The Undeclared War Series 2 – The DVDfever Preview – Channel 4 – Simon Pegg

The Undeclared War Series 2 follows on from 2022’s first series, which I couldn’t finish because it was way too silly. Have they improved, this time?

Well, to get us up to speed, the opener has some recaps of that first series – helpful, even for those who DID watch it, since this comes four years later.

Simon Pegg still feels quite miscast as GCHQ Director of Operations, Danny Patrick (same for the Mission Impossible series), and spends his day having quiet, tight-mouthed conversations with various other characters, each of which have their names and titles spread across the screen as they open their gobs for the first time, including Michaela Jones, director of Cybersecurity Operations NSA (Alana Maria – The Commuter).

---

---

For want of a plot, one staff member has been kidnapped, while there’s talk of an external chap having released a ton of private Russian data, while sometimes, they see threats from Russia attacking the UK, yet they’re really fake, and Global Thermonuclear War isn’t actually happening. Or might it soon?

Is it a mole, or just a bug in the machine? It’s certainly very wordy, and does make you question whether you have to pay 100% attention to all of it, or whether they’ll just fill in all the blanks later on, again and again.

Add in lots of desk bods being handed out individual documentaries on paper in binders – even though these days, you’d be sent them as a PDF file to avoid endless paper – and these are people who we never see again. Maybe they were also kidnapped? Or said to their boss, “I’m just going on a break” and never returned?

It’s not exactly 24, is it? And it’s just all the desk-based stuff without anyone in the field. Similarly, staff also work completely around the clock, because they never seem to get tired or go for lunch.

---

---

Again, everyone leaves their PCs on when they go home, rather than switch the monitors off, so they just let them glare away all night. Similarly, one manager is asked about the ‘hot desk’ policy, who states everyone logs off from their machines, even if they just go for break. In reality, you wouldn’t log off at that point, but you would lock the machine, as you will use that one for the whole day.

I sometimes get moaned at why I lock my keyboard away at night in the office… because if someone sits there the next day, I don’t want some pissy-hander using it!!!!

Still, back to the amusing stuff, and employees’ terminals can be watched in real time, in order for senior colleagues to jump to conclusions. And you wouldn’t type content that contravenes your work detail… ON A WORK COMPUTER!!!

I’m so in two minds whether to just laugh at this, or throw my TV out of the window. You certainly can’t take it seriously.

And then there’s the a Vangelis-esque soundtrack theme that comes in from time to time…

Hang on, what was the plot again?

Thanks to our friends at Channel 4 for the screener prior to release.

The Undeclared War Series 2 begins tonight on Channel 4 at 9pm, continues the following night, and then is on each Tues/Weds for the subsequent two weeks. Once broadcast, all episodes will be on All 4.

It’s not yet available to pre-order on Blu-ray or DVD, but when it is, it will be listed on the New DVD, Blu-ray, 3D and 4K releases UK page.

---

Cert:
Running time: 45 minutes per episode (6 episodes)
Release date: July 21st 2026
Channel: Channel 4
Format: 2.39:1

Directors: Paul McGuigan
Producer: Caroline Levy
Writer/Creator: Colin Teevan
Music: Craig Armstrong, Debbie Wiseman

Cast:
Danny Patrick: Simon Pegg
Richard Marston: Ed Stoppard
David Neal: Alex Jennings
Andrew Makinde: Adrian Lester
Max: Tom McKay
Sally: Julie Barclay
Michaela Jones: Alana Maria
Saara Parvin: Hannah Khalique-Bryan

---

---