Nikita star Maggie Q is taking on another iconic character, this time from Chinese history. The Mission: Impossible III alumna is set to headline a limited series from Steven Jensen’s Independent Television Group, Mike Medavoy & Benjamin Anderson of Phoenix Pictures (Black Swan), and Fred Fuchs (Transporter). 

Titled Red Flag, the series is set in the early 1800s and centers on Ching Shih (Maggie Q), a beautiful young Chinese prostitute who goes on to become one of history’s most powerful pirates and head of the most successful crime syndicate in China. With over 100,000 sailors and 1500-plus vessels, Ching controlled the South China Sea while taking on the Imperial Chinese navy, the Portuguese navy, and the all-powerful British navy to eventually conquer them all. “It’s exciting to have the opportunity to share Ching Shih’s real-life story with audiences that are both familiar and unfamiliar with her prominent history,” Maggie Q said.