‘Landman’ co-creator adapting book on George Washington’s secret spies
One of the key minds behind “Landman” is working on a movie about George Washington’s secret spies.
Deadline reported Tuesday, June 2 that Christian Wallace is adapting the historical book “George Washington’s Secret Six: The Spy Ring That Saved the American Revolution” for the big screen. Wallace’s “Boomtown” podcast served as the inspiration for “Landman,” which he co-created with Taylor Sheridan.
“George Washington’s Secret Six” follows the Culper Spy Ring, a secretive intelligence network put together during the American Revolution. The 2013 book is written by Brian Kilmeade and Don Yaeger.
A reserved Quaker merchant, a tavern keeper, a brash young longshoreman, a curmudgeonly Long Island bachelor, a coffeehouse owner and a mysterious woman make up the secret crew.
“When George Washington beat a hasty retreat from New York City in August 1776, many thought the American Revolution might soon be over. Instead, Washington rallied—thanks in large part to a little-known, top-secret group called the Culper Spy Ring. He realized that he couldn’t defeat the British with military might, so he recruited a sophisticated and deeply secretive intelligence network to infiltrate New York,” the book’s description reads.
‘Landman’ co-creator adapting George Washington book
“George Washington’s Secret Six” will be Wallace’s second major project.
The West Texas native worked in the Permian Basin oil fields as a roughneck and later joined Texas Monthly as a fact-checker then staff writer. He wrote about everything from oil field medics to Myrtis Dightman — the Jackie Robinson of rodeo.
Wallace linked up with Sheridan after he released his “Boomtown” podcast in 2019. The audio series explored an oil boom in West Texas and served as the jumping-off point for Sheridan on “Landman.”
Now, Wallace will dig into another true story.
“With the 250th anniversary of American independence on the horizon, this feels like the perfect moment to shine a light on the unsung heroes of the Revolution,” Wallace told Deadline. “’Secret Six’ is an epic story of quiet courage, sacrifice, and cunning espionage that reminds us that the war for independence wasn’t won solely on the battlefield, but also by ordinary citizens living under British occupation who risked everything for a cause greater than themselves.”
