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The acclaimed creator is set for a comeback to television. The Sopranos visionary will write MKUltra, a mini-series focusing on the Central Intelligence Agency's covert cold war-era psychological manipulation project for the premium network.

Exploring the Project

This new venture, initially revealed by industry sources, will be Chase's initial TV project since the era-defining HBO mob drama. This intense narrative, inspired by the author's book "Project Mind Control", focuses on the notorious scientist, known as the "dark magician" who oversaw Project MKUltra, the CIA's clandestine psychedelic program that administered hallucinogenic drugs, hypnotic techniques, and torture on willing and unwilling subjects from the early 1950s until it was halted in the early 1970s.

The Experiments

The scientist oversaw these tests in the interest of national security, to counter the alleged danger of Soviet and Chinese mind control methods. He's also known as the inadvertent father of the psychedelic movement, as he introduced the substance to the agency in the mid-20th century, in an attempt to explore the possibilities of manipulating the human mind. Certain participants were volunteers from the agency, military officers and college students who had awareness of the purpose of the experiments. Others, however, were psychiatric inmates, prisoners, substance abusers, and prostitutes forced or deceived into drug dosages that in certain instances left long-term harm.

Creator's Background

Chase won multiple Emmy Awards for the Sopranos, a complex drama about a New Jersey crime syndicate widely credited with starting the peak era of high-quality TV. After the series, featuring the late James Gandolfini, concluded in 2007, Chase has primarily concentrated 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 starring Michael Gandolfini, that debuted in 2021.

TV Comeback

His return to television follows he stated the era of sophisticated TV dramas in part defined by the Sopranos to be a “blip” that is now over. In an interview with a major publication for the show’s 25th anniversary, the septuagenarian asserted that he had been told to "simplify" his scripts in discussions with studio heads and advised against producing television that was too complex.

Chase linked that perspective in part to his encounter trying to make a series with the screenwriter Hannah Fidell about a high-end sex worker who ends up in witness protection. In numerous meetings with executives, he noted, they were told “the unfortunate truth” that it was not straightforward enough. “Who is this all really for?” he remarked. "Presumably, the investors?"

“We seem to be confused and audiences can’t keep their minds on things, so we can’t make anything that makes too much sense, takes our attention and requires an audience to focus,” he added. “And as for streaming executives? It is getting worse. We’re going back to where we were.”