The Undeclared War - General Discussion

[tessaray]

In 2024, a leading team of analysts are secretly working to ward off a series of cyber-attacks on the UK in the run-up to a general election. When a routine stress test of internet infrastructure goes awry, a 21-year-old intern suddenly finds herself operating on the invisible frontier of high-stakes cyber warfare.

Premieres August 18 on Peacock.

 

[AnimeMania]

The Undeclared War is a 6 Episode TV Series that will air on Peacock on August 18 and has already aired in the UK on Channel 4 in June of 2022.

Adrian Lester, Hannah Khalique-Brown, Mark Rylance, and Simon Pegg

The Undeclared War takes place in the post-pandemic world of 2024 against the backdrop of an upcoming British general election involving the UK’s first Black Conservative prime minister (Lester). It tracks a leading team of analysts at the heart of the UK’s NSA-style spy agency GCHQ as they attempt to ward off a cyber-attack on the country’s electoral system when a routine stress test of internet infrastructure goes awry. 

In a thrilling cat and mouse game, Saara and the team at GCHQ must try to stay one step ahead of their opponents. The series is a result of meticulous research by BAFTA award-winning creator Peter Kosminsky.

Peter Kosminsky has been researching the series for three years, gaining access to intelligence experts in both the UK and U.S. The series is fertile ground in an age when elections have scarcely been more vulnerable to cyber warfare, be it a direct attack on an electoral system or disinformation campaigns.

Simon Pegg as Danny Patrick, GCHQ’s head of operations.

Mark Rylance as John Yeabsley, a GCHQ old hand, who is brought back into the fold to support former colleagues in combatting the heightened threat level. 

Adrian Lester as Andrew Makinde, the UK’s first Black Conservative prime minister. 

Alex Jennings as David Neal, head of GCHQ.

Maisie Richardson-Sellers as Kathy Freeman, an American cyber-analyst on attachment at GCHQ from the NSA.

Hannah Khalique-Brown as Saara Parvin, a young student doing work experience in the GCHQ Malware Department.

[tessaray]

It's a great cast.

[AnimeMania]

The Undeclared War      August 18        Peacock 

Episodes 1-6       Titles and Descriptions

Spoiler

S01.E01: Episode 1

Saara wins an internship at GCHQ, but when the UK's power goes down, she finds herself on the frontier of high stakes cyber warfare.
A young intern's first day at GCHQ coincides with a major cyberattack on the UK. To win her superiors' trust, she breaks ranks to analyse the malware code without permission and uncovers a greater threat missed by others.
A new intern at GCHQ breaks ranks to investigate a major malware attack on the UK.

S01.E02: Episode 2  

Saara finds a suspicious line of encrypted text within the virus's code and unravels a dubious invitation. Is she getting closer to the truth or falling into a trap?
Saara befriends John, a veteran GCHQ staffer, and seeks help from Gabriel in decrypting a message in the virus. Danny signs off on Saara attending a cyber conference with US agent Kathy, aware that Russian intelligence will also be there.
Saara and Kathy decrypt an anonymous invitation to a conference attended by Russian intelligence.

S01.E03: Episode 3 

Saara's classmate Vadim returns to St Petersburg. He reluctantly takes a covert job and soon becomes the victim of his own success as his allegiances are put to the test, leading him to a risky stunt.
Vadim returns to Russia where his allegiances are tested, leading him to a risky stunt.
Vadim takes a covert job to assert his independence, and allegiances are soon put to the test.

S01.E04: Episode 4  

Saara cannot betray her source but Kathy has information that will force her hand.
With Saara in a difficult position, a revelationi forces her hand. Marina moves to London.

S01.E05: Episode 5 

Amid civil unrest, Saara is devastated to learn the identity of a mole inside GCHQ.
Signs of irregularity in the UK general election result prompt political unrest, and the nation's relationship with its allies is threatened. Saara makes a devastating discovery.

S01.E06: Episode 6 

Saara and Vadim join forces to uncover the hidden code and try to prevent a war.
As the true extent of Russia's interference with the UK becomes clear, Saara and her former classmate join forces. Can they uncover the hidden code and prevent a war?

[pasdetrois]

I discovered this series late Friday night and have been binging. I love Rylance and am appreciating the other performances. Pegg is all grown up since his zombie-chasing days.

The series is so timely, even as we hear about US courts being packed with extremist judges. I think everyone is wondering how Russia and cyber manipulations will affect the mid-term elections. I am learning a lot about some of the cyber tactics that the US and Russia deploy, especially bots, which one hears thrown about all of the time and one does not really understand. 😁

I could watch more than six episodes, but appreciate the economy of story telling so that events move along.

The portrayal of the unfriendly geniuses doing critical, secret stuff is note perfect. During my career I've encountered some of these folks and the combination of pressure and genius wears them down to robots essentially. A lot of them flame out early. And many of them do not like "girls in the tree house."

[tessaray]

I need to bump this up in my to-watch queue. 

[HerkyJerky]

My Scottish friend has been raving about this and I finally watched this yesterday and I was not disappointed! GREAT SHOW!

[ichbin]

This show was totally off my radar until last week.  I don't know why it didn't get more publicity that it is worthy of.  I saw that word is out there will be another series and I hope that's true.  This is truly a modern horror story and not beyond the realm of possibility.

Edited August 9 by ichbin

[HerkyJerky]

@ichbinI watched this when it came out two years ago and I LOVED it and I forgot all about it. Because you brought it up, I watched it again, this time with my mom, and we both loved it (me even more than the first time).