Sadly, it's all too common that TV dramas end on cliffhangers with no resolution.
For a long time, it seemed as though The Undeclared War had befallen that fate, with the final episode of season 1 leaving fans on tenterhooks back in 2022, with major story elements unresolved.
Thankfully, it has now been confirmed that that won't be the case, as four years after season 1 first aired, a second run is now finally arriving.
Season 2 will pick up right where the last chapter left off, but given the delay, it would be understandable if remembering just what happened in the previous season proves tricky. Thankfully, we've got a handy recap below to help remind you of all the major events.
Read on for everything you need to know about the plot of The Undeclared War season 1, ahead of season 2.
What happened in The Undeclared War season 1?
The first season of The Undeclared War introduced us to Saara, an intern on her first day at GCHQ in 2024. It just so happens that on that very day, a major cyber attack hit the UK.
An incredible coder, Saara analysed the malware code of her own accord and found a greater threat within it. Danny, the head of operation at GCHQ, and his boss David, were ordered to keep digging into it, while Saara also found encrypted text devising a meeting.
Meanwhile we also met a Russian hacker called Vadim, who went to university with Saara. He ended up working at Russia's propaganda factory, Glavset, and was later forced to join the FSB as a hacker. Through his work he learned about the planned attack on the UK, and left the message setting up the meeting for Saara, who he had discovered worked for GCHQ.
At the meeting, Vadim told Saara that the malware was still at work, with worse impacts to come.
All of this is taking place in the run up to an election, and on voting day, it appeared as though people were having their registrations purged, meaning they were unable to vote. As reports of this spread on social media, protests took place and a state of emergency was called.
The exit polls were also hacked, and data being reported from the counts was substantially different to that being reported by the media. In the end, the Conservative government was re-elected.
While this was happening, NSA confidential data was leaked from GCHQ, seemingly by employee John Yeabsley. It was later discovered that John's apparent confession of Russian state TV was a deepfake, and he had actually been killed before it took place.
A counterattack by the UK on the Russians was expounded upon on TV, and used to justify a more intense attack against the UK.
MI5 found compromising material on the Foreign Secretary’s laptop which suggested she was communicating covertly with a figure within the Russian government, and she was forced to resign. Meanwhile, the UK's nuclear submarine control system proved unresponsive, suggesting it might have been hacked.
Eventually, Saara and her colleague Gabriel managed to stop the malware which was still leaking data to the Russians, but they were seen saying they had already scraped enough.
As the Russians prepared further attacks, the USA refused to come to the UK's aid, furious about the loss of NSA data. There's a suggestion this separation of powers could have been Russia's plan from the start.
Satellite imagery also showed unidentified aircraft entering their airspace, suggesting Russia could be initiating a live attack. However, there was a fear this could be evidence of more subterfuge and trickery, another hack to provoke Britain into making a mistake.
Vadim warned Saara and Danny about Russia's plans and gave them information to trade with the Americans and bring them back in - at that moment, he was discovered by the Russians, and seemingly captured.
What will The Undeclared War season 2 be about?
The Undeclared War season 2 will pick up right where season 1 left off, while introducing new characters such as Siân Brooke's Barbara Patrick, the wife of Danny.
The synopsis for the new season says: "Set in 2024, The Undeclared War returns with a fresh wave of tension and drama as the elite Malware Department at GCHQ grapples with the aftermath of a devastating Russian cyber-attack. Just when it seems the UK has gained the upper hand, Danny and the team uncover a far more dangerous threat."
The Undeclared War season 2 premieres on Channel 4 on Tuesday 21 July 2026.
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