Olivia Colman joins Oscar winner in cast for Rivals star's "high-stakes" British thriller

When Army of Shadows was announced by Channel 4, it was already said that the series would boast an "extraordinary cast". And the broadcaster has been true to their word, with Olivia Colman and Susan Sarandon being the latest additions to the line-up.

The upcoming thriller, which is being written by MobLand's Ronan Bennett is inspired by Jean-Pierre Melville's 1969 French-language film of the same name, which in turn was an adaptation of Joseph Kessel's 1943 novel.

As opposed to setting the action during World War II, the new series transposes the narrative to Great Britain, which is now occupied by a state with "unlimited reach". The plot will focus on members of the resistance, who fight for their freedom.

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After being announced in July, the highly-anticipated series has now added Colman and Sarandon – both of whom have won Academy Awards – to its ranks. It's currently unclear who they will play, or how prominent their role in the drama will be.

The pair aren't the only new faces in the latest update, with Leila Farzad, Luther Ford, Amara Okereke, Patrick O’Kane, Anjli Mohindra, Ed Ashley and Zoë Telford all being added to the ensemble.

They join the previously announced group of Paddy Considine, America Ferrera, Kit Harington and Alex Hassell, with the latter recently starring in the second season of acclaimed Disney+ series Rivals.

Billed as a "high-stakes drama" that will be an "unmissable event", the series is set in a version of Great Britain that may look "normal", but where "somewhere beneath the surface of ordinary life something has gone terribly and quietly wrong".

"Out of the shadows emerges a former soldier known only as Berry, who starts building a secret resistance network," reads the logline. "He knows one thing above all else: don't act before you're ready.

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"An unlikely group starts to coalesce around him - people who've decided they can't look away any longer: a soldier, a student, a radiographer, a journalist. Ordinary people, with ordinary lives, making an extraordinary and irreversible choice."

The six-part series, which is being directed by Lisa Gunning, will depict how "resistance takes shape" and "what it really costs". It has been described as "tense" and "propulsive", so we can't wait to watch it!

Army of Shadows will premiere and stream on Channel 4.

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Reporter, Digital Spy George is a freelance writer who specialises in Movies and TV. After graduating with a degree in Film Studies and Journalism from De Montfort University, in which he analysed the early works of Richard Linklater for his dissertation, he wrote for several websites for GRV Media.  His film tastes vary from blockbusters like Mission: Impossible and John Wick to international directors such as Paolo Sorrentino and Hirokazu Kore-eda, and has attended both the London and Berlin film festivals.