Is The Undeclared War woke?
TV Show · 2022
The Undeclared War has a wokeness score of 5/10, which we rate as Socially Conscious. Clear woke themes are present and intentional, but feel balanced and organic to the story. The message supports the plot and characters rather than dominating them.
Key points
- Protagonist Saara Parvin questions if hired for diversity as young Muslim woman of color in male-dominated GCHQ.
- Black Conservative PM Adrian Lester and lesbian NSA analyst add prominent diverse representation and identity themes.
- Story critiques traditional 'pale male' institutions while highlighting competence of marginalized characters.
Wokeness analysis
The Undeclared War (2022) centers on a cyber-attack thriller set in 2024 at GCHQ, following intern Saara Parvin as she helps defend against Russian malware and misinformation campaigns ahead of a UK election. The core plot emphasizes technical realism, geopolitical tension, and institutional incompetence without heavy-handed lectures. However, noticeable woke elements appear through deliberate casting and character dynamics. Saara, portrayed by Hannah Khalique-Brown as a young British Muslim woman of South Asian descent, is highlighted as an outsider in the traditionally 'male, pale and stale' GCHQ environment. She explicitly voices concerns about being a 'positive discrimination hire' due to her 'brown face,' framing her hiring and competence as tied to diversity metrics. The inclusion of an African-American lesbian NSA liaison (Maisie Richardson-Sellers) adds further identity layers, with hints of a bisexual relationship subplot for Saara. The Prime Minister is cast as Black Conservative Adrian Lester, whose character ousts Boris Johnson and embodies political satire. These choices integrate progressive representation into the narrative organically but draw attention to race, gender, and inclusion in a way that feels intentional rather than incidental. Political commentary critiques right-leaning government figures as incompetent and vengeful, contrasting with expert (often diverse) analysts. While not dominating the espionage story, these elements create noticeable social commentary on diversity in intelligence agencies and institutional bias, balancing plot service with subtle ideological signaling. Conservative viewers may see this as typical modern BBC/Channel 4 casting prioritizing identity over pure merit storytelling.
Plot
The Undeclared War is a British cyber-thriller series created by Peter Kosminsky. Set in 2024, it follows GCHQ intern Saara Parvin, a computer science student, who joins the agency on the day of a major Russian cyber-attack on UK infrastructure. As she uncovers layers of malware and misinformation operations targeting an upcoming general election, Saara works alongside veterans like Danny Patrick (Simon Pegg) to prevent escalation. Parallel storylines involve a Russian programmer and political intrigue with a Black Conservative Prime Minister. The series explores modern warfare through hacking, deepfakes, and social media manipulation amid institutional failures.
Analyzed by AI on July 23, 2026