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[[Category:Television shows set in Kent]] |
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[[Category:Television shows set in Kent]] |
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[[Category:Works about the Serbian Mafia]] |
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[[Category:Works about the Serbian Mafia]] |
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[[Category:Sky television dramas]] |
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[[Category:Sky UK television dramas]] |
British TV series
COBRA |
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Genre | Political drama |
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Created by | Ben Richards |
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Written by | Ben Richards |
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Starring | |
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Country of origin | United Kingdom |
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Original language | English |
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No. of series | 3 |
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No. of episodes | 18 |
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Executive producers | - Charlie Pattinson
- Willow Grylls
- Elaine Pyke
- Ben Richards
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Producer | Joe Donaldson |
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Editor | Matt Sandford |
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Running time | 41–44 minutes |
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Production companies | |
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Network | |
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Release | 17 January 2020 (2020-01-17) – present |
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COBRA is a British political thriller television series that premiered on 17 January 2020 on Sky One.[1] The six-episode first series is written by Ben Richards and stars Robert Carlyle and Victoria Hamilton.
The series premiered on PBS in the United States on 4 October 2020.[1][2][3] In February 2020, it was renewed for a second series titled Cyberwar,[4] which was broadcast in the UK in late 2021 and the US in 2022. A third instalment, titled Rebellion, was confirmed in May 2022 and began airing on 12 October 2023.
The title of the series refers to Cabinet Office Briefing Room A, the location in Whitehall where British Prime Ministers often hold important emergency meetings.
Plot
Series 1
A massive solar flare strikes Europe, blowing the electric grid and navigational systems, leaving much of Great Britain without power and creating social and political chaos. As a result, Prime Minister Robert Sutherland must decide how and where to distribute a limited number of relief generators to provide power. Meanwhile, his daughter Ellie's best friend dies after consuming cocaine and fentanyl Ellie provided. In order to avoid scandal and potentially prison, Ellie is encouraged to lie by Press Secretary Peter Mott and her mother, Rachel Sutherland, to say the dead friend brought the drugs.
The outage continues in Northumberland, leading to a vigilante force blockading access to the region, hijacking trucks of fuel and water, and calling for an overthrow of the government. Anna Marshall, Sutherland's Chief of Staff, is unexpectedly visited by an old flame from her days as a war correspondent and finds the passion still exists. Upon finding that he could be associated with a Bosnian mobster, Marshall confides her liaison to Eleanor James, Head of the Joint Intelligence Committee, whose loyalties lie more with the Home Secretary than with the Prime Minister. Meanwhile, Home Secretary Archie Glover-Morgan works to unseat Sutherland by exploiting every possible angle, including the death of Ellie's friend and Marshall's indiscretion, to embarrass and discredit him.
Sutherland uses the British Army to break the Northumberland blockade by any means necessary, including the controversial decision to authorise deadly force, and a young photojournalist is killed. Condemning the handling of the crisis, Glover-Morgan orchestrates a vote of no confidence, then tries to bribe Sutherland into manoeuvring staff into his favour in return for his support during the vote. But after delivering on a promise and successfully restoring power to a beleaguered hospital, series 1 ends with Sutherland calling for a general election, confident he will win.
Series 2: Cyberwar
An explosion on a sunken World War II ammunition ship devastates the north Kent coastline, causing hundreds of deaths including that of the area's local MP. Rescue attempts are blocked by a cyber attack that brings mobile communications down, which the government believes may have been orchestrated by Russia in retaliation for Britain's arrest of two people believed to be responsible for the killing of a Ukrainian oligarch that also killed a local rugby coach. As more cyber attacks continue, targeting Border Security at Dover and the Kent water supply, Sutherland and his government (with a narrow majority of nine votes) must find out who is responsible whilst dealing with chaos and panic in the streets. Sutherland must also deal with political threats from both a reinvigorated Labour Party and Glover-Morgan, whom he reluctantly returns the whip to in order to bolster the Tory majority.
Series 3: Rebellion
The Prime Minister, Robert Sutherland discovers his daughter is involved with the environmental protest group ‘Planet Resistance’ who are disrupting the construction of the Metro Ultraline fast-speed railway network by occupying a tunnel under the small village of Godley Common. Meanwhile, with an upcoming visit from Shirasia royals, a (fictional) Gulf State, several cabinet ministers are trying to control dissent regarding this energy and military ally's arrival.
