Sam Heughan Boards Geopolitical Thriller Embassy, Joining Anna Kendrick and J.K. Simmons

Sam Heughan is lining up his next high-stakes project, and it’s a big tonal shift from the kilts and time travel of Outlander. The actor is officially joining Anna Kendrick and J.K. Simmons in Embassy, a new geopolitical action-thriller series that’s already sounding like a pressure-cooker drama built around impossible choices and explosive consequences.

The six-episode series comes from AGC Television, Ascendant Fox, and Turbine Studios, with Heughan set to play Connor Wright, a battle-hardened British SAS soldier. Connor also happens to be the ex-fiancé of Kendrick’s character, a connection that becomes crucial when everything starts to go sideways. The show centers on Layla (Kendrick), a sharp and resourceful American diplomat stationed in London. When armed mercenaries storm the U.S. Embassy, Layla is forced into a brutal dilemma: protect the U.S. Ambassador (played by Simmons) or follow direct orders to extract a high-value asset. With time running out, she has to trust her instincts—and reluctantly rely on Connor—during the tense hours before extraction.

Behind the camera, Embassy boasts some serious genre credentials. Christian Alvart (Pandorum, Case 39) will direct two episodes, while John Strickland will helm the remaining installments. Alvart is no stranger to dark, adrenaline-fueled storytelling, having also created Netflix’s Dogs of Berlin and the recent German hit Oderbruch, which bodes well for the show’s gritty, grounded tone.

For Heughan, Embassy arrives at a major turning point in his career. Outlander, the Starz historical fantasy series that made him a global star, is set to wrap with its eighth and final season this March. Since breaking out on the show, Heughan has steadily expanded his range, appearing in romantic drama Love Again opposite Priyanka Chopra and Céline Dion, action-comedy The Spy Who Dumped Me with Mila Kunis and Kate McKinnon, and even tackling Shakespeare on stage as Macbeth at the Royal Shakespeare Company.

The series is created and written by Rom Lotan, who also executive produces alongside Strickland, Ascendant Fox’s Hester Ruoff, Bart Ruspoli and Matt Mitchell, Turbine’s Daniel Hetzer, Jakob Neuhausser, Justin Thomson and David Tanner, and AGC’s Stuart Ford, Lourdes Diaz and Miguel A. Palos Jr. Production is set to kick off next month in London and Cologne.

While Embassy doesn’t yet have a broadcaster or streaming home attached, its independently financed status hasn’t slowed momentum. With a strong cast, an urgent premise, and a creative team experienced in suspense-driven storytelling, this is one project that already feels primed to make waves once it lands