TV preview: SS-GB

Adapted from Len Deighton's 1978 alternative history novel, and starring Sam Riley and Kate Bosworth, SS-GB premieres tomorrow night.
GOING UNDERGROUND: Detective Superintendent Douglas Archer (Sam Riley) looks for clues in new Sunday night drama series GB-SS, which is adapted from Len Deightons 1978 novel.GOING UNDERGROUND: Detective Superintendent Douglas Archer (Sam Riley) looks for clues in new Sunday night drama series GB-SS, which is adapted from Len Deightons 1978 novel.
GOING UNDERGROUND: Detective Superintendent Douglas Archer (Sam Riley) looks for clues in new Sunday night drama series GB-SS, which is adapted from Len Deightons 1978 novel.

Written by Bafta Award-winners Neal Purvis and Robert Wade (Spectre, Skyfall, Casino Royale), SS-GB is a complex thriller focusing on British detective Douglas Archer.

Forced to work under the brutal SS in occupied London, Archer is determined to continue to do his job in the service of his country, but against impossible odds.

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We first meet Archer in 1941, with the vast majority of England and Wales under Nazi occupation after losing the Battle of Britain. Pockets of resistance continue to show their defiance against the occupying German forces, but after a German pilot is murdered by a British Resistance fighter, tensions in London could not be higher.

When investigating what appears to be a simple black market murder, Archer is dragged into a much darker and more treacherous world where the stakes are as high as the ultimate outcome of the war.

The elusive US journalist Barbara Barga may hold the key – but can he trust her? And when his lover Sylvia endangers her life by making a stand against the oppressive regime, Archer is forced to confront a deeper dilemma. Can he carry out his duty to defend law and order when he is working for the wrong side?

SS-GB, BBC1, Sunday, 9pm

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