Sopranos Creator Is Working On A New Series On Project Mkultra, The Real Story That Inspired Stranger Things

David Chase, the creator of The Sopranos, is working on a limited series at HBO.
This new limited series will be based on the real-life human experiments that were conducted as part of the Project MKUltra.
David Chase and Nicole Lambert will be the executive producers of Project: MKUltra.

David Chase, the brilliant mind who gave us The Sopranos, has confirmed that he is returning with yet another amazing series. His upcoming limited series will be based on the illegal and inhumane CIA experiments that were conducted during the Cold War. As confirmed by Deadline , David Chase will adapt the events from John Lisle’s Project Mind Control: Sidney Gottlieb, the CIA, and the Tragedy of MKUltra.

Project: MKUltra Will Focus on CIA’s Illegal Mind-altering Experiments

Image Credit: Instagram (via strangerthingstv)

For the unacquainted, MKUltra was the illegal human experiments that the CIA conducted at the height of the Cold War. These experiments were run from 1953 to 1973; yes, for twenty long years, several humans were subjected to torture. Sidney Gottlieb was the person who supervised and headed these experiments on humans. The hope behind MKUltra was to create a mind-altering drug that could help control the minds of these subjects. In fact, LSD, the psychedelic drug that we see in current times, is the result of MKUltra.

MKUltra is a dark chapter of the Cold War that stayed under the rubble for a long time. While many people know about such experiments, there are several who aren’t aware of what the CIA did in the shadows. So, David Chase, along with Nicole Lambert, intends to bring this chapter to life in the form of a limited series at HBO. David and Nicole will serve as the executive producers of the upcoming series, while Nicole will also be the Head of Production and Development.

Chase’s Sopranos is a critically acclaimed TV series with an amazing cast that won not one but seven Emmys. So, it’s understandable why the fans are excited for Project: MKUltra. It’s going to be yet another outstanding drama series that will go down in history.

Also, you should know that this is not the first time that MKUltra has been mentioned in a TV series. Interestingly, we have seen Project MKUltra being referenced in Stranger Things. In fact, these real-life experiments were the inspiration behind the entire story of Stranger Things .

Sopranos Creator Is Working on a New Series on Project MKUltra, the Real Story That Inspired Stranger Things - 3

Aparna is a Senior Entertainment Writer at Beebom with 4 years of experience in the industry. Specializing in Jujutsu Kaisen and everything horror, she brings in-depth insights and a passion for storytelling to her coverage. Recently, she has interviewed Abby Trott, the voice actress behind Demon Slayer’s Nezuko and Dandadan’s Momo. She has also interviewed Adam McArthur, the one to voice Yuji Itadori in JJK, delivering exclusive content for fans. Previously, she contributed her expertise to some notable publications including Sportskeeda, Dexerto, and Forever Geek, honing her craft in entertainment journalism.

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Stranger Things is over; yeah, it’s really over. The final episode of Season 5 has just arrived on Netflix, and boy, it was surely an exciting journey. And now that it is over, fans may find it hard to move on from the brilliance of Hawkins and the Upside Down. Well, if you’re in the same boat of sadness, here are some other TV shows like Stranger Things you should watch now.

1. Dark

Image Credit: Wiedemann & Berg Television (via Amazon)

Release Date: December 1, 2017
Director: Baran bo Odar
Cast: Jonas Gerzabek, Louis Hofmann, Andreas Pietschmann, Dietrich Hollinderbäumer, Ella Lee, Maja Schöne, Lena Urzendowsky, Angela Winkler
Seasons/Episodes: 3/26
IMDb/Rotten Ratings: 8.7/95%

Dark might seem different from Stranger Things on the surface, but if you dig deeper, you might discover why we chose it for this list. It is a small town mystery, with missing children driving the plot. On the other hand, like the Upside Down mirrors Hawkins in Dark, you will see different realities existing in layers.

Dark revolves around four interconnected families, who are connected to each other across multiple generations. After a child goes missing, a hidden passage is discovered beneath the caves of the town of Winden. The series shows that a generation’s past sins are never buried; they are simply passed on to the next.

