The cast of Strike Back is led by Richard Armitage and Andrew Lincoln, also starring Orla Brady, Shelley Conn, Colin Salmon and Jodhi May, including a variety of guest appearances including Toby Stephens, Ewen Bremner, Dhaffer L'Abidine, Shaun Parkes and Alexander Siddig.

The first episode received unofficial overnight ratings of almost 400,000 viewers in the United Kingdom, which increased to just over one million according to the more highly regarded Broadcasters' Audience Research Board.

A 10-part second series, known as Strike Back: Project Dawn, a co-production between Sky and the American network Cinemax, was first broadcast in August 2011.

Among them include Nicola Stephenson (Diane Porter), Laura Greenwood (Alexandra Porter), Fenar Mohammed Ali (As'ad), Dhaffer L'Abidine (Hakim Al Nazeri), Shaun Parkes (Felix Masuku), David Harewood (Colonel Tshuma), Toby Stephens (Frank Arlington) and Alexander Siddig (Zahar Sharq).

After seeing the success from previous dramas such as Terry Pratchett's Hogfather and The Take, Sky made a multimillion-pound commitment to Strike Back.

[18] Other filming locations in the series include Northern Cape, Augrabies Falls National Park,[19] and the Kalahari Desert.

[20] Harries wanted to film the series in South Africa because he worked there several times in the past, and knew the country can replicate anywhere in the world.

Both episodes more than tripled Sky1's average audience share in their slots from the previous three months, and were also the third most-watched non-terrestrial viewing behind BBC Four's Timothy Spall: Somewhere at Sea and a live Sky Sports football game.

Michael Conroy of GQ named Strike Back an "Editor's Pick" for its "excellent cinematography, stellar performances and a surprisingly balanced global perspective makes this story of two former British SAS soldiers a thoroughly enjoyable action romp."

Watson praised Armitage's performance, calling him perfect for the role, and that "for once in a British series, the action scenes kick some proper butt.

"[29] John Preston of The Daily Telegraph stated that Strike Back was "a slick affair, crisply directed by Daniel Percival, scripted with considerable sharpness by Jed Mercurio and full of belting action sequences.

Jack Foley of IndieLondon rated the first episodes four stars out of five, stating that it "made for exciting viewing even if the politics and the script sometimes proved laughably gung-ho and naive.

"[32] On review on the first two episodes, Jane Simon of The Mirror has said that between the cast, "there's enough shock and awe to make you very glad they're showing this in a double bill.

[34] Andrea Mullaney of The Scotsman was positive about the casting, and the changes in storyline from the original novel, though the series was aimed "squarely at the blokey viewer who'd rather watch paint dry than a costume drama.

"[31] Whilst also reviewing Luther and Lewis, John Lloyd of The Financial Times called it "fine for tension," "good on sub-Bond dialogue" and that the story lines make Spooks look true to life.