Florence Pugh revealed that nudity was banned by the American television network which co-produced the drama. Purgh explained, "America is quite scared of bums and nipples. We had to make sure there were no bums and nipples out. There was one scene we did where Alex [Skarsgård] and I were under the duvet and supposedly naked, and halfway through, I hear: 'CUT! CUT!' [Director Chan-wook Park] says: 'Florence, you've got to hide your nipples more!' I'm like: 'OK!' So we do it again, and again I hear: 'CUT! CUT! Florence! It looks like you're hiding your nipples.' I'm like: 'Arrrgh! Just let me get my breasts out, I don't care!' But America does care. I don't know why. My parents were very cool and made sure we watched lots of European films when we grew up, so nudity has never been a problem for me, as long as it's done beautifully."
At the end of a withering review of Die Libelle (1984), the Hollywood attempt to compress John le Carré's novel into a feature film, critic Vincent Canby suggested the material "could have been done successfully as a television mini-series".
Previously produced as a feature film, Die Libelle (1984), starring Diane Keaton and directed by George Roy Hill in 1984.
Vanessa Redgrave was rumored to have been the prototype for Charlie in the original novel but her personality was modeled after John le Carré's (his given name is David Cornwell) half-sister Charlotte Cornwell.
A "Little Drummer Boy" is someone who bangs the drum to rally the troops in a call for action. In this case it is meant figuratively rather than literally. Moreover, "Little Drummer Girl" is a slight variation of a theme where Charlie's actions would inspire others to take up arms.