2. Fringe

Image Credit: Warner Bros. Television (via Amazon)

Release Date: September 9, 2008
Director: J. J. Abrams, Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci
Cast: Anna Torv, Joshua Jackson, John Noble, Lance Reddick, Kirk Acevedo, Blair Brown, Jasika Nicole, Mark Valley, Seth Gabel
Seasons/Episodes: 5/100
IMDb/Rotten Ratings: 8.4/91%

Now, you might love seeing Dustin talking about Parallel Universes, time, and every other sci-fi mumbo-jumbo. Well, you’ll see that all of that is discussed in Fringe. This show revolves around unexplained crimes linked to advanced science. In the show, they call it the “fringe science.”

Overall, Fringe is a TV show like Stranger Things that will surprise with its complexity, and of course, with its several alternate dimensions that ultimately threaten humanity. Sure, you don’t get a band of kids fighting off the inter-dimensional threat, but you still get amazing characters like Olivia Dunham, Walter Bishop, and his son Peter.

3. The Umbrella Academy

Image Credit: Dark Horse Entertainment (via Amazon)

Release Date: February 15, 2019
Director: Jeremy Webb, Paco Cabezas, Peter Hoar
Cast: Elliot Page, Tom Hopper, David Castañeda, Emmy Raver-Lampman, Robert Sheehan, Aidan Gallagher, Mary J. Blige, Cameron Britton, John Magaro
Seasons/Episodes: 4/36
IMDb/Rotten Ratings: 7.8/78%

The Umbrella Academy may not be as popular as Stranger Things, but believe me, it’s an awesome show that features some amazing band of characters. In Stranger Things, we have one or two superhero kids, and in The Umbrella Academy, every character has some sort of superpower.

The film centers around the Hargreeves siblings, who reunite after the death of their adoptive father. Each one of them has some ability, and one way or another, the siblings are dragged into tackling issues like alternate timelines and the end of the world. Of course, The Umbrella Academy might’ve disappointed many of us fans in the end, but if you can digest an underwhelming end, it’s for sure an amazing show to watch.

4. Alice In Borderland

Image Credit: Robot Communications (via Netflix)

Release Date: February 15, 2019
Director: Shinsuke Sato
Cast: Kento Yamazaki, Tao Tsuchiya, Nijirō Murakami, Ayaka Miyoshi, Aya Asahina, Dori Sakurada, Sho Aoyagi, Riisa Naka
Seasons/Episodes: 3/22
IMDb/Rotten Ratings: 7.8/78%

Honestly, if you have Netflix and you still haven’t watched Alice in Borderland, then you are seriously missing out on one of the best TV shows like Stranger Things. Alice in Borderland is a Japanese show that centers on a group of people stuck in what we’ll call an alternate dimension. These people have to take part in a variety of deadly games to make it out alive.

Yeah, in a way, Alice in Borderland is a mix of Squid Game and Stranger Things. But of course, don’t expect to see any flesh-eating monsters in this one. Still, the mystery around Borderland and the people running this place is as great as the mystery of Upside Down .

5. Archive 81

Image Credit: Atomic Monster (via Netflix)

Release Date: January 14, 2022
Director: Shinsuke Sato
Cast: Mamoudou Athie, Dina Shihabi, Evan Jonigkeit, Julia Chan, Ariana Neal, Matt McGorry, Martin Donovan
Seasons/Episodes: 1/8
IMDb/Rotten Ratings: 7.3/87%

Compared to Stranger Things, Archive 81 is a slow-burning horror that leans more towards a serious side. The show is basically Dan Turner, who is trying to restore the videotapes recorded by Melody Pendras. The events recorded in these videotapes lead Turner on a mystery hunt where he comes across threats like alternate dimensions, occult rituals, and a cult.

Sure, Archive 81 may take some time to grab your interest, but once it does, you stay in it until you see it to the very end. It not only entertains you with a variety of characters, but it also questions you on every stage by making you question what’s real or not.