Credit: Book Cover / John R Maxim

Buck up, bibliophiles, because Netflix and AMC Studios have finally announced Bannerman, a spy drama drawn from John R Maxim’s five-book series.

Just when you thought the streamer couldn’t get enough of thriller book adaptations, here we have another one we need to keep an eye on.

The first novel of the series, The Bannerman Solution, was published in 1989, so AMC and Netflix are reviving a spy series that has waited more than three decades for a screen adaptation.

And wait till you hear the premise, because that is where things become delicious. Our protagonist, Paul Bannerman, is a former covert operative who has convinced a group of assassins to pack in the spy game and start a normal life in suburban Connecticut. A normal life for assassins sounds like an oxymoron, and so, of course, circumstances never stay calm.

Escaping that world was never going to be the end of it, so we have old enemies in the scenario, while the government is always out there, keeping its beady eye on them. So much for retirement.

Then former NYPD officer Raymond Lesko starts sniffing around, and things get awkward. Not only because he starts asking questions, but also because he is the father of Bannerman’s girlfriend, which is uncomfortable enough before he starts suspecting Paul is not the harmless guy he claims to be. Can you imagine the family dinner conversations?

Craig Silverstein, known for Nikita and Turn: Washington’s Spies, is serving as showrunner, writing and executive producing the series, alongside Shane Black, the Lethal Weapon writer and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang filmmaker, who co-wrote the premiere and will direct the first two episodes.

The release plan has a twist, though. Bannerman will premiere on AMC in the US and Canada, then come to Netflix 90 days after the season finale.

Casting and a release date remain under wraps, which is typical Netflix, because when has the OTT ever given us everything all at once?