In The Undeclared War, cyberterrorism is real and a serious threat to humanity. In 2024, the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) attempts to fend off cyberattacks in the lead-up to the British general election. After experiencing a shutdown, a young student in the malware department named Saara Parvan, played by Hannah Khalique-Brown, uncovers a second attack that was set to go off the next day.
However, this appears to only be the tip of the iceberg of what’s to come. In this exclusive clip from The Undeclared War, Danny Patrick, played by Mission: Impossible and Star Trek vet Simon Pegg, explains to the Prime Minister how Parvan and his team helped stop the second attack that would’ve taken out the entire internet, leading to “catastrophic results.” However, the celebration ends abruptly when they realize there could be other secrets, like information for future attacks.
According to the cast, the intense script captured their attention from the start. “I’m bad at reading scripts, and I’m bad at reading feature scripts,” said Pegg. “This was six hours, and I read it in a day.” The Undeclared War promises to be an exciting thriller that creator Peter Kosminsky describes as a “cautionary tale.” In addition to Khalique-Brown and Pegg, Maisie Richardson-Sellers, Adrian Lester, Alex Jennings, Edward Holcroft, and Oscar winner Mark Rylance round out the ensemble.
Lester, who plays the Prime Minister, shared that Kaminsky has “constructed a world that should leave us slightly uneasy when we watch it.” Pegg did not predict that this event will necessarily happen, but he wouldn’t bet against it. “It is not far from reality. In fact, it feels, to me, like reality. This is something that could, and maybe will happen,” said Pegg.
The Undeclared War will premiere on Peacock on Thursday, August 18, with all six episodes dropping at once.
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