''SS-GB'' is a 2017 British drama series produced for the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

and based on the 1978 novel of the same name by

Len Deighton Leonard Cyril Deighton ( ; born 18 February 1929) is a British author. His publications have included cookery books and works on history, but he is best known for his spy novels. After completing his national service in the Royal Air Force, D ...

. It is set in a 1941 alternative timeline in which the United Kingdom is occupied by

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Background

In the alternative world, it is November 1941, nine months after a successful German invasion of Britain.

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

has been executed, and King

George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until Death and state funeral of George VI, his death in 1952 ...

is a prisoner who has not been seen in public for some time. His queen, Elizabeth, and their daughters Elizabeth and

Margaret Margaret is a feminine given name, which means "pearl". It is of Latin origin, via Ancient Greek and ultimately from Iranian languages, Old Iranian. It has been an English language, English name since the 11th century, and remained popular thro ...

have escaped. A British

government in exile A government-in-exile (GiE) is a political group that claims to be the legitimate government of a sovereign state or semi-sovereign state, but is unable to exercise legal power and instead resides in a foreign country. Governments in exile usu ...

, led by Rear-Admiral Conolly, exists but is not recognised by the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

has also maintained friendly relations with the Soviet Union, and Soviet Foreign Minister Molotov has just flown in to oversee the removal of the body of

Karl Marx Karl Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, political theorist, economist, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. He is best-known for the 1848 pamphlet '' The Communist Manifesto'' (written with Friedrich Engels) ...

to the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. Douglas Archer, a

Scotland Yard Scotland Yard (officially New Scotland Yard) is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, the territorial police force responsible for policing Greater London's London boroughs, 32 boroughs. Its name derives from the location of the original ...

murder squad Detective Superintendent with a stellar reputation, is working under a German superior from the ''

Schutzstaffel The ''Schutzstaffel'' (; ; SS; also stylised with SS runes as ''ᛋᛋ'') was a major paramilitary organisation under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany, and later throughout German-occupied Europe during World War II. It beg ...

'''s (SS) Security Service, the security force of the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor ...

. Though his wife was killed by a German bombing raid in

the Blitz The Blitz (English: "flash") was a Nazi Germany, German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom, for eight months, from 7 September 1940 to 11 May 1941, during the Second World War. Towards the end of the Battle of Britain in 1940, a co ...

, Archer avoids involvement in political crimes and views resistance to the Nazis as futile. A routine murder investigation becomes political when it appears to have been perpetrated by agents of the British Resistance. An aggressive SS officer arrives and takes control of the investigation, which is of interest to the SS because the victim may have possessed data from the German Army's programme to produce an

atomic bomb A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission or atomic bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions (thermonuclear weapon), producing a nuclear expl ...

. Archer also learns that his secretary and lover, Sylvia Manning, is a member of the British Resistance, and he is reluctantly drawn into a conspiracy against the Germans.

Production

In November 2014, it was announced that the BBC had commissioned writers

Neal Purvis and Robert Wade Neal Purvis (born 9 September 1961) and Robert Wade (born 1962) are British screenwriters who co-wrote seven James Bond films, from 1999's ''The World Is Not Enough'' to 2021's '' No Time to Die'', as well as other works. Early lives Purvis's ...

to adapt

's novel '' SS-GB''. In August 2015, it was announced that Sam Riley was in talks to star in the lead role of Detective Superintendent Douglas Archer of Scotland Yard. Riley's casting was confirmed in late September 2015. Production began in October 2015 and ended in January 2016. The series was produced by Sid Gentle Films Ltd. It was broadcast on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...

in five one-hour episodes from 19 February 2017 and 19 March 2017. The series filmed various scenes for episodes 1 to 4 at the

Chatham Historic Dockyard The Historic Dockyard Chatham is a maritime museum on part of the site of the former Royal Navy Dockyard, royal/naval dockyard at Chatham, Medway, Chatham in Kent, South East England. Chatham Dockyard covered 400 acres (1.6 km2) and was o ...

in Kent. The location was used as a double for London streets and the mortuary that is featured in episode 1.

Cast

* Sam Riley as Detective Superintendent Douglas Archer, a Scotland Yard detective in German-occupied London *

Kate Bosworth Katherine Anne Bosworth (born January 2, 1983) is an American actress. Following minor roles in the films ''The Horse Whisperer (film), The Horse Whisperer'' (1998) and ''Remember the Titans'' (2000), she had a leading role in movie ''Blue Crush' ...

as Barbara Barga, an American reporter *

Rainer Bock Rainer Bock (; born 31 July 1954) is a German actor and voice actor. To English-speaking audiences, he is best known for portraying Werner Ziegler in the fourth season of the AMC television series ''Better Call Saul''. Early life and educatio ...

as ''

Gruppenführer __NOTOC__ ''Gruppenführer'' (, ) was an early paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party (NSDAP), first created in 1925 as a senior rank of the SA. Since then, the term ''Gruppenführer'' is also used for leaders of groups/teams of the police, fire d ...

