Strike Back is a British, American action spy-drama television series based on novelist and former Special Air Service soldier Chris Ryan’s 2007 novel of the same name. The series follows the activities of Section 20, a covert branch of the British Secret Intelligence Service responsible for several high-risk, high-priority missions worldwide. The first six-part series premiered on Sky One on May 5, 2010. Following the commissioning of a second series, it was announced that Cinemax would produce. The first episode of the second series, titled Project Dawn in the United Kingdom, premiered on Cinemax on August 12, 2011.
About the TV Series:
Strike Back: Vengeance, a ten-part third series, premiered on Cinemax on August 17, 2012. Strike Back: Shadow Warfare, a fourth series commissioned by Cinemax and Sky on 3 October 2012, began airing on Cinemax on 9 August 2013. Strike Back: Legacy, a ten-episode fifth series, aired in 2015, with the final episode airing on July 29, and this was to be the show’s last series at the time. In 2016, Cinemax and Sky announced that the show would be revived for a sixth season, Strike Back: Retribution, which premiered on Sky One in the UK on 31 October 2017, and Cinemax in the US on 2 February 2018.
Beginning of the Plot:
Following the aftermath of a rescue mission on the invasion in 2003, where two fellow soldiers were killed, apparently by a boy, Porter failed to kill, Porter resigned from the SAS. Porter is “reactivated” seven years after the kidnapping of journalist Katie Dartmouth (Orla Brady) by the same terrorists he fought, including the same boy, As’ad. Porter successfully rescues Dartmouth and joins Section 20, led by Hugh Collinson (Andrew Lincoln), who was present during the fateful mission. By the end of the series, Collinson is revealed to be the one who killed the soldiers and then kept it secret.
The Main Cast:
Richard Armitage plays SAS Sergeant John Porter, a character brought back into service by Section 20 seven years after resigning from a ruined rescue mission. Armitage describes the character as “like Lucas North, but on a go-faster drug.” Following the declaration of the second series, Armitage was forced to withdraw from the role due to his commitment to play Thorin Oakenshield in The Hobbit films. Sullivan, who plays former United States Delta Sergeant Damian, and Philip, who plays British SBS Sergeant Michael, took his place. Stapleton was initially scheduled to appear in two series but stayed until the fifth.
The Final Series:(Vendetta)
Vendetta, the final season, was announced in December 2019 and will premiere on February 14, 2020. The series debuted without a subtitle. Brown, MacPherson, Sumarwata, Bamber return from Retribution, and Varada Sethu plays Lance Corporal Manisha Chetri. Before being promoted to the main cast, Sethu had appeared as a supporting character in Retribution. When an Albanian family kidnaps a scientist in charge of developing a top-secret British bioweapon, Section 20’s covert special-ops soldiers are dispatched on a mission to secure the virus and track down potential black-market buyers. However, what begins as a simple mission quickly leads to a race against time to neutralize.
Crew Members of the Series:
The television series is based on the same-name novel by Chris Ryan, a former SAS soldier known for being the only participant of his unit, Bravo Zero, to evade capture by forces during the War in 1991, and was considered the most challenging escape for a British soldier. Ryan went on to become a novelist after leaving the SAS. Andy Harries, the chief executive of his production company, saw the novel Strike Back while on vacation but never read it. Despite this, he was able to pitch the idea of a series based on the story to Sky’s Head of Drama, who created it.
Armitage, “bulk up for the role” in the first series. The actor worked with a trainer for ten weeks in the UK before moving to Johannesburg, where the first series was shot, and participating in more training; however, he had to spend ten days acclimating to the city’s high altitudes. Before the second series, more prominent cast members received intensive Bootcamp-style training in South Africa from former SAS and SBS operators. The two captains, Stapleton and Winchester, received the most extensive training. Running, tactical maneuvers without weapons and other military tactics were taught to the actors.
