Showtime has placed a straight-to-series order for The Department (w/t) to be directed by George Clooney. Clooney and Grant Heslov will executive produce through their Smokehouse Pictures with MTV Entertainment Studios and 101 Studios set to produce.

Chris McCarthy, President/CEO, Showtime and Paramount Media, made the announcement today:

“The Department, based on the riveting and brilliant series The Bureau, will follow in the great tradition of Homeland, one of the most successful and brand-defining shows at Showtime. Just as Homeland elevated global espionage to new heights, The Department will take viewers even deeper into a world of intrigue and subterfuge with complicated characters who struggle with their own demons as they fight existential threats to the nation and the world.”

Le Bureau centers on the daily life and missions of agents within France’s principal external security service. It focuses on the “Bureau of Legends,” responsible for training and handling deep-cover agents on long-term missions in areas with French interests. Living under false identities for years, these agents’ missions are to identify and recruit good intelligence sources. The New York Times named it one of the top international shows of the decade, and NPR has called it “addictively suspenseful” and “one of the best TV shows in the world.”

Le Bureau Des Legendes (The Bureau) was created by Eric Rochant and is a CANAL+ Creation Originale series produced by TOP – The Originals Productions (Alex Berger, Eric Rochant) and Federation Studios (Pascal Breton). Production is slated to start later this year.

Produced by MTV Entertainment Studios and 101 Studios, The Department will be executive produced by Keith Cox and Nina L. Diaz of MTVE Studios; David C. Glasser, Ron Burkle, David Hutkin and Bob Yari of 101 Studios (Yellowstone); Alex Berger for The Originals Productions; and Ashley Stern and Pascal Breton for Federation Studios/Federation Entertainment of America.

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Poster for The Bureau via Wikimedia Commons with usage type - Fair use (low res). The copy is of sufficient resolution for commentary and identification but lower resolution than the original poster. Copies made from it will be of inferior quality, unsuitable as counterfeit artwork, pirate versions or for uses that would compete with the commercial purpose of the original artwork.