Strike Back

Strike Back is a British action and military television series, based on a novel of the same name by novelist and former Special Air Service (SAS) soldier Chris Ryan. The series follows the actions of Section 20, a secretive branch of the British Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), who operate several high risk, priority missions throughout the globe. The series began broadcasting on Sky1 on 5 May 2010, showing the first six-part series. After a second series was commissioned, it was announced that Cinemax would co-produce the franchise. The first episode of the ten-part second series, undergoing the banner title Project Dawn in the United Kingdom, first aired on Cinemax on 12 August 2011. On 3 October 2012, Cinemax and Sky commissioned a fourth series, to be broadcast sometime in 2013.
Executive producer Andy Harries gained hold of the novel and pitched a television adaption to Sky, even though he had not read it. Sky commissioned the series as part of a £10 million commitment to adapt novels into original dramas following the successes of adapting Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels. Following Cinemax's participation from the second series, the series faced a re-imagining due to the absence of first series lead Richard Armitage, who was at the time filming The Hobbit in New Zealand. Before filming several cast members participated in bootcamp training by former SAS and Special Boat Service (SBS) officers. The series was filmed on location in South Africa, although parts of the second series were filmed in Hungary.
Ratings for Strike Back was relatively high for the original networks. The Sky1 premiere was viewed by almost 400,000 viewers (according to overnight figures), tripling the average audience share for the channel's time slot after three months. Project Dawn premiered to over 600,000. The Cinemax premiere in the meantime, saw the network its best ratings since 2005. The first two seasons have been released on DVD and Blu-ray Disc.

Chris Ryan's Strike Back (2010)

Main article: Chris Ryan's Strike Back

The first series consists of six episodes. It follows John Porter (Richard Armitage), who resigned from the SAS following the aftermath of a rescue mission in Iraq on the eve of the American led invasion in 2003, where two fellow soldiers were killed, apparently by a thirteen-year boy Porter failed to kill, leaving him responsible. Seven years later, Porter is "reactivated" following the kidnap of journalist Katie Dartmouth (Orla Brady) by the same terrorists he fought seven years ago, including the same boy, As'ad. Porter succeeds in rescuing Dartmouth and joins Section 20, headed by Hugh Collinson (Andrew Lincoln), who was also present during the fateful mission. By the end of the series, it is revealed that Collinson was the one who killed the soldiers, and covered this up. Section 20 officer Layla Thompson (Jodhi May) discovers this, and blackmails Collinson into saving Porter's life in Afghanistan. There, Porter learns that during the mission, Collinson panicked and mistook the soldiers for terrorists. Taliban members raid their location, and Collinson is mortally wounded while aiding Porter's escape.

Project Dawn (2011)

Main article: Strike Back: Project Dawn

The second series consists of ten episodes. Porter is captured by a Pakistani terrorist called Latif (Jimi Mistry) while investigating a planned operation of Latif, Project Dawn. Sergeant Michael Stonebridge (Philip Winchester) finds disgraced ex-Delta Force operative Damian Scott (Sullivan Stapleton), who would not be hired by even private military contractors, who previously worked with Porter to track Latif. After Porter is executed, Section 20 discover Porter left the team clues to a hotel in New Delhi, India, where a group of terrorists attempt to capture a weapons scientist with knowledge of hidden weapons of mass destruction originally used to plant in Iraq, which serves as a part of Project Dawn. The weapon, namely VX nerve gas was kept in storage, and Latif has known about its existence.
Section 20's worldwide search for Latif ends in Budapest, Hungary, where they learn he is using suicide bombers by implanting them with explosive devices inside their bodies, which in turn will release the VX. The attempted attacks against a World Summit were actually a diversion to capture former Pakistani general Akmal Ramiz (Silas Carson), who Latif fears will make Pakistan more accessible to the west. He also captures Section 20 head Colonel Eleanor Grant (Amanda Mealing) in an attempt to confess to "Operation Trojan Horse", which planned to plant VX in Iraq, while also exposing Porter and framing Scott; Grant attempted to cover up the operation in shame. In the end, Grant forces Latif to shoot an empty VX canister, with the explosives still intact, killing them both. Although Scott gains the file that would clear his name, he decides to burn the file and remain in Section 20. Meanwhile, Stonebridge decides to leave to be with his pregnant wife.