57 minSeason 1 • Episode 6
LatestBrydon works to uncover and expose the conspiracy that is propelling the United States to war with Tyrgyztan.
The State Within is a six-part British television political thriller serial written and created by Lizzie Mickery and Daniel Percival, broadcast on BBC One from 2 November to 7 December 2006. After a plane explodes over Washington DC, panic begins to envelop the British embassy, and its ambassador to Washington, Mark Brydon, finds himself caught in a potentially damaging diplomatic incident.
Acting
Jason Isaacs simmers then explodes; masterclass in restraint.
Writing
Mickery's script trusts you to keep up—no handholding.
Direction
Percival makes embassy corridors feel genuinely claustrophobic.
Creators
Daniel Percival, Lizzie Mickery
Jason Isaacs
Mark Brydon
Ben Daniels
Nicholas Brocklehurst
Eva Birthistle
Jane Lavery
Aaron Abrams
Matthew Weiss
Neil Pearson
Phil Lonsdale
Genevieve O'Reilly
Caroline Hanley
Sharon Gless
Lynne Warner
Noam Jenkins
Christopher Styles
Ted Whittall
Gordon Adair
Christopher Bolton
Vinny Swain
Nigel Bennett
Charles Macintyre
Marnie McPhail
George Blake
Alex Jennings
James Sinclair
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Shot partly in Toronto doubling for DC—Isaacs reportedly insisted on wearing his own Savile Row suits.
Aired during the dying days of Blair's Britain; critics read it as a meditation on Iraq War guilt and special relationship anxiety.
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