Rogue Heroes offers ‘an astonishing tale’ of unsung WWII men of courage, according to Steven Knight

One of the most intriguing dramas to come out this year, Rogue Heroes, concludes on EPIX on December 18, 2022. It tells the incredible, little-known story of a select group of ruffians who helped turn the tide of WWII, clandestinely taking out German and Italian base camps in North Africa.

Created by Peaky Blinders’ Steven Knight and based on the gripping novel by Ben Macyntire, SAS: Rogue Heroes, much of what you see on screen is simply hard to believe. That is until you find out that the fascinatingly flawed, but brave men actually existed and did really do much of the bold —and foolhardy—activities depicted on-screen.

Much like Steven Knight’s work on Peaky Blinders, the scenes have a very fast, punchy quality, a pacing technique that cleverly moves the outrageous events along. The amusing introduction of Dominic West’s (whose contorted face works so much better here than say, as Prince Charles in The Crown) Lt. Colonel Wrangel Clarke is a perfect example of Knight’s fun technique. Another deft touch is the juxtaposition of the rogue soldiers jumping off trucks and structures with real-life footage of WWII fighters, in preparation for their parachute missions.

"“For me, it was astonished what happened,” said Steven Night, creator of the six-episode historical drama Rogue Heroes, in a Zoom interview with Culturess.“And what these young men did, and they were young. And you have to remember how young they were—they were in their early twenties—and they just took it upon themselves to change the way that war was fought and succeeded, and then disappeared into obscurity.“So how did that happen? It was then our task to bring that story out and tell it, in a duly respectful way.”"

The harsh realities of war converge on the group of military men, led by Jock Lewes (Alfie Allen), David Stirling (Jack O’Connell), and loose cannon Paddy Mayne (Connor Swindells), who are tasked with unofficially (at first) forming a crew of similar rapscallion warriors. This ragtag bunch descends upon the merciless North African landscape to set up a base of operations from which they strategize to take out several Italian and German outposts. Their success flies against all odds and is fraught with tragedy at every turn, a theme set by the very moment they land in the middle of nowhere in the desert during a harrowing parachute landing that represents the best of Knight’s intense storytelling and the impactful way the series is directed.

The last surviving member of the special SAS unit, Mike Sadler (played by Tom Glynn-Carney from House of Dragon), also gave his approval for the ‘ghost regimen’ telling on EPIX, something Knight was particularly thrilled about.

"“One of the most important pieces of research was meeting Mike Sadler, who’s still alive. He was 100 when I met him, he’s 102 now. And just listening to how he spoke was so absolutely key to writing this, ‘cause he would say, like, ‘we approached the Italian line and they opened fire with machine guns and hand grenades and mortars. It wasn’t ideal,’” Knight laughed how Sadler downplayed what must have been truly terrifying events.“Just to hear him speak was brilliant.”"

You can read more about Mike Sadler’s captivating life here.

You can also see my interview with series stars Jack O’Connell and Alfie Allen:

The finale of EPIX’s Rogue Heroes will include the appearance of Sir Winston Churchill (whose son, Randall Churchill tagged along on one of the nerve-wracking missions), portrayed by Jason Watkins. The sixth and final episode airs on December 18, 2022.