Cast and characters
Main
Supporting
- Marisa Abela (series 1) and Holly Cattle (series 3) as Ellie Sutherland, the daughter of Robert and Rachel
- Steven Cree as Stuart Collier (series 1), the Chief Constable of Tyneside Police
- Angus Wright as General Rodney Pickering (series 1), Chief of Defence Staff
- Ellie Kendrick as Stephanie Lodge (series 1), a Civil Contingencies Secretariat officer
- Emmanuel Imani as James Odubajo (series 1), a Civil Contingencies Secretariat officer
- Charlie Carrick as Scott Minett (series 1), a former soldier and leader of the People's Justice Movement
- Con O'Neill as Harry Rowntree (series 1), the communist leader of the Lorry Drivers Union
- Alexandre Willaume as Edin Tosumbegovic (series 1), a Bosnian War survivor, hitman for a Serbian mobster and Marshall's lover
- Richard Dormer as Fraser Walker (series 1–2), Director of the Civil Contingencies Secretariat
- Joshua Hogan as Barney Marshall (series 1–2), Anna's son
- Grace Hogg-Robinson as Tess Marshall (series 1–2), Anna's daughter
- Mark Bazeley as Sam Marshall (series 1), Anna's husband
- Richard Pepple as Joseph Obasi (series 2–3), the new Home Secretary and Glover-Morgan's successor
- Alexa Davies as Audrey Hemmings (series 2–3), a senior Civil Contingencies Secretariat officer
- Karan Gill as Hari Misra (series 2), an investigative journalist and podcaster for the website Morbid Symptoms
- Andrew Buchan as Chris Edwards (series 2–3), the Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition
- Gregg Chilingirian as Nate Stevens (series 3), a senior member of Planet Resistance and Pollys' partner
- Jane Horrocks as Victoria Dalton (series 3), the Defence Secretary
- Ben Crompton as Henry Wicks (series 3), leader of the radical environmentalist group Planet Resistance
- Anthony Flanagan as Dan Goddard (series 3), a former special forces soldier and Polly Wright's estranged father
- Emily Fairn as Polly Wright (series 3), a member of Planet Resistance and Nate's partner
- Cavan Clerkin as Neil Millar (series 3), Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police
- Geoffrey McGivern as Gerald Kendrick (series 3), CEO of government military contractor Condor Aerotech
- Rina Mahoney as Zelda Gere (series 3), CEO of private security company Rhombus Strategic Services
- Yasmin Al-Khudhairi as Yadira Al-Bilal (series 3), the progressive Princess of the Kingdom of Shirasia
- Khalid Laith as Samir Al-Bilal (series 3), the Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Shirasia
Production
In May 2022, it was confirmed Sky had ordered a six-part third instalment of COBRA titled COBRA: Rebellion.[5] Toby Finlay would be lead writer, joined by James Wood and Rachel Anthony in the writers' room.[6]
In November 2022, it was announced Jane Horrocks had joined the cast of COBRA for its third series as Defence Secretary Victoria Dalton.[7]
The series has been filmed in Merseyside[8] Yorkshire and London. Interior scenes based within 10 Downing Street are shot in Capesthorne Hall, Cheshire. Scenes set in Kent (implied within the programme to be Sheerness) in Series 2 were filmed in New Brighton, Wirral[9] and Fleetwood, Lancashire.[10] Principal photography for the third series was underway as of October 2022 in the Cheshire village of Lower Peover.[11] Crew were reported in Halewood in January 2023.[12] London's Cenotaph was recreated in Liverpool City Centre later that month.[13]
Episodes
Series 1 (2020)
Series 2 (2021)
Critical reception
The Telegraph gave the first episode 3/5 stars and called it a gripping thriller, yet "implausible and clichéd".[16] The Independent gave the series 2/5 stars, calling it a "(C)heap-looking series (which) creaks and clunks along", and the best parts are the breaks for commercials.[17] Australia's TV Tonight said it "can’t quite settle on whether it's a political thriller or a disaster mini-series. I’m reminded of Irwin Allen films, or even National Geographic’s American Blackout, with more satisfying results."[18]
See also
References
- ^ a b Powell, Emma. "London is on fire as residents face death in first look at Sky One drama Cobra". Radio Times. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
- ^ "Cobra". New Pictures. Retrieved 27 January 2020.
- ^ White, Peter (14 March 2019). "'Once Upon A Time's Robert Carlyle & 'The Crown's Victoria Hamilton To Star In British Political Thriller 'Cobra' For Sky". Deadline. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
- ^ Jeffery, Morgan (12 February 2020). "Cobra season 2 is coming to Sky One". Radio Times. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
- ^ Creamer, Jon (17 May 2022). "Sky reveals new scripted orders for 2022". Televisual. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
- ^ "First look image released for the third series of high-stakes Sky Original drama COBRA". Sky Group. 8 February 2023. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
- ^ Whittock, Jesse (2 November 2022). "'Cobra': Jane Horrocks Joining Season 3 Of Sky Thriller Drama Series". Deadline. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
- ^ Fitzpatrick, Katie (27 February 2021). "Behind the scenes on the new Sky drama COBRA filmed in Old Trafford". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
- ^ Manning, Craig (15 October 2021). "Second series of Sky drama 'Cobra' starts tonight". Wirral Globe. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
- ^ Ellwood, Greg (15 October 2021). "TV 'COBRA: CYBERWAR' Season 2 Episode 1 Recap". Entertainment Focus. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
- ^ "TV crews film Sky drama Cobra in village near Knutsford". Knutsford & Wilmslow Guardian. 28 October 2022. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
- ^ Rugg, Aaliyah (20 January 2023). "Sky COBRA filming crews spotted in Halewood". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
- ^ Nicholson, Abigail (24 January 2023). "London monument recreated on city street for Sky series". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
- ^ a b "COBRA – Production Website". New Pictures. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
- ^ a b "COBRA – Listings". The Futon Critic. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
- ^ Hogan, Michael (17 January 2020). "COBRA, episode 1 review: implausible and clichéd, but this propulsive thriller gripped". The Telegraph. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
- ^ Cumming, Ed (17 January 2020). "Cobra review: Cheap-looking series creaks and clunks along | 2 stars out of 5". The Independent. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
- ^ Knox, David (9 November 2020). "Cobra". TV Tonight. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
External links
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