The Undeclared War is a British near-future thriller television mini-series, aired from 30 June 2022 on Channel 4. The series is written by Peter Kosminsky.[1][3][4]
| The Undeclared War | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Thriller[1] |
| Written by | Peter Kosminsky |
| Theme music composer | Debbie Wiseman[2] |
| Composer | Debbie Wiseman |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original languages |
|
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 6 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
|
| Producer | Robert Jones |
| Cinematography | Gavin Finney |
| Editor | David Blackmore |
| Production companies | Playground Entertainment Stonehenge Films Universal International Studios |
| Original release | |
| Network | Channel 4 Peacock |
| Release | 30 June – 4 August 2022 |
Plot
editThe series follows two main characters, Saara Parvin in the UK and Vadim Trusov in Russia, during a cyber and misinformation attack upon the UK.
Parvin has just started a one-year student-placement at GCHQ when a cyber-attack takes down some of the UK-internet and she joins the team examining the code of the malware. She is praised when she discovers a second attack within the code and a diligent search for a third attack doesn't find one.
Meanwhile, she feels alienated within GCHQ but makes friends with John Yeabsley who spends his lunch-time correcting the grammar of other people's blogs. He, in turn, says how alienating it is to not be able to talk about his work outside. We later find that Parvin hasn't told her family where she is working and her brother is appalled when she finally tells him.
Trusov had attended a class with Parvin in London and when he returns to Russia he starts working for Russia's twitter-misinformation campaign but when the UK crash the facility as reprisal for the malware he reluctantly joins the offensive malware department.
Russia escalates the attack and incites unrest in the UK by interfering with the reporting of a general election whereupon the UK remotely destroys some Russian arms dumps. Russia exaggerate the damage and uses it as a pretext for isolating GCHQ from NSA by leaking NSA software from a UK site.
Trusov eventually reveals that this was all planned by Russia and he deliberately and openly leaks all the Russian software to GCHQ as a gift that the UK can use to appeal for help from the USA just as the tit-for-tat reprisals become overtly physical. In the last scene, Parvin stands stricken with grief because Trusov has sacrificed himself.
Cast
edit- Hannah Khalique-Brown as Saara Parvin
- Simon Pegg as Danny Patrick
- Maisie Richardson-Sellers as Kathy Freeman (NSA employee detailed to GCHQ)
- Edward Holcroft as James Cox
- Adrian Lester as Prime Minister Andrew Makinde
- Alex Jennings as David Neal
- Mark Rylance as John Yeabsley
- Alfie Friedman as Gabriel Davies
- Kerry Godliman as Angie McMurray
- German Segal as Vadim Trusov
- Joss Porter as Phil
- Tinatin Dalakishvili as Marina Veselova
Episodes
edit| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date [5] | U.K. viewers (millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Episode 1" | Peter Kosminsky |
| 30 June 2022 | 2.13 |
| 2 | "Episode 2" | Peter Kosminsky |
| 7 July 2022 | 1.18 |
| 3 | "Episode 3" | Peter Kosminsky |
| 14 July 2022 | N/A |
| 4 | "Episode 4" | Peter Kosminsky |
| 21 July 2022 | N/A |
| 5 | "Episode 5" | Peter Kosminsky |
| 28 July 2022 | N/A |
| 6 | "Episode 6" | Peter Kosminsky |
| 4 August 2022 | N/A |
Release
editIn the United States, the series was released on Peacock.[1][6]
Reception
editCritical response
editOn the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 69% of 26 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.4/10.[7]
Controversy
editThe show's adverts were inspired by the panic-provoking 1938 radio adaption of The War of the Worlds, and subject to complaints to the UK broadcasting regulator Ofcom due to the adverts being broadcast as if they were live news broadcasts.[8]
Technical accuracy
editOllie Whitehouse [9] from the global cyber-security firm NCC Group consulted to the show. Developing the on-screen code whilst advising on and producing the mock-ups for the wider technical visuals.
Music
editThe music in series was assembled by Debbie Wiseman and most notably included in several places throughout the series a folk adaptation of the Cossack lament written by Nikolai Verevkin, Under the green willow (or Black Raven). The version in the show was provided by the London-based singers Evelyn Bates and Violet Verigo whose rendition is influenced by Pelageya's performance.[10]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c Echebiri, Makuochi (15 June 2022). "Peacock Sets Release Date for Mark Rylance-led Cyber Thriller, 'The Undeclared War'". Collider. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
- ^ "Debbie Wiseman Scoring Channel 4's & Peacock's 'The Undeclared War'". Film Music Reporter. 24 February 2022. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
- ^ "The Undeclared War coming soon to Channel 4 and All 4: first look image" (Press release). Channel 4. 15 June 2022. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
- ^ Morris, Lauren (15 June 2022). "The Undeclared War first look teases tense Simon Pegg and Mark Rylance series". RadioTimes.com. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
- ^ "The Undeclared War". Next Episode. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
- ^ Phillips, Michael (20 August 2022). "Review: Cyberterrorism thriller 'The Undeclared War' imagines a plausible 2024 premise — but it's not as gripping as it should be". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
- ^ "The Undeclared War: Season 1". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
- ^ Sherwin, Adam (12 June 2022). "Channel 4 faces Ofcom probe over 'emergency news' stunt to promote cyber attack drama The Undeclared War". inews.co.uk. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
- ^ "Ollie Whitehouse". IMDB.
- ^ "Who wrote the music for 'The Undeclared War' - and what's the beautiful Russian song it features?".