Kevin Costner & Morgan Freeman-Produced Civil War Spy Series ‘The Gray House’ Lands SAG-AFTRA Interim Agreement

The Gray House, a Civil War spy drama series that is being produced by Kevin Costner and Morgan Freeman, is the latest high-profile project to land an interim agreement from SAG-AFTRA.

The project managed to secure an interim agreement – by which the producers agree to the terms of the guild’s last counter-offer to the AMPTP – despite having international distribution through Paramount Global.

The actors guild has now handed out over 60 interim agreements to movies and series since the walkout earlier this month. Apple TV+’s Tehran became the most high-profile series to land one, after films such as The Watchers, which has involvement from Warner Bros. Discovery’s New Line, were also added to the list as well as Glenn Close’s The Summer Book and A24 films Mother Mary and I Dream Of Unicorns.

Paramount Global Content Distribution, which is run by Dan Cohen, is set to distribute six-part series The Gray House, which does not currently have a U.S. network or streamer attached.

The Gray House tells the story of the three women General Ulysses S. Grant credited as helping the North win the Civil War. It focuses on the unsung women who turned the tide of the American Civil War in favor of the North. A Richmond Socialite and her daughter, a formerly enslaved African-American, and a courtesan build the first successful female spy ring, operating right under the noses of the Confederate High Command. They risk life and liberty to help win the war and preserve American Democracy.

The series is based on an original script by Leslie Greif and Darrell Fetty, and Oscar-nominated John Sayles. Oscar-nominated Roland Joffe is directing.

The series has been filming in Eastern Europe.

Costner is exec producing via his Territory Pictures banner with Rod Lake and Howard Kaplan producing. Freeman is producing alongside his producing partner Lori McCreary via their Revelations Entertainment shingle and Greif is producing via his Big Dreams Entertainment alongside Alex Kerr.

Who gets an interim agreement is a complicated question, particularly as some of these projects seem to have ties to AMPTP companies such as Paramount Global.

SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director and Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland told Deadline, “It goes to reflect the complexity and the business relationships and structures in this industry.”  

He added, “If there are AMPTP connections to the project, then [waivers] won’t be [granted]. That’s the big-picture answer. Everyone needs to be investigated and evaluated individually because obviously the question of ‘Are there AMPTP fingerprints or connections to the project?’ is a very specific question. That means it takes a few days to a week depending on volume, maybe a little more for us to evaluate whether a project can receive an interim agreement.”