SummaryOn the first day of work at GCHQ, 21-year-old intern Saara (Hannah Khalique-Brown) sees the beginnings of a cyber war between Russia and the UK in the British thriller series created by Peter Kosminsky. [Premiered originally in the UK on Channel 4 on 30 Jun 2022 and in the US on Peacock on 18 Aug 2022]
The Undeclared War
Season 1 Premiere:
Jun 30, 2022
Metascore
Mixed or Average
58
User score
Mixed or Average
4.4
My Score
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All Seasons
Top Cast
Metascore
Mixed or Average
58
32% Positive
6 Reviews
6 Reviews
58% Mixed
11 Reviews
11 Reviews
11% Negative
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
Aug 16, 2022
80
This isn't an actor's series, really—aside from Mr. Pegg, the cast is a delivery system for the plotline. But Mr. Rylance brings a bit of the blood to a smartly clinical, cynical, and all-too-believable story.
Jul 11, 2022
80
Broad in scope and rarely letting go of its in-built tension, The Undeclared War feels like a fresh take on political drama.
Jul 21, 2026
60
In sanding down some of the edges, the show has lost some of its urgency – along with its sense of dread about the state of the world. .... But it now feels like a drama that appreciates that no catastrophe is as compelling as one driven by intimate, human stories.
Aug 25, 2022
60
More of an intellectual thriller that tries to get pulses racing by watching code upload. [29 Aug - 11 Sep 2022, p.7]
Aug 16, 2022
50
When The Undeclared War ratchets up the tension of that possibility, it’s relatively gripping. It’s too bad, then, that the rest of it is content to shuffle along at a snail’s pace, taking us down detours and refusing to engage more deeply with its political concerns.
Jul 11, 2022
40
The central mysteries of The Undeclared War – who’s behind the cyberattack, and what are their intentions – may be enough to carry you through. The series is at its best when it’s ratcheting up the tension. Just don’t expect it to convince when it comes to anything deeper.
Aug 16, 2022
33
An experience that is both meandering and mundane. For every scene that feels a bit sharper, there are multiple that are painfully dull. For all the many contemporary connections it lays out, its superficial story remains largely detached and directionless.
User score
Mixed or Average
4.4
33% Positive
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
33% Mixed
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
33% Negative
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
Jul 11, 2026
2
This is drivel. A product of staggering ineptitude. The series repeatedly introduces dramatic personal storylines that have little impact on the central conflict. They consume screen time without developing the characters or advancing the plot. The main character has zero agency. After the first episode, where she catches something her coworkers (unfathomably) did not, she has no actual influence on the plot. The plot is happening to her instead of through her. The show pretends to be about cybersecurity, but repeatedly sacrifices technical plausibility for dramatic convenience. Major plot developments rely on fictional capabilities and unrealistic depictions of programming that ultimately break the suspension of disbelief. The acting does little to salvage the writing. Aside from the two Russian lead characters, most of the cast deliver forgettable performances, and the protagonist is particularly jarring.
Production Company:
- Playground Entertainment
- Stonehenge Films
- Universal International Studios
- Channel 4
Initial Release Date:Jun 30, 2022
Number of seasons:2 Seasons
Rating:TV-MA
