Peacock Orders Cyber Thriller ‘The Undeclared War’ Starring Mark Rylance, Simon Pegg & More

Peacock has ordered a timely and provocative cyber-thriller from a seven-time BAFTA winner.

The streaming service will be the home of the six-part The Undeclared War, directed and co-written by Peter Kosminsky (Wolf Hall).

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The Playground and NBCUniversal International Studios co-production stars Academy Award winner Mark Rylance (Wolf Hall), Simon Pegg (Star Trek), Adrian Lester (Riviera), Alex Jennings (The Crown), Maisie Richardson-Sellers (Star Wars: The Force Awakens), and newcomer Hannah Khalique-Brown.

The thriller is “set in 2024 in the run up to a British general election” and “tracks a leading team of analysts buried in the heart of GCHQ, the UK’s version of the NSA, secretly working to ward off a cyber-attack on the country’s electoral system,” according to the logline.

Kosminsky and his team, while researching for three years, had unprecedented access to the cyber security industry on both sides of the Atlantic, which will result in a realistic picture of the threat faced by the Western world in the series.

“The series is based deep within the least-known arm of the UK’s intelligence infrastructure, GCHQ. The story we’re now able to tell casts an extraordinary, revelatory light on the hot, undeclared war taking place right now in the world’s newest and most invisible domain of conflict — cyber,” Kosminsky (below on the set of White Oleander) said in a statement. He is the director for all six episodes and the writer of four. (Declan Lawn, Adam Patterson, and Amelia Spencer also serve as writers.)

Warner Brothers/courtesy Everett Collection

“It’s such an honor to bring this powerhouse writing and producing team to Peacock for a thrilling drama that will keep viewers at the edge of their seat with this timely and realistic look into cyber security,” Lisa Katz, President, Scripted Content, NBCUniversal Television and Streaming, added.

Joining Kosminsky as executive producers are Colin Callender and Noëlette Buckley, both of whom worked with him on Wolf Hall.  Robert Jones serves as a producer.

The Undeclared War, TBA, Peacock