'Rogue Heroes' Arrive on MGM+ for Season 2 in January

This is a PSA to all the Peaky Blinders fans out there who are sadly waiting for Netflix to bring them the movie sequel sometime in 2025. May I suggest turning your attention to MGM+? I know, you probably aren't sure which streaming service that is, if you've even heard of it in the first place. It used to be called Epix, but then Jeff Bezos bought MGM Studios because it wouldn't sell him the James Bond franchise, and Amazon had to figure out what to do with this extra streaming service nobody wanted. Rechristened MGM+, it happens to have Steven Knight's incredible Rogue Heroes series, which you need to be watching.

Rogue Heroes was one of the BBC's biggest hits in 2023; think "Steve Knight Does WWII," and you'll get a good idea of what you're in for. It's dark and gritty 1940s historical fiction set in one of the war's least hospitable theaters, with an emphasis on grit and dirt but also a plucky sense of black humor that makes it all go down easier. Season 1 was set less than a decade after the Peaky Blinders finale, so the series feels like a direct follow-up in some respects, though at times, it feels like a brighter, more focused version of World on Fire, reforging World War II narrative for a new generation.

It also features an A-list-level ensemble of hot British dudes who keep taking their shirts off. It was a massive hit for a reason in the U.K., is what I'm saying, and it's practically criminal that it's been relegated to an unused corner of the American streaming landscape.

Based on the 2016 non-fiction book Rogue Heroes: The History of the SAS, Britain's Secret Special Forces Unit That Sabotaged the Nazis and Changed the Nature of War by Ben Macintyre, Season 1 was set in 1941 and covered the origins of the British Army Special Air Service (SAS) during the Western Desert Campaign of World War II. Most of the characters are based on real-life men who fought and won the war, and the plot is a broadly accurate representation of actual historical events.

The new season picks up two years later; here's the synopsis:

Season 2 rejoined the troops in the spring of 1943. Paddy Mayne takes control of the SAS following David Stirling’s capture, as attention turns from the conflict in North Africa to mainland Europe. But GHQ has cast doubt over the regiment's future while creating a second unit, and an influx of new arrivals makes things even more difficult for the men. Can they prove that the SAS remains essential to the war, wherever it may lead them?

The ensemble series is led by Connor Swindells (Sex Education), who stars as the real-life Lieutenant Archibald David Stirling, and Jack O’Connell (Skins) as Lieutenant Robert Blair Mayne, better known as Paddy, the two men credited with dreaming up the SAS; Dominic West (The Crown) rounds out the triumvirate as Lieutenant Colonel Dudley Clarke, the real-life mastermind behind some of the British Army’s crazier World War II stunts.

The rest of the returning cast from Season 1 includes Bobby Schofield (The Suspect) as Corporal Dave Kershaw, Jacob Ifan (A Discovery of Witches) as Major Charles "Pat" Riley, Corin Silva (Masters of the Air) as Sergeant Jim Almonds, Theo Barklem-Biggs (The End We Start From), as Sergeant Reg Seekings, Jacob McCarthy (Mary & George) as Lieutenant Johnny Cooper, and Stuart Campbell (Baptiste) as Second Lieutenant Bill Fraser. Sofia Boutella (The Kingsman) plays one of the few fictional characters, the French intelligence officer Eve Mansour.

Season 2 adds Gwilym Lee (The Great) as Lieutenant Colonel Bill Stirling, Con O’Neill (Happy Valley) as General Sir Bernard Montgomery, Mark Rowley (The North Water) as Corporal Jock McDiarmid, and Jack Barton (Heartstopper) as Lieutenant John Tonkin. The rest of the Season 2 additions whose roles have not been disclosed as yet are Stuart Thompson (Starstruck), Paolo De Vita (Maigret), Anna Manuelli (Thou Shalt Not Kill), Edward Bennett (Industry), and newcomer Matteo Franco.

Knight penned all episodes of both seasons, with director Stephen Woolfenden (Outlander) helming and Stephen Smallwood (The Serpent) returning as producer. The series is executive produced by Knight, Karen Wilson, Emma Kingsman-Lloyd, Martin Haines for Kudos, and Nick Lambon for the BBC. 

Rogue Heroes Season 2 debuts in the U.K. on New Year's Day; MGM+ will begin streaming episodes weekly on Sunday, January 12, 2025. Maybe one day, it will get moved to a streaming service that people subscribe to.