Ian Fleming Helped Create A TV Show About A Super Spy With James Bond-Style Adventures

Ian Fleming may be best known as the creator of pop culture's most famous super spy, James Bond. What fans might not realize is that Fleming also contributed to the birth of another fictional espionage hero. Although he didn't play an active role in the series, Fleming actually came up with the name and general idea for the character Napoleon Solo, one of the two secret agents whose adventures served as the basis for TV's "The Man from U.N.C.L.E."

In fact, according to the book "Storytellers to the Nation: A History of American Television Writing", "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." producer Norman Felton may have originally wanted to develop a series with Fleming. However, when Fleming was unable to take on such a project, Felton approached another writer to use Fleming's ideas as a jumping-off point. The result was a series that, although never quite as popular as the Bond franchise, nevertheless achieved major success in the realm of spy fiction. It also gave us the 2015 reboot movie, which (aside from a fan-made AI trailer) may be the closest we'll ever get to seeing Henry Cavill take on the role of the world's suavest assassin.

Sam Rolfe is the TV writer most directly responsible for creating the characters and premise of "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." The project, however, wasn't his idea. Per "Storytellers to the Nation," Felton approached him after meeting with Fleming to discuss ideas for a spy-centric TV series. Fleming apparently came up with the idea for a series about the adventures of a character named Napoleon Solo, who would share clear similarities to James Bond.

Fleming decided not to expand on the concept for Felton. At the time, Fleming was in the process of selling the film rights to his "James Bond" novels. He didn't want to interfere with the sale by working on a project that was too similar. Thus, Felton approached Rolfe, who developed the idea into 30 pages of material. Those pages expanded to, as Rolfe puts it, "like eighty pages," including key scenes and "springboards" for "The Man From U.N.C.L.E." stories.

Few associate "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." with Ian Fleming today. That said, it's worth noting that Felton still attached Fleming's name to the original series proposal when he submitted it to NBC. 

These days, Bond fans can catch the spy's major movies on Netflix. Fans of either franchise may also be happy to know that espionage films taking place in the '60s continue to attract audiences. Whether it's James Bond, Napoleon Solo, or a new hero inspired by them, there's just something about cool and calm Cold War secret agents that will always keep us entertained.