'' Fritz Kellermann, the SS/Gestapo officer supervising the police force *

Aneurin Barnard Aneurin Barnard (; ; born 8 May 1987) is a Welsh actor. He is known for playing Davey in '' Hunky Dory'', Claude in '' The Truth About Emanuel'', Bobby Willis in '' Cilla'', Tim in '' Thirteen'', King Richard III in '' The White Queen'', Will ...

as Police Constable Jimmy Dunn, a junior policeman working with Archer *

Christina Cole Christina Cole (born 8 May 1982) is an English actress known for portraying Cassie Hughes in the Sky One supernatural television series '' Hex''. Early life Born in London, Cole is the eldest of three siblings. She has a sister, Cassandra, and ...

as Joyce Sheenan, Archer's neighbour who cares for his son and whose own husband is a prisoner-of-war *

Maeve Dermody Maeve Dermody ( ; born 2 November 1988) is a UK-based Australian actress. After a film appearance at 5 years old, her adult acting career has included work in Australian and British television, theatre, short films and movies. Early life She ...

as Sylvia Manning, Archer's secretary and lover *

Lars Eidinger Lars Eidinger (; born ) is a German actor and rapper, based in Berlin. He has appeared in German and international film and television productions, including the 2020 film '' My Little Sister'', the German series '' Babylon Berlin'' (2017–2022) ...

as ''

Standartenführer __NOTOC__ ''Standartenführer'' (short: ''Staf'', , ) was a Nazi Party (NSDAP) paramilitary rank that was used in several NSDAP organizations, such as the SA, SS, NSKK and the NSFK. First founded as a title in 1925, in 1928 it became one of ...

'' Oskar Huth, an SS officer newly arrived in London *

James Cosmo James Ronald Gordon Copeland (born 1947), known professionally as James Cosmo, is a Scottish actor. Known for his character work, he has played supporting roles in films such as '' Highlander'' (1986), ''Braveheart'' (1995), '' Trainspotting' ...

as Detective Sergeant Harry Woods, Archer's friend and co-worker *

Jason Flemyng Jason Iain Flemyng''Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916–2005.''; at ancestry.com (born 25 September 1966) is an English actor. He is known for his work with British filmmakers Guy Ritchie and Matthew Vaughn appearing in ...

as Colonel George Mayhew, a British aristocrat, former army officer and a leader of the British Resistance *

James Northcote James Northcote (22 October 1746 – 13 July 1831) was a British Painting, painter. He became a member of the Royal Academy in 1787, and a member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Royal Institute of the Netherlands in 1809 ...

as Dr John Spode, an atomic physicist working with the British Resistance *

Ronald Zehrfeld Ronald Zehrfeld (; born 15 January 1977) is a German actor. His movie roles include '' Barbara'' (2012), ''Inbetween Worlds'' (2014), and '' Phoenix'' (2014). Career Zehrfeld made his film debut in 2005 with a lead role in Dominik Graf's ''Th ...

as Captain Hans Hesse * Sam Kronis as

Heinrich Himmler Heinrich Luitpold Himmler (; 7 October 1900 – 23 May 1945) was a German Nazism, Nazi politician and military leader who was the 4th of the (Protection Squadron; SS), a leading member of the Nazi Party, and one of the most powerful p ...

* Kit Connor as Bob Sheenan

Episodes

Reception

''SS-GB'' received highly-positive reviews, with ''

The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are often names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * The Telegraph (Adelaide), ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaid ...

'' giving the series 4 out of 5 and saying that the "alt-history thriller deserves a follow-up series". The main criticisms were against the sound quality and the reportedly-inaudible dialogue for some viewers in the first episode, which the BBC offered to "look at" for future episodes. The first episode achieved good ratings, with over 8.5 million viewers tuning in. However, as the series went on, ratings gradually fell, with only 3.5 million watching the final episode. The review by ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' awarded three of five stars based on a viewing of the first two episodes. It commented that the series "holds up handsomely on the big screen, favouring film noir style over pulp content" but added that "it would be helpful to see more of the minutiae of London life under the Nazis, to get some fresh air after being confined to the corridors of power". The series was released on DVD and BD on 10 July 2018; approximately a year later, the

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

site showed a Critic's Consensus of 89% favourable and commented, "SS-GB is a convincingly wrought slice of hypothetical history, drenched in noir style and dense with moral quandaries".

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:SS-GB (Tv Series) 2017 British television series debuts 2017 British television series endings 2010s British drama television series Alternate history television series Television series about Nazis Television series about Nazism Television series about World War II alternate histories Television series by BBC Studios 2010s British television miniseries Dystopian television series BBC television dramas BBC high definition shows Television shows based on works by Len Deighton Television shows based on British novels British English-language television shows Television shows set in London Fictional invasions of England BBC television miniseries Television series set in 1941