Strike Back

The first series of Strike Back was a Sky UK production, consisting of three stories told across six episodes. Episode 1 and 2 told the first story set in Iraq, episodes 3 and 4 were a separate story set in Zimbabwe and the third story, episodes 5 and 6, were set in Afghanistan. All stories featured Richard Armitage in the lead role as John Porter. Each story was originally broadcast by Sky1 in one evening, so two episodes were shown back-to-back each week. The DVD however plays each story as a separate episode, so in fact there are just three episodes lasting 1.5 hours each on the DVD. Many countries around the world have subsequently broadcast it in that format, just 3 episodes. Strike Back was filmed in South Africa between September and December 2009. It is based on the book by ex-SAS soldier Chris Ryan and is produced by Left Bank Productions.

Strike Back series 2 and 3 were co-produced by Sky and HBO/Cinemax and released in the US and UK simultaneously. New lead actors have taken over from Richard Armitage, who appeared briefly in episode 1 of series 2 but left the show to start filming The Hobbit. When the series was taken over by Cinemax for series 2 and named 'Project Dawn', it was promoted in the US as the "first series" of Strike Back, however in the UK and other countries 'Project Dawn' is promoted as series 2. Strike Back series 1 with John Porter has not been shown on US television. Episode 1 introduction by Sky Press Office: STRIKE BACK is a story of deception, redemption and revenge, all played out in the interlinked lives of two former soldiers; Major Hugh Collinson and discharged veteran John Porter. Their paths last crossed seven years ago. Now, amidst a new hostage crisis in the Middle East, their lives are about to collide again. On the eve of the invasion of Iraq in 2003, John Porter leads a Special Forces unit on a daring hostage rescue into the heart of Basra, events overtake our hero with disastrous results. The decisions taken on that night inexorably unite the fate of both Porter and Collinson. Porter bares the burden of guilt and the repercussions haunt him for seven years, until an opportunity presents itself for him to return to Iraq and redeem himself. The series followed John Porter across the three separate storylines. Richard said: "It’s an ambitious project for television. We’ve made three feature films on a TV budget and schedule. But the advantage of that is that these three feature films are linked together so you get a really interesting character arc through all episodes. American television is being brave and doing that at the moment, and this is stepping into that area.”