# SS-GB (2017)

> A British detective investigates a murder in an occupied Britain where the Nazis have won World War II.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/59731

## Facts

- Seasons: 1
- Episodes: 5
- Episode runtime: 60 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: crime, drama, science fiction
- Created by: Len Deighton, Robert Wade, Neal Purvis
- Network: BBC One
- Cast: Sam Riley, Kate Bosworth, Rainer Bock, Aneurin Barnard, Christina Cole, Maeve Dermody, Lars Eidinger, James Cosmo
- TMDB rating: 6.6/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4939950/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: measured
- Intensity: moderate
- Complexity: layered
- Violence: moderate
- Tone: paranoid, tense, bleak, atmospheric

## What critics say

Audience reception is mixed, with viewers appreciating the alternate history premise and period atmosphere while finding the mystery plot uneven.

## Synopsis

SS-GB (2017) is a British alternate history crime miniseries created by Len Deighton, Robert Wade and Neal Purvis for BBC One, adapted from Len Deighton's 1978 novel. Detective Douglas Archer (Sam Riley) is a Scotland Yard man who, in a London ruled by the German occupation, is pulled into a murder investigation that threatens to expose the uneasy arrangements between occupiers and the British. Working alongside PC Jimmy Dunn (Aneurin Barnard) and American journalist Barbara Barga (Kate Bosworth), Archer must navigate Nazi officials such as Fritz Kellermann (Rainer Bock) while keeping his own loyalties hidden. Each step of the inquiry turns up informants, collaborators and resistance cells, so every interview feels like a risk. This five-episode limited series is a single continuing investigation rather than a case of the week. Set in a grey, rationed 1941 London, it delivers a tense, paranoid atmosphere in which trust is scarce and the streets carry constant menace. Fans of The Man in the High Castle and Fatherland will find resonance in its counterfactual wartime world, and viewers who enjoy Foyle's War will appreciate its period detective framing.

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