CNN Films, PASSION PICTURES and Propagate Content Announce “The Salisbury Poisonings: A Spy Next Door”
London, UK – [26/2/26] – CNN Films, PASSION PICTURES and Propagate Content today announce The Salisbury Poisonings: A Spy Next Door, a feature-length documentary examining the 2018 chemical weapon attack in the UK directed by BAFTA-winner Dan Vernon (The Changing Times of Ike White, Nailbomber: Manhunt). The film will world premiere at the prestigious CPH:DOX festival in Copenhagen this March.
The Salisbury Poisonings: A Spy Next Door examines the 2018 chemical weapon attack on British soil that sparked a global diplomatic crisis and exposed the hidden mechanics of modern state-sponsored espionage. It begins when former Russian intelligence officer Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia collapse on a park bench in the cathedral city of Salisbury. The film charts how this local incident exploded into an international showdown, revealing the escalating shadow conflict between Russia and the West.
A dramatic portrait of loyalty and betrayal – and a story that resonates amid ongoing global tensions – the documentary explores the collision of two men: Sergei Skripal and Vladimir Putin, the dictator determined to settle an old score.
Featuring rare, in-depth interviews with senior UK officials who led the response, including former Prime Minister Theresa May, Home Secretary Amber Rudd, and MI6 leadership, the film brings audiences inside a shadowy conflict normally kept from public view. The film also features testimony from first responders and the people of Salisbury, alongside exclusive scenes with investigative journalist Christo Grozev, whose groundbreaking investigative work was previously featured in the Academy Award® winning CNN Film Navalny.
Hamish Fergusson, Creative Director at PASSION PICTURES, said:
“At PASSION we’ve been wanting to tell the extraordinary story of Salisbury for years and now we have the opportunity to do so with unparalleled access and direct testimony from those who walked the corridors of power and worked in the shadows as events played out, bringing fresh perspective from the world these events so dramatically foreshadowed.”
Director Dan Vernon said:
“I see this film as not only an opportunity to tell the dramatic assassination attempt and investigation but also the intertwined fates of two men that reflect a Russia torn between its past and its darkest ambitions. One of the most compelling characters in the film for me, is Salisbury itself – a sleepy medieval town, once best known for its stunning cathedral, that was suddenly thrust into the heart of an international crisis.”
Amy Entelis, Executive Producer at CNN Films, said:
“The Salisbury Poisonings: A Spy Next Door is an incisive, deeply reported film that captures the far-reaching consequences of a single, extraordinary act. This is exactly the urgent, character-driven storytelling that defines CNN Films, bringing audiences inside pivotal moments that continue to shape our world.”
Howard T. Owens, Executive Producer and Co-CEO of Propagate, said:
“This film exposes the chilling reality of a state-sponsored attack carried out in plain sight, with consequences that continue to reverberate far beyond Salisbury. It delivers both the tension of a thriller and the insight of a definitive account, revealing the true stakes behind the headlines. Propagate is proud to help bring this powerful and globally significant story to audiences worldwide.”
The Salisbury Poisonings: A Spy Next Door is a PASSION PICTURES Production for CNN Films in association with Propagate Content and West Buttermilk. Directed by Dan Vernon, the film was developed by and is produced by Alex Brisland. Executive producers are Kari Lia, Hamish Ferguson, David Moulton and Andrew Ruhemann for Passion Pictures; Amy Entelis and Roxanna Sherwood for CNN Films; Ben Silverman and Howard T. Owens for Propagate Content; and James Packer for West Buttermilk.
The Salisbury Poisonings: A Spy Next Door is the fourth collaboration between PASSION PICTURES and CNN Films, having previously collaborated on the BAFTA and PGA Award-winning Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story (2024), Lady Boss: The Jackie Collins Story (2021), and Emmy® nominated Legion of Brothers (2017). CNN Films and Propagate recently partnered on the critically acclaimed I’m Chevy Chase and You’re Not, which premiered earlier this year and is available to stream now on CNN and HBO Max.
