BBC One has out a series order to SAS: Rogue Heroes, a six episode drama exploring how the world’s most renowned and ruthless Special Forces unit, the SAS, came to exist.
SAS: Rogue Heroes will tell the story behind the revolutionary thinking which led to the creation of a new form of combat and warfare in the deserts of North Africa. Celebrating the glory, action and camaraderie at the heart of this story, the series will delve into the psychology of the flawed, reckless but astonishingly brave group of maverick officers and men who formed the SAS in the darkest days of WW2.
Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight is penning the series, which is based on the book of the same name by Ben Macintyre. “This will be a secret history telling the story of exceptional soldiers who decided battles and won wars only to then disappear back into the shadows”, Knight said. “We will shine a light on remarkable true events informed by the people who shaped them.” Kudos are producing. The executive producers are Karen Wilson, Martin Haines and Emma Kingsman-Lloyd for Kudos and Tommy Bulfin for BBC One. The BBC said casting would be announced at a later date. Endemol Shine International will handle global sales.
“It is an honour to be working once again with the great Steve Knight. SAS: Rogue Heroes will lift the lid on the origins of one of Britain’s most iconic institutions and explore the characters, courage and flaws of the men involved with all of the honesty and swagger we have come to expect from Steve”, said the BBC’s Controller of Drama Piers Wenger, who commissioned SAS: Rogue Heroes alongside the BBC’s Director of Content Charlotte Moore.
While Karen Wilson, joint Managing Director of Kudos, added: “The fact that this project has moved so swiftly from development to commission is testament to the power of this story and Steven’s unique ability to draw the extraordinary, complex men at its heart. Imagine them being drawn with the same colour, character and compassion as the iconic characters which feature across Steven’s work and you get a sense of the huge potential of this project.”
