The Undeclared War

“It feels so long since the first series of The Undeclared War (Channel 4) that I completely forgot I had reviewed it. And when I watched the start of the second series I only had vague memories of watching the first (in 2022). Is that because it was forgettable television, or because there are so many cyber security/spy/misinformation dramas now that they all tend to meld into one big acronym and abbreviation-heavy soap opera? Or am I just getting old? Possibly a bit of all three. But it seems I rated the first series at the time, despite a shaky start and it being quite hard work to watch because it is so wilfully complicated. But it still has the same televisual problem, namely that it is never very exciting watching people in lanyards clack away on keyboards in windowless offices at GCHQ trying to crack codes and outwit Russia’s malware while wearing frowny faces.”
Carol Midgley, The Times

“Surprisingly recommissioned for a second season four years later, The Undeclared War returns without [Peter] Kosminsky as director and without the frisson of a near-future what-if: the original was set two years in the future, in 2024, but the new run carries the timeline straight on, so we’re now two years in the past. Big changes have been made, however, and new director Paul McGuigan is keen to let us know: the kinetic opening scene is shot in one take, all the way up to the first ad break. It follows the newly animated head of GCHQ operations, Danny Patrick (Simon Pegg), as he strides down corridors and bursts into conference rooms, raising his voice at people and dealing instantly with nuggets of bad news handed to him on scraps of paper by quivering underlings. It’s a thriller!”
Jack Seale, The Guardian

“I can’t give away any spoilers, but I can say that, having watched all six episodes, the series kicks into gear around halfway through as we learn the mole’s identity, backstory and motivation. This is engrossing in a way that the cyber stuff isn’t. “Nobody wakes up in the morning and says, ‘Today I’m going to betray my colleagues, my friends, my family, my country’,” Patrick’s security chief says: “Sometimes they’re believers, but usually they’ve been got to. Love, sex, blackmail… by the time we get to them they’re in the worst place in the world.” We are assured by the programme-makers that everything in the series is plausible. I have no idea if that’s true, but we never see any of the characters going to Greggs.”
Anita Singh, Telegraph

“If you’re the type of viewer who can’t imagine any job title more thrilling than that of a line manager in the Civil Service’s security branch, The Undeclared War will keep you on the edge of your seat. If not, you might want to go through a tax return to help pass the time.”
Christopher Stevens, Daily Mail