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The acclaimed creator is making a return to television. The iconic mob drama visionary is scripting MKUltra, a mini-series centered around the CIA's covert cold war-era psychological manipulation project for HBO.

Exploring the Project

The project, first reported by industry sources, marks David Chase's initial TV project since the groundbreaking HBO mob drama. The dramatic thriller, based on John Lisle's book "Project Mind Control", zeroes in on Sidney Gottlieb, known as the "dark magician" who oversaw Project MKUltra, the CIA's covert hallucinogen experiments that tested hallucinogenic drugs, hypnotic techniques, and physical coercion on volunteers and non-consenting individuals from 1953 until it was halted in 1973.

Research Activities

The scientist directed these tests in the interest of state safety, to counter the perceived threat of Russian and Chinese mind control methods. He's also known as the inadvertent father of the psychedelic movement, as he introduced the drug to the agency in the mid-20th century, in an attempt to investigate the possibilities of manipulating human consciousness. Certain participants were willing individuals from the CIA, military officers and university attendees who had awareness of the nature of the experiments. Additional subjects, however, were mental patients, incarcerated persons, substance abusers, and prostitutes coerced or deceived into drug dosages that in certain instances resulted in permanent damage.

Creator's Background

Chase earned five Emmys for his hit series, a intricate narrative about a New Jersey-based mafia family widely credited with starting the peak era of high-quality TV. Since the show, featuring the deceased James Gandolfini, wrapped in 2007, the creator has mostly focused on movie projects. He wrote, directed and produced the 2012 movie "Not Fade Away". He also co-wrote and produced "The Many Saints of Newark", a Sopranos prequel featuring Michael Gandolfini, that debuted in 2021.

TV Comeback

This comeback to TV comes after he stated the era of sophisticated TV dramas in some ways shaped by the Sopranos to be a “blip” that is now finished. Speaking to a leading newspaper for the series' quarter-century milestone, the septuagenarian claimed that he had been instructed to "simplify" his scripts in discussions with executives and warned against making TV content that was overly intricate.

He attributed that view in part to his experience trying to make a show with the screenwriter Hannah Fidell about a luxury escort who finds herself in federal protection. In multiple discussions with executives, he noted, they were told “the unfortunate truth” that it was not straightforward enough. "What audience is this targeting?" he said. “I guess the stockholders?”

"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 continued. "Regarding streaming leaders? The situation is deteriorating. We are reverting to previous conditions."