1982 [in the show], so we have seven years to do a lot," Moran said.

The fall of the Berlin Wall took place in 1989, ending the 28-year division between East and West Berlin.

Skelly added: "I'm still talking about maybe Hawaii? Somewhere warm - with a touch of spring.