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Hungarian Edition
Production of Peacock’s highly anticipated historical thriller Ponies (an intelligence slang for “Persons of No Interest”) is underway in Budapest, where lead actresses Emilia Clarke (Game of Thrones, Me Before You) and Haley Lu Richardson (The White Lotus, Five Feet Apart) have been filming since February. Recently, cast members Richardson, Adrian Lester, and Artjom Gilz were spotted enjoying a break in downtown Budapest.
According to reports, the series is set in 1970s Moscow, following two secretaries at the U.S. embassy who become CIA agents after their husbands are murdered. Their investigation uncovers a Cold War conspiracy behind the tragedy. Clarke’s character, Bea, is described as “an over-educated, Russian-speaking child of Soviet immigrants,” while Richardson’s Twila is “a small-town girl who is as abrasive as she is fearless.” IMDb also lists Lester (The Day After Tomorrow, Hustle) as Dane, the head of the CIA Moscow station, and Gilz (Tár, Das Boot) as Andrei, a dangerous KGB officer in Moscow. Both are credited as recurring characters, but details about their storylines remain under wraps.
Filming locations across Hungary have included some of Budapest’s most iconic landmarks, such as the Chain Bridge, Heroes’ Square, and even the industrial town of Dunaújváros. One sequence reportedly features Clarke involved in a tense near-collision car scene, highlighting the series’ high-stakes atmosphere.
Budapest’s architecture and layered history make it an ideal stand-in for Cold War-era Moscow, and its versatility has made it a favorite among international productions seeking authentic backdrops for period thrillers.
