A few years back, the plotline of Cobra (Cabinet Office Briefing Room A) seemed a little ‘out there’ to say the least. Imagine, the United Kingdom brought to its knees by a global catastrophe as unprepared politicians scrambled to respond and even the weird notion of panicked citizens stockpiling toilet paper thrown in to make it even more implausable.

While it wasn’t a global pandemic (how crazy would THAT have been to imagine back in January 2020), it was a massive solar flare which left much of Britain without power, sparking social and political chaos and causing a run on necessary paper products.

Fast forward a couple of years when Prime Minister Robert Sutherland (Robert Carlyle) faced a new, even more unpredictable threat: a series of crippling cyberattacks but, unfortunately for Sutherland, an election has occured since that nasty old solar flare played havoc with civilization as we know it and the PM lost a sizeable portion of his political marjoity.

Photo: SkyOriginals

The second series, Cobra: Cyberwar tackled another ‘too close for comfort/real life’ storyline from the mind palace of series writer, Ben Richards, that focuses on cyberattacks targeting critical infrastructure as well as the impact of fake news on democracy. How crazy out there is that!

With Robert Carlyle returning as Prime Minister Robert Sutherland and Victoria Hamilton returning as Sutherland’s chief of staff Anna Marshall for series 3, Cobra: Rebellion will see Sutherland’s government facing its biggest challenge yet, an environmental disaster threat that, this time, comes from much closer to home.

For series 3, Jane Horrocks (Bloods, Trollied, Absolutely Fabulous) has recently joined the Cabinet as populist Defense Secretary, Victoria Dalton. Admittedly, it’s going to be a bit challenging to envision ‘Bubble’ joining the Cabinet as Defense Secretary 🙂

Photo: SkyOriginals

The official synopsis provided by Sky reads: “When an unforeseen environmental disaster causes enormous destruction and loss of life, the consequences are far reaching for the Prime Minister. The subsequent investigation leads Sutherland and his team to realise that all may not be as it appears. Embarking on a quest to discover the truth, they find something disturbing and disruptive underneath.”

“The crisis spirals to encompass not only the urgent threat of environmental destruction but also the malignant corruption of the arms industry and the rise of shadowy corporate security firms. The cabinet is faced with the inconvenient reality of the UK’s historic relationship with a global superpower. All these elements combine to lead the Prime Minister to a crucial decision, about who he is personally, and what – ultimately – he is willing to sacrifice in order to remain in power.”

Returning alongside Robert Carlyle and Victoria Hamilton in key roles in Sutherland’s cabinet include David Haig (Killing Eve) as Foreign Secretary Archie Glover-Morgan, Richard Pepple (Gangs of London) as Home Secretary Joseph Obasi, and Marsha Thomason (The Bay) as Francine Bridge, Shadow Environment Secretary.

If series 3 comes anything close to resembling the first two series, Cobra: Rebellion will definitely be something worth keeping an eye on. The storylines are tight, tense and addictive. And…they are eerily too close to real-life.

Cobra: Rebellion will return to Sky Max and streaming service NOW in 2023 and, hopefully, PBS in the U.S. in the not-too-distant future.