About PASSION PICTURES
PASSION PICTURES is a double Academy Award®-winning independent production studio with a global reputation for groundbreaking, thought-provoking and impactful documentaries. The studio recently won the BAFTA for Best Documentary with “Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story” and held worldwide number one spots with their series “Devil in the Family: The Fall of Ruby Franke”. PASSION has the ambition to cover new ground, discover stories that need to be told and tell them with the people at the heart of those stories. PASSION has produced over 90 documentaries including the iconic “One Day in September,” “Searching for Sugarman”, telling diverse stories including “Caroline Aherne: Queen of Comedy,” “Wham!” and “AP Dhillon: First of a Kind.” Passion’s Oscar® and BAFTA-winning work with partners including Netflix, National Geographic, Channel 4 and the BBC has been selected at Sundance, Telluride, Tribeca and festivals worldwide.
About CNN ORIGINALS
The CNN Originals group develops, produces and acquires original, long-form unscripted programming for CNN Worldwide. Amy Entelis, executive vice president of talent, CNN Originals and creative development, oversees the award-winning CNN Originals portfolio that includes the following premium content brands: CNN Original Series, CNN Films, CNN FlashDocs, and CNN Studios, an internal production studio which creates long-form programming for CNN’s global platforms. Since 2012, the team has overseen and executive produced more than 50 multi-part documentary series and 70 feature-length documentary films, earning more than 120 awards and 450 nominations for the cable network, including CNN Films’ first Academy Award® for Navalny. Acclaimed titles include the Peabody Award winning and 13-time Emmy® Award-winning Anthony Bourdain Parts Unknown; five time Emmy® nominee, Apollo 11, directed by Todd Douglas Miller; Eva Longoria: Searching for Spain and Emmy® nominated Eva Longoria: Searching for Mexico; the Emmy® Award-nominated “Decades Series”: The Sixties, The Seventies, The Eighties, The Nineties, The 2000s, and The 2010s, executive produced by Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman; I’m Chevy Chase and You’re Not directed by Emmy® winner Marina Zenovich; The Last Movie Stars, directed by Ethan Hawke about the lives and careers of actors and humanitarians Joanne Woodward and Paul Newman; Grammy® Award nominee Little Richard: I Am Everything, directed by Lisa Cortés; the Oscar®, BAFTA, PGA, and duPont-Columbia Award-winning, Navalny directed by Daniel Roher; The Many Lives of Martha Stewart; This is Life with Lisa Ling; Primetime Emmy® and duPont-Columbia Award-winning, RBG, directed by Betsy West and Julie Cohen; See It Loud: The History of Black Television, executive produced by LeBron James and Maverick Carter; Space Shuttle Columbia: The Final Flight in partnership with the BBC; the Producers Guild Award and three-time Emmy® Award-winning Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy; BAFTA nominee and Directors Guild Award winner, Three Identical Strangers, directed by Tim Wardle; and the five-time Emmy® Award-winning United Shades of America with W. Kamau Bell; and the five-time Emmy® Award-winning The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper. CNN Originals can be seen on CNN, to stream via a CNN All Access subscription, on the CNN Original Hub on HBO Max and discovery+, on the CNN Originals FAST channel, and with a pay TV subscription via CNN.com, CNN apps and cable operator platforms.
About PROPAGATE CONTENT
Propagate Content, founded in 2015 by Ben Silverman and Howard T. Owens, is a multi-genre, award-winning content powerhouse with offices in Los Angeles, New York, London, and Paris. Known for its dynamic range of hit shows, Propagate Content boasts successes such as the iconic Chopped franchise for the Food Network, FBC’s new hit Best Medicine, the Emmy-winning documentary In Her Hands for Netflix, the Emmy-nominated sports documentary series Untold for Netflix, the Annie-nominated Lulu for Apple+, the Nanette Burstein-directed official SBF documentary, and are currently in production on Season 2 of the breakout hit Stick starring Owen Wilson for Apple+. The company’s acclaimed documentaries division is a market leader with successes including I’m Chevy Chase and You’re Not for CNN, the Emmy-nominated Hillary for Hulu, LFG for HBO Max, and Anna Nicole Smith for Netflix. Propagate Content’s Fuego division produced the Latin music show La Firma for Netflix and the first Spanish-language comedy for Peacock, 90 Minutos. Our corporate portfolio includes industry leaders such as Electus (You vs. Wild, Running Wild with Bear Grylls, Jane the Virgin, Fashion Star), Big Breakfast (Adam Ruins Everything, Hot Date), Notional (Chopped franchise), and leading talent and digital management firms Artists First, Authentic, Select Management Group, and Parker Management cementing our status as a trailblazer in innovative and compelling content and talent representation across all platforms.