Channel 4 And Peacock Drama "The Undeclared War" Will Portray The Dark And Disturbing World Of Cyber Security

The award-winning team behind Wolf Hall reunite for cyber warfare drama.

Channel 4 and Peacock have announced the brand new six-part thriller series The Undeclared War, which will explore the timely and provocative world of high stakes cyber security.

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The show is directed and co-written by seven-time BAFTA-winner Peter Kosminsky (Wolf Hall, The Government Inspector).

Set in a post-pandemic 2024 in the run up to a British general election, the series follows a team of analysts buried in the heart of GCHQ (the UK’s version of the NSA) secretly working to ward off a cyber-attack on the country’s electoral system.

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The show is based deep within the least-known arm of the UK’s intelligence service, GCHQ. During a three-year research process, Peter and his team gained access to the cyber security industry on both sides of the Atlantic, allowing a realistic picture of the threat faced by the Western world to be depicted in the drama.

The cast will feature Academy Award-winning British actor and Wolf Hall star, Mark Rylance, as well as Simon Pegg, Adrian Lester, Alex Jennings, Maisie Richardson-Seller, and newcomer Hannah Khalique-Brown.

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Hannah will play Saara Parvan, a young student doing work experience in the GCHQ malware department. Simon will be playing Danny Patrick, GCHQ’s Head of Operations; Mark will star as John Yeabsley, a Cold War veteran brought back from retirement by GCHQ to combat the heightened threat level; and Adrian Lester will play Andrew Makinde, the UK’s first Black Conservative Prime Minister.

Rounding off the main cast are Maisie Richardson-Sellers as Kathy Freeman, an American cyber-analyst on attachment at GCHQ from the NSA, and Alex Jennings as David Neal, the Head of GCHQ.

Fans of Line of Duty, Mr. Robot, and The Blacklist will likely love The Undeclared War. According to series creator, Peter, the show will cast an "extraordinary, revelatory light on the war taking place right now in the world's newest and most invisible domain of conflict – cyber".

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Caroline Hollick, Head of Channel 4 Drama, also added that "it’s a privilege to have this ground-breaking thriller on Channel 4 – it’s a truly momentous series which will change the way we see the world around us."

The Undeclared War will air on Channel 4 in the UK and on US streaming service Peacock.