Channel 4 has announced details of new six-part drama The Undeclared War from screenwriter Peter Kosminsky.
The series - a joint commission for C4 and US streamer Peacock - is set in 2024, after the coronavirus pandemic and in the run-up to the next UK general election, and follows a team working at government intelligence agency GCHQ as they attempt to thwart interference in the election.
The cast is led by Mark Rylance, who will play a Cold War veteran brought back into the fold, Adrian Lester, who will star as the UK's first black prime minister, and Simon Pegg as GCHQ's head of operations.
Other cast members include Maisie Richardson-Sellers as an American NSA analyst on secondment at GCHQ, Alex Jennings as the head of GCHQ and newcomer Hannah Khalique-Brown as a student doing work experience at the organisation.
"The series is based deep within the least-known arm of the UK's intelligence infrastructure, GCHQ," said Kosminsky, who spent three years researching the project and will direct all six episodes.
"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."
C4 drama head Caroline Hollick said: "Peter Kosminsky is a titan of British television drama, and it's a privilege to have this ground-breaking thriller on Channel 4 – it's a truly momentous series which will change the way we see the world around us.
"I'm also delighted to have such stellar names in the cast, as well as the chance to break brand-new on-screen talent."
The show is expected to be filmed this year although Channel 4 has yet to indicate when it will be broadcast.
Neil Wilkes
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