‘SAS: Rogue Heroes’ Renewed For 2nd Season By BBC
Stand by your beds! Steven Knight’s critically-acclaimed ‘SAS: Rogue Heroes‘ will be back for a second season the BBC has announced.
The announcement of the recommissioning of the series came via a specially inserted ‘TO BE CONTINUED’ end caption which had been added to the linear broadcast, which came to a close today, but was missing from the box-set version on iPlayer.
Based on Ben Macintyre’s best-selling book of the same name, season one followed David Stirling (Connor Swindells), Jock Lewes (Alfie Allen) and Paddy Mayne (Jack O’Connell) in a dramatised account of how the SAS was formed in the darkest days of World War Two, with fellow cast members including Dominic West, Sofia Boutella, Tom Glynn-Carney and Theo Barklem-Biggs.
The second series will show viewers what comes next for the SAS, following the dramatic turn of events in series one’s final episode. Further details will be announced in due course. Filming on series two of SAS Rogue Heroes, made for the BBC by Kudos (a Banijay UK company), will take place in 2023.
“After the roaring success of Rogue Heroes I’m delighted to be embarking on the next chapter of the story,” saif Steven Knight, SAS Rogue Heroes’ creator, writer, and executive producer. “Series two will take the SAS into mainland Europe and will take our heroes to the limits of their endurance.”
The drama has been been a huge hit with audiences and critics alike for the BBC, with episode one attracting 9.4 million viewers (28-day all screens figure). This makes ‘SAS Rogue Heroes’ the BBC’s third biggest drama launch of the year so far. The series has been available in full as a box set on BBC iPlayer since launch.
“We’ve been blown away by the reaction to the first series and are so pleased to be bringing our SAS Rogue Heroes back for more,” adds Karen Wilson, executive producer and Joint Managing Director of Kudos. “Steven’s incredible storytelling has captivated audiences and there is so much more story to tell – I can’t wait for audiences to see what’s in store.”
SAS Rogue Heroes series one was written and executive produced by Steven Knight, directed by Tom Shankland, and produced by Stephen Smallwood. Executive producers for Kudos were Karen Wilson, Martin Haines and Emma Kingsman-Lloyd, with Tommy Bulfin as executive producer for the BBC. SAS Rogue Heroes is distributed internationally by Banijay Rights.
“The fantastic response and huge iPlayer figures for SAS Rogue Heroes is a testament to Steven Knight’s incredible skill for turning our history into modern, must-see TV,” commented Lindsay Salt, Director of BBC Drama. “BBC viewers have really taken this series to their hearts, and we’re delighted to be working with Steven and Kudos to bring the Rogue Heroes’ exciting next chapter to life.”
‘SAS: Rogue Heroes‘ Season 1 can be found on BBC iPlayer right now.
1 comment
Once you get past the first two episodes the SAS Rogue Heroes Series 1 is dynamite and lives up to Ben Macintyre’s standards. SAS Rogue Heroes (or just Rogue Heroes outside the UK) is a must watch for war and espionage aficionados and let’s hope that later transforms into a must read that keeps you glued to your seat.
It is hardly surprising that SAS activities in Northern Ireland were a no go area and interesting that Malayan activities were also embargoed. I assume they related to the Malayan Emergency when Field Marshall Templer led the successful incursions against the insurgents from 1948 to 1953.
His ADC was one Alan Brooke Pemberton who later joined British Intelligence and founded ADT where many of Pemberton’s People worked.
They were as motley an array of mavericks as ever there was in MI5 and MI6. They included Brigadier Scrubber Stewart-Richardson of Mujaheddin notoriety, the cat burglar and silent killer Major Freddy Mace, Churchill’s bodyguard Roy Richards, SAS Colonel Peter Goss of Clockwork Orange fame (the plot to remove Harold Wilson) and much later Bill Fairclough (the protagonist in The Burlington Files espionage novels).
Most of Pemberton’s People named above had fought in WWII and also fought with him in Malaya or elsewhere after that. During the Malayan Emergency British Intelligence and covert units such as the Special Air Service worked closely together. In 1952 in Malaya 22 SAS Regiment was established and since then its home has been in Hereford in England. Malaya proved to be an exquisite training ground for all involved in the dark side of warfare. Even Philby tried to get in on the act to support the communist backed insurgents. For more see the news article dated 31 October 2022 in TheBurlingtonFiles.
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