‘The Undeclared War’: Mark Rylance, Simon Pegg, Adrian Lester, Maisie Richardson-Sellers To Star In Cyber Thriller From Peter Kosminsky From Channel 4 & Peacock
In an interesting collaboration both on and off the screen, Channel 4 has teamed up with US streaming service Peacock for ‘The Undeclared War‘, a timely and provocative six-part cyber-thriller, directed and co-written by seven-time BAFTA-winner Peter Kosminsky (‘Wolf Hall’, ‘The Government Inspector’). Mark Rylance, Simon Pegg, Adrian Lester, Alex Jennings, Maisie Richardson-Sellers and newcomer Hannah Khalique-Brown are set to star.
Set in a post-pandemic 2024 in the run-up to a British general election, ‘The Undeclared War’ tracks a leading 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. During a three-year research process, Kosminsky and his team gained access to the cybersecurity 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.
Newcomer Hannah Khalique-Brown will play Saara Parvan, a young student doing work experience in the GCHQ Malware Department, with Simon Pegg (‘Star Trek’, ‘Mission Impossible’, ‘Shawn Of The Dead’) playing Danny Patrick, GCHQ’s Head of Operations, Academy Award-winner Mark Rylance (‘Wolf Hall’, ‘Bridge of Spies’) playing John Yeabsley, a Cold War veteran brought back from retirement by GCHQ to combat the heightened threat level, and Adrian Lester (‘Riviera’, ‘Hustle’) will play Andrew Makinde, the UK’s first Black Conservative Prime Minister.
Maisie Richardson-Sellers (‘Legends of Tomorrow’, ‘The Originals’) will play Kathy Freeman, an American cyber-analyst on attachment at GCHQ from the NSA. Alex Jennings (‘A Very English Scandal’, ‘The Crown’) will play David Neal, the Head of GCHQ,
Kosminsky will direct all six episodes and has written four. Other writers include Declan Lawn (‘The Salisbury Poisonings’), Adam Patterson (‘The Salisbury Poisonings’) and Amelia Spencer (‘Dead Birds’).
“The series is based deep within the least-known arm of the UK’s intelligence infrastructure, GCHQ,” comments Kosminsky. “The story we’re now able to tell casts an extraordinary, revelatory light on the hot, undeclared war taking place right now in the world’s newest and most invisible domain of conflict – cyber.”
The series reunites Kosminsky with Emmy Award-winning producer Colin Callender and his production company Playground, producers of the Golden Globe and BAFTA-winning mini-series ‘Wolf Hall’, which Kosminsky also directed, and the recent hit series ‘All Creatures Great and Small’. Kosminsky will Executive Produce alongside Callender (Wolf Hall, All Creatures Great and Small) and Noëlette Buckley (Wolf Hall, King Lear) for Playground. Robert Jones (Babylon) is the Producer.
“I’m delighted to be reuniting with Peter to bring his exhilarating vision to life,” adds producer Colin Callender. “The Undeclared War is a stunning cautionary tale that brings to life a world never seen before on television or in film. I’m equally thrilled to be partnering with NBCUniversal International Studios, Channel 4 and Peacock, all of whom have been fiercely supportive and dedicated to bringing this provocative, timely story to the screen.”
Playground will co-produce the series with NBCUniversal International Studios, a division of Universal Studio Group, for Channel 4 and Peacock. NBCUniversal Global Distribution will handle international sales.
‘The Undeclared War‘ will air on Channel 4 in the UK and Peacock in the USA.
