Secret State

Absolutely loved this honestly refreshing to see channel 4 producing a great series with a phenomenal cast, Yes the plot is a bit far-fetched the point of television is escapism and this is gripping and renews hope that your vote counts. Great message and Gabriel Byrne leads this role fantastically. Anyone who goes away and watches this will only be disappointed by the lack of episodes. The series is very short and leaves you desperately wanting more and I really hope a second series is on the cards. For the cynics of the world such as guardian writers they really haven't seen the point of this series. This series really captures the viewers imagination and reminds of hope and that is brilliant.

I enjoyed 'Secret State'. The film stars Gabriel Byrne, Ralph Ineson, Charles Dance, Rupert Graves, and Philip Dillaine, and covers a short period of time in the administration of a new British Prime Minister (Byrne). Byrne is his usual doleful self which, in this case, is good. As he has inherited the position due to the death / murder of his predecessor. That being the case he is faced with the task of discovering how and why his predecessor died, and unraveling the dark relationships between government, banking, and industry which might have led to that death.

The series is limited to four episodes / four hours, and so does not feel bloated or filled with red-herrings and blind-alleys to pad it out. In fact something actually happens in each episode, something which will lead to the series' resolution. The story, however, is not the easiest to follow and contains dialogue which might make the viewer feel ill-informed in matters of finance. But don't worry. In the end it's not about finance and so what you make of the dollars and cents / British Pounds and Pence, is not nearly as important as 'Who Done What to Whom'.

And that will be made clear.

Loved this series from the first episode. The plot is superb and the story draws you in beautifully and keeps you wanting more hence the writer deserves the highest accolade. The cast is perfect and do a stellar job. The direction is fabulous too as no thriller can do with sloppy work. Only negative is that it ends too soon, it deserved at least 10 episodes. Thats one view point, other view point says that maybe it was exciting because it was a short series. Hopefully we'll have a longer series 2. Kudos to Channel 4 for this one. So political thrillers are back and back with a bang and this one matches the era we live in.

I've watched a LOT of British drama and this up there with the very best of them. What a pity we only got (get) to see 4 episodes and only a hint of the conclusion. It would have been great to see this played out to it's conclusion. I just don't get to understand the nay sayers. A truly superb cast - an abundance of thespian heavy weights - and at the top is Gabriel Byrne of course. He lends more gravitas as the prime minister than most "real life actors". As a support, Chares Dance is of course superb. Definitely worth watching. I'd actually give it more stars if I could and watched the series twice.

I found this series searching the web for political drama. Watching it is a very positive experience.

Filmed in 2011 or so the setting is UK in the present time. Lots of unfortunate events happen at one time. The 4 part series is about the political reaction to those events. Happenings and reactions are realistic enough to be relevant although cutting it fine on the dramatic side. Most relevant modern popular political topics are in the series, like terrorism, government surveillance, political infighting and moneys effect on politics.

Minuses are few, the biggest one being the series being way too short and compact :) Other minuses are ambiguities here and there and some minor connections between people and issues that seem a bit strange.

Acting is overall good. To me especially Gabriel Byrne playing the leading role does well.

In short this is must see if you like political drama.