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The acclaimed creator is making a return to television. The iconic mob drama creator is scripting Project MKUltra, a limited series focusing on the Central Intelligence Agency's covert Cold War period psychological manipulation project for the premium network.

About the Series

The project, first reported by industry sources, will be Chase's first series since the era-defining HBO crime series. This intense narrative, inspired by John Lisle's book Project Mind Control, zeroes in on the notorious scientist, known as the “black sorcerer” who led the MKUltra initiative, the CIA's clandestine psychedelic program that administered psychedelic substances, hypnosis, and physical coercion on willing and unwilling subjects from 1953 until it was halted in the early 1970s.

Research Activities

Gottlieb directed these tests in the name of national security, to combat the perceived threat of Russian and Chinese “brainwashing” techniques. He is also regarded as the inadvertent father of the psychedelic movement, as he brought the drug to the agency in the 1950s, in an attempt to explore the possibilities of controlling human consciousness. Some test subjects were volunteers from the agency, armed forces personnel and university attendees who had knowledge of the purpose of the studies. Additional subjects, on the other hand, were mental patients, prisoners, drug addicts, and prostitutes coerced or deceived into substance administration that in some cases resulted in permanent damage.

Creator's Background

David Chase earned multiple Emmy Awards for his hit series, a intricate narrative about a New Jersey mafia family widely credited with ushering in the peak era of high-quality TV. After the series, featuring the late James Gandolfini, wrapped in 2007, the creator has primarily concentrated on feature films. He wrote, directed and produced the 2012 film Not Fade Away. He also co-wrote and produced The Many Saints of Newark, a prequel to The Sopranos featuring Michael Gandolfini, that debuted in 2021.

TV Comeback

This comeback to TV comes after he stated the era of ambitious TV dramas in some ways defined by the Sopranos to be a “blip” that is now finished. In an interview with a leading newspaper for the show’s 25th anniversary, the septuagenarian asserted that he had been instructed to "simplify" his scripts in discussions with executives and warned against producing television that was overly intricate.

He linked that view in partly to his experience trying to make a series with the screenwriter Hannah Fidell about a luxury escort who finds herself in federal protection. In numerous meetings with producers, he said, they were informed “the unfortunate truth” that it was not straightforward enough. "What audience is this targeting?" he remarked. "Presumably, the investors?"

"It appears we are disoriented, and viewers struggle to concentrate, hence we cannot create content that is overly logical, engaging, and demands focus from the audience," he added. “And as for streaming executives? It is getting worse. We’re going back to where we were.”