Evacuation: Premiere (Channel 4 Sunday 2 July 2023)

Evacuation: Premiere airs Sunday 2 July 2023 on Channel 4

What can we expect from this episode

This three-part documentary military thriller provides unprecedented access to the British Ministry of Defence as it recounts the daring operation to evacuate Kabul. It’s an emotional, unflinching series that, for the first time, shows how Britain’s largest airlift since World War II actually played out, minute by minute.

Personal and previously unseen MoD footage from combat camera teams shed light on the staggering complexity of the operation. Beyond the news headlines and parliamentary debates, Evacuation delves into the experiences of individual British servicemen and women as they responded to a humanitarian crisis on a scale they had never seen before.

Evacuation also delves into the human cost of military action, telling the stories of Britons and Afghans who were caught in the turmoil of the exodus from their country after the Taliban took power. The human dilemmas on the ground in Afghanistan are played out like drama in this gripping and exciting series, despite the fact that some 15,000 British citizens and eligible Afghans were flown out of the country in a matter of days.

In the premiere, the Taliban begin retaking territory in Afghanistan just as allied forces are leaving the country. No one knows what to expect, but the British government has dispatched a small military team to make preparations for a possible evacuation and has placed a group of elite soldiers on standby to deploy.

When the Taliban unexpectedly take control of Kabul, they cause havoc on the airport’s runway and in the surrounding airspace. The military works feverishly to evacuate the thousands of civilians who have made it through to the airfield. Is it possible to retake command and initiate the evacuation?

Season 1 Episode 1

When can we see the episode

Evacuation: Premiere airs Sunday 2 July 2023 at 21:00 on Channel 4

Featured image credit: Channel 4