On November 16, 1941, the Special Air Service — an ill-equipped fledgling unit of British troopers — ready to parachute into the Libyan desert, behind enemy traces. Sandstorm blizzard circumstances made the covert op not simply ill-advised however suicidal.
As coated in an early hour of the WWII drama, Rogue Heroes, a pilot assigned to ship the troops to their goal spot reminds the undisciplined however decided SAS commanders, “The wind is 30 knots — 15 knots is considered unsafe.” With crazed bravado, Paddy Mayne (Jack O’Connell) shouts again, “War! Is! F***ing unsafe!”
(Credit: EPIX)
Planes set to go, SAS chief David Stirling (Connor Swindells) walks off with Mayne and tactician Jock Lewes (Alfie Allen), saying of the confrontation, “I think it went rather well!”
“When I discovered the true story of what happened, it was so outrageous,” creator Steven Knight (Peaky Blinders) says of the SAS, fashioned in response to Britain’s bumbling command. The unit’s off-the-grid effectiveness, achieved by what Knight calls “controlled anarchy,” helped flip the tide for the Allies. “Their approach was so revolutionary because it was so unexpected.”
Knight endeavored to carry the true heroism of this effort to those six episodes, which costar Dominic West (The Crown). “Some of these [soldiers] were smart. Some were nerds. Some were real misfits. But when war comes along, all kinds of people have their role. These men did extraordinary things.”
Rogue Heroes, Series Premiere, Sunday, November 13, 9/8c, Epix