SAS Rogue Heroes season 2: will there be a second series of BBC show - and how many episodes are there?

SAS: Rogue Heroes recently dumped its entire first series onto BBC iPlayer, and has been gripping viewers with its wartime account of how the fabled Special Air Service (SAS) was formed in 1941. Written and created by Peaky Blinders’ Steven Knight, the series is based on British war historian Ben Macintyre’s 2016 book of the same name, which delves into the development of the SAS during WWII, led by eccentric officer David Stirling.

Macintyre’s book relied on previously unseen SAS reports, memoranda, diaries, letters, maps, and photographs, as well as interviews with those who were involved in the unit’s early days. And the series was such a success that it drew in 3.8 million viewers for its premiere on BBC One, not to mention received a 100% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

But just how many episodes long is the series, and is there more Rogue Heroes to look forward to once the closing credits have rolled? Will there be a second series... and beyond?

Here is everything you need to know.

How many episodes of SAS: Rogue Heroes are there?

There are six episodes of the first series of SAS: Rogue Heroes. All of them are available to stream through BBC iPlayer right now. Over those six chapters, the series follows the idea of parachuting a crack fighting squad into the North African desert in 1941. During this period, British troops were trapped in the region as they attempted to cleanse the continent of Axis forces.

The campaign lasted over three years and took place across Libya, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia. During the conflict, British commander Bernard Montgomery and Germany’s Erwin Rommel, known as the “Desert Fox”, chased one another back and forth across North Africa as the British sought a means to break the standoff.

Will there be a Season 2 of SAS: Rogue Heroes?

Despite SAS: Rogue Heroes technically being a ‘miniseries’ - meaning it’s a contained, standalone story, as opposed to an epic, multi-season arc - more series are reportedly incoming. It’s been widely reported that a second season of the show has already been confirmed, and creator Steven Knight previously told LadBible that there be at least three more seasons.

“We’re gonna take it to after the end of the Second World War and then see what happens,” he said as part of a Zoom call with the show’s cast, “because the story just keeps... going.”

According to LadBible, that revelation was news to most of the cast members on the call, who “had clear traces of pleasant surprise on their faces. Obviously the war keeps going and it just gets more and more incredible,” added Knight, revealing that the production may also “break away and do Colditz as well.”

Colditz: Prisoners of the Castle is another nonfiction book by Ben Macintyre, who penned the book on which SAS: Rogue Heroes is based. It follows a group of British servicemen who are being held captive in a Nazi German gothic castle as they plot their escape.

Knight hopes Rogue Heroes can have the same cultural impact as Peaky Blinders, which he also created, and which ran for six series, even spawning a video game adaptation and an upcoming big-screen version. After witnessing Peaky Blinders’ cultural influence, Knight believes SAS: Rogue Heroes will elicit a similar reaction, and with the series already receiving glowing reviews, that certainly appears to be the case.

“I don’t think there’s been anything like this on TV ever, really,” he told LadBible. “And it’s getting such a great response from people who have seen it. I think it will have the equivalent effect on the culture that Peaky had. I think people will be really drawn to it.”

How can I watch SAS: Rogue Heroes?

All of the first season of SAS: Rogue Heroes is available to watch now on BBC iPlayer. Episodes are also airing weekly, and the sixth episode will air on BBC One on Sunday 4 December at 9pm.