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// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhat did "The Undeclared War" say to its rival? "You're undeclared loser.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Kathy Freeman)

The Undeclared War
Promotional image
GenreThriller[1]
Created byPeter Kosminsky
Colin Callender
Starring
Theme music composerDebbie Wiseman[2]
ComposerDebbie Wiseman
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languages
  • English
  • Russian
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes10
Production
Executive producers
ProducersRobert Jones
Caroline Levy
CinematographyGavin Finney
EditorDavid Blackmore
Production companiesPlayground Entertainment
Stonehenge Films
Universal International Studios
Original release
NetworkChannel 4
Release30 June 2022 (2022-06-30) –
present
NetworkPeacock
Release18 August 2022 (2022-08-18) –
present

The Undeclared War is a British near-future thriller television series for Channel 4 and Peacock. The series is created by Peter Kosminsky and Colin Callender. It follows two main characters, Saara Parvin in the UK and Vadim Trusov in Russia, during a cyber and misinformation attack upon the UK.[1][3][4] In the United Kingdom, the first series aired from 30 June 2022. Channel 4 announced on 12 February 2025 that a second series consisting of six episodes would be produced,[5] which premiered on 21 July 2026.[6]

Plot

[edit]

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. It is later shown that Parvin has not 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 cyber attacks some Russian arms companies. Russia exaggerate the damage and uses it as a pretext for isolating GCHQ from the 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, a second-year computer science student
  • Simon Pegg as Danny Patrick, GCHQ Head of Operations
  • Maisie Richardson-Sellers as Kathy Freeman, an NSA analyst detailed to GCHQ (series 1)
  • Edward Holcroft as James Cox, a teacher and Saara's live-in boyfriend (series 1)
  • Adrian Lester as Prime Minister Andrew Makinde (series 1; guest series 2)
  • Alex Jennings as David Neal, Director of GCHQ
  • Mark Rylance as John Yeabsley, a longtime employee of GCHQ (series 1)
  • Alfie Friedman as Gabriel Davies, a GCHQ mathematician and code breaker (series 1)
  • Kerry Godliman as Angie McMurray, the head of Russia Global News (RGN) in the UK (series 1)
  • German Segal as Vadim Trusov, a Russian programmer, and the son of a wealthy and influential Russian arms dealer, from whom Vadim is estranged
  • Joss Porter as Phil, a GCHQ analyst
  • Tinatin Dalakishvili as Marina Veselova, a Russian journalist and single mother (series 1)
  • Tom McKay as Max Kelly
  • Ed Stoppard as Richard Marston, the newly elevated Foreign Secretary and a constant thorn in Danny’s side
  • Siân Brooke as Barbara Napier, Danny’s wife, ex-MI6 and now an analyst at GCHQ (series 2)
  • Danny Sapani as Charlie Francis, GCHQ’s Head of Security and Danny’s childhood friend. (series 2)
  • Chloe Pirrie as Lt Colonel Roz Cavendish, seconded by Marston to GCHQ in the newly created role of Director of Rapid Response, a move which Danny interprets as a threat to his authority (series 2)
  • Jason Tobin as Nicky Chan (series 2)
  • Gavin Spokes as Alex Sheldon (series 2)

Series overview

[edit]
SeriesEpisodesOriginally released
First releasedLast released
1630 June 2022 (2022-06-30)4 August 2022 (2022-08-04)
2[6]621 July 2026 (2026-07-21)5 August 2026 (2026-08-05)

Episodes

[edit]

Series 1 (2022)

[edit]
No.
overall		No. in
series		TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal release date [7]US airdate [8]
11"Episode 1"Peter KosminskyPeter Kosminsky30 June 2022 (2022-06-30)18 August 2022
22"Episode 2"Peter KosminskyDeclan Lawn, Adam Patterson & Amelia Spencer7 July 2022 (2022-07-07)18 August 2022
33"Episode 3"Peter KosminskyDeclan Lawn, Adam Patterson & Amelia Spencer14 July 2022 (2022-07-14)18 August 2022
44"Episode 4"Peter KosminskyDeclan Lawn, Adam Patterson & Amelia Spencer21 July 2022 (2022-07-21)18 August 2022
55"Episode 5"Peter KosminskyDeclan Lawn, Adam Patterson & Amelia Spencer28 July 2022 (2022-07-28)18 August 2022
66"Episode 6"Peter KosminskyDeclan Lawn, Adam Patterson & Amelia Spencer4 August 2022 (2022-08-04)18 August 2022

