SS-GB: What you need to know about dystopian thriller

A new trailer offers a sneak peek of the BBC's upcoming dystopian thriller SS-GB, starring Sam Riley and Kate Bosworth and written by James Bond screenwriters Neal Purvis and Robert Wade. Here's what viewers can expect.

What's it about?

The five-part series is based on Len Deighton's 1978 alternative history thriller SS-GB, in which Nazi Germany has taken control of the UK after winning the Battle of Britain and assassinating Winston Churchill.

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Scotland Yard detective Douglas Archer (Riley) finds himself caught between the brutal SS regime and a desperate British resistance as he investigates an apparent black market-related murder. While he tries to uphold the law and protect his loved ones, Archer is quickly drawn into a dangerous plot with wider consequences.

What do we know so far?

The trailer shows Archer being quizzed by his son about whether he works for the Gestapo and also being questioned by a Nazi officer about his loyalty.

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When his lover Sylvia (Maeve Dermody) risks her own life making a stand against the oppressive regime, Archer begins to question his role, but he is also afraid his son will be put at risk.

Bosworth makes an appearance as mysterious US journalist Barbara Barga, but is she an ally or an enemy?

Doesn't that sound familiar?

Joseph Baxter at Den of Geek says the series will undoubtedly evoke "the topical spectre of a certain Amazon hit" – The Man in the High Castle, an adaptation of Philip K Dick's 1962 novel also set against the backdrop of an alternate history in which Germany won World War II.

The "pathos-packed" High Castle, however, is set in America some years after its capitulation to the Axis powers, says Baxter. SS-GB is set in the UK only a few short months into the Nazi occupation.

Is it so far-fetched?

The story is not as improbable as it may seem, says the Daily Mail. Deighton's 1978 bestseller took its source material from real German plans prepared for the post-invasion administration of the UK.

In reality, Operation Sealion never took place because Hitler hesitated and the RAF defeated the Luftwaffe over Kent and Sussex in 1940. But had the Nazis succeeded, there was a clear action plan in place for occupying the UK.

"The plans for running the country were drawn up before they had even drawn up their plans for an invasion. It was very efficient," said scriptwriter Purvis.

"They weren't going to bomb Blackpool, as they wanted that as a place for R&R for their soldiers. Meanwhile, Hitler wanted Blenheim Palace, where Churchill was born."

Despite the series being based on an imaginary occupation, it has been meticulously researched as executive producer Sally Woodward Gentle said any depiction of a Nazi-occupied London might still be a "very sensitive" topic for some viewers."We felt an enormous responsibility about it," she said.

SS-GB is due to air on the BBC later this year.