Channel 4 confirms "bold" new TV format show recreating COBRA war room simulation

Channel 4 has commissioned a bold new format that will test how Britain's leaders might respond if the country was truly under attack.

Titled War Room, the "urgent and timely" two-part series will drop a cast of senior politicians, military strategists and intelligence chiefs into a high-stakes, COBRA-style simulation, hoping to uncover what decisions they will make and how such decisions could impact all of us.

The format has been created by military strategists and is based around the "precarious geopolitical events of 2026".

The synopsis continues: "The series unfolds as a gripping, real-time thriller, combining documentary footage from the War Room with dramatised sequences, bringing the simulated events to life.

"Locked inside a purpose-built, secure bunker, modelled on Britain's own COBRA, the committee will be forced to make key decisions with the weight of the country's future hanging in the balance: when to mobilise, when to retaliate — and when to tell the public the truth."

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The series will be executive produced for Expectation by multi award-winner Colin Barr (SAS: Who Dares Wins, Hell Jumper, Murder 24/7) and series produced by Helen Richards (The Jury: Murder Trial).

Colin Barr, creative director of factual at Expectation, said: "It feels like every day brings fresh revelations about the threats facing Britain, both inside and out. Although our War Room will be a simulation, it will be driven by uncomfortable truths and shocking facts, creating edge-of-the-seat drama as we ask is Britain really ready for a modern war?"

Channel 4 is often at the forefront of conversations around worldly issues through its timely commissions, including the likes of Go Back to Where You Came From, which followed six individuals as they journeyed from "two of the most dangerous cities on earth" back to the UK and put their outspoken views on immigration to the test.

The Jury: Murder Trial, a series that re-stages a real murder trial from original transcripts in front of 24 jurors to see if they can reach the same verdict when shown the same evidence, also aired on the channel.

More recently, for the launch of factual drama Dirty Business, the broadcaster installed The Fountain of Filth, a creative installation designed to draw attention to the heartbreaking human cost of Britain's sewage scandal, a key theme of the series.

War Room is coming to Channel 4 soon.

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