Series 2 (2026)

[edit]
No.
overall		No. in
series		TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal release date [6]US airdate [9]
71"Episode 1"Paul McGuiganColin Teevan21 July 2026 (2026-07-21)27 August 2026
82"Episode 2"Paul McGuiganColin Teevan21 July 2026 (2026-07-21)27 August 2026
93"Episode 3"Paul McGuiganAmy Ng & Colin Teevan21 July 2026 (2026-07-21)27 August 2026
104"Episode 4"Paul McGuiganEmily Marcuson & Colin Teevan21 July 2026 (2026-07-21)27 August 2026
115"Episode 5"Paul McGuiganRonald Walters21 July 2026 (2026-07-21)27 August 2026
126"Episode 6"Paul McGuiganColin Teevan21 July 2026 (2026-07-21)27 August 2026

Music

[edit]

The 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]

Release

[edit]

In the United Kingdom, the first series aired from 30 June 2022 on Channel 4.[3] The second series in full premiered on 21 July 2026.[6]

In the United States, the first series was released on Peacock on 18 August 2022.[1][11] The second series is due to premiere on 27 August 2026.[9]

Reception

[edit]

Critical response

[edit]

The first series has a 68% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 25 reviews, with an average rating of 5.3/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "While The Undeclared War isn't as convincingly brainy as it purports itself to be, it satisfies as a well-acted and visually dynamic cybercrime thriller."[12] On Metacritic, the first series has a weighted score of 59 out of 100 based on 15 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[13]

Controversy

[edit]

The show's June 2022 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.[14] The few complainants had focused on the fact that the Prime Minister himself had appeared on screen – seemingly unable to discern that it was black actor Adrian Lester, in a country which has never had a black PM, rather than actual white-skinned PM Boris Johnson, then in his third year in office – which had made them panic about a pending attack.[14] Ofcom simply acknowledged that the complaints had been received, and no further comments were ever issued by the organisation.

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. 1 2 3 Echebiri, Makuochi (15 June 2022). "Peacock Sets Release Date for Mark Rylance-led Cyber Thriller, 'The Undeclared War'". Collider. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  2. ↑ "Debbie Wiseman Scoring Channel 4's & Peacock's 'The Undeclared War'". Film Music Reporter. 24 February 2022. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
  3. 1 2 "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.
  4. ↑ Morris, Lauren (15 June 2022). "The Undeclared War first look teases tense Simon Pegg and Mark Rylance series". RadioTimes.com. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  5. ↑ "Channel 4 announces second series of cyber-thriller the Undeclared War: Simon Pegg and Hannah Khalique-Brown return and Sian Brooke joins the cast; first look images released" (Press release). Channel 4. 12 February 2025. Retrieved 4 October 2025.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Cunnane, Charlotte (21 July 2026). "'The Undeclared War' Season 2 Release Schedule: How To Watch And When New Episodes Air On Channel 4". Elle. Retrieved 21 July 2026.
  7. ↑ "The Undeclared War Season 1 Episodes Guide and Summaries". Next Episode. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
  8. ↑ "Shows A-Z - The Undecleared War on Peacock". The Futon Critic. Retrieved 21 July 2026.
  9. 1 2 "Peacock Showcases Powerhouse Slate at Today's NBCUniversal Upfront". NBCUniversal (Press release). 11 May 2026. Retrieved 11 May 2026 – via Peacock.
  10. ↑ "Who wrote the music for 'The Undeclared War' - and what's the beautiful Russian song it features?". 13 July 2022.
  11. ↑ 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.
  12. ↑ "The Undeclared War: Season 1". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 24 July 2026.
  13. ↑ "The Undeclared War: Season 1". Metacritic. Retrieved 24 July 2026.
  14. 1 2 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.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Undeclared_War&oldid=1366895079#Cast"