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Season 1 – The War of the Worlds

Play trailer Poster for Season 1 – The War of the Worlds Oct 2019 Drama Sci-Fi Play Trailer Watchlist
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68% Tomatometer 22 Reviews 26% Popcornmeter 100+ Ratings
In Edwardian England, a young couple grapples with a terrifying alien invasion.
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The War of the Worlds — Season 1

The War of the Worlds — Season 1

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Critics Consensus

Respectful, if not exactly riveting, Craig Viveiros' reimagined The War of the Worlds's wandering narrative undermines its strong performances.

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Critics Reviews

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Deborah Ross The Mail on Sunday (UK) 11/25/2019
1/5
The production values are shabby. The thing that landed in Surrey looked like a giant coconut constructed from papier-mâché. It was all very Doctor Who, circa 1973. Go to Full Review
Hugo Rifkind The Times (UK) 11/22/2019
Rafe Spall does a good job as George and Eleanor Tomlinson from Poldark does a good job as an Edwardian feminist who is quite un-Edwardian, but still Edwardian enough to be insanely impractically dressed for everything she does. Go to Full Review
Rachel Cooke New Statesman 11/21/2019
This version of The War of the Worlds has, as it should, a sincere heart. Go to Full Review
Jack King NME (New Musical Express) 07/13/2021
...seems determined to make sure his audience 'gets' what's going on. It's a shame, because there are some good moments here... Go to Full Review
James Hanton Starburst 12/03/2019
6/10
The final episode has some real moments of beauty, and a more claustrophobic haunted house approach that works well, but the big issue for The War of the Worlds is that it is too underwhelming. Go to Full Review
Rafael Motamayor Slashfilm 12/01/2019
If you want to see a different take on The War of the Worlds that comments on our past and sadly also reflects our present, this show will offer something no other major adaptation has done before. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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J H. @sleepycatzzz May 25 It starts off pretty well, you like the characters and they are interesting. But once the martians begin their destruction, it's got the actors running, running, never having food or water with no explanation, no survival skills. Ask Eleanor Tomlinson a question, and she's mastered the empty stare. It gets worse when they split the timeline and move between the now and the future. Confusing, bad acting, hokey aliens, and an unacceptable deviation from the book when it comes to what defeated the aliens. Not fun. See more Daniel J @RT16886619 08/04/2023 Not bad. Not great. Some here are confusing two different series that came out at the same time. This is the 3-episode series starring Eleanor Tomlinson ("Poldark"). The 24-episode, three season series starring Gabriel Byrne is not this series. See more Tim K @RT28440283 10/27/2022 Totally worth a watch. See more david b @KingofBelAir 09/12/2022 Such a let down. The acting, script, dialog, and just about everything we're just awful. Visuals were good, and the cast could have been better used. The main characters were just u likable, and the delivery of the lines were just emotionless and nonsensical. See more 05/04/2022 !Spoilers! Now, this was quite the mixed bag since theres a lot i absolutely loved and some i found to be quite irritating. A lot of the really bad reviews i saw came from disappointment due to a seemingly badly adapted story but since i never read the book, that wasn't a factor for me. Now the first episode takes its time but once the tripod shows up and wrecks the village near the end of the episode i felt that. The second episode i absolutely adore. The atmosphere and tension is tight and the beach scene was just plain cool. As the episode ended i was more than excited for the third episode which starts of great with some super tension packed and scary scenes but then just grinds to a stop after Frederick dies. Now, this is where i was disappointed because they just kind of erase any tension and replace it with some kind of ponderous mood and rather (admittedly) good dramatic moments but it feels like there should've been more of the tension and action. Overall i really recommend this show, at least for those who aren't huge fans of the book since those people will probably disappointed. The acting, tension and most definitely the visuals are fantastic, but the end disappoints quite a bit. See more Glenn C @Fanfoot 03/08/2022 Its pretty bad. Mostly a soap opera on the things that happen between the human beings that are left--a child steals a picture from a man of his the family he lost, a man lies to his wife etc etc. There is very little action. A few scenes spread out over 8 episodes. Also the action itself isn't particularly exciting. The aliens soldiers are basically Boston Dynamics robot dogs, which for some reason can be killed somewhat easily with a machine gun. People shoot at them with no concern about bullets bouncing off or anything which seems odd. Anyway, just hate watching the rest of the season to see how it ends. Not recommended. See more Read all reviews
The War of the Worlds — Season 1

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Episodes

Episode 1 Aired Oct 6, 2019 A mysterious capsule lands on Horsell Common; A terrifying menace inside the capsule is unleashed; Amy and George survive the slaughter, but the Martian invader takes its full form and unleashes further destruction. Details Episode 2 Aired Oct 13, 2019 George is alive and desperately searching for Amy. But he is conscripted to fight the Martians against his wishes and horrified to discover that there is more than one invader. More and more capsules pour down onto Earth as the invasion takes full flight. In London, Amy and Frederick must put their huge differences aside to escape the terror of the black smoke and the government's deluded strategy to resist the Martian invasion. Details Episode 3 Aired Oct 20, 2019 While George, Amy, Frederick and their fellow survivors take shelter in an abandoned orphanage, the initial attack appears to be over. But when the survivors make a very grim discovery in the orphanage it becomes clear that the second phase of the Martian conquest is only just beginning. In the aftermath of the Martian attack, Amy must plumb the depths of her memory of the attack in order to unlock the key that could help the humans fight back. Details
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Season Info

Director
Craig Viveiros
Executive Producer
Peter Harness, Preethi Mavahalli, Damien Timmer, Craig Viveiros, Tommy Bulfin, Minglu Ma
Screenwriter
Peter Harness
Network
BBC
Rating
TV-14
Genre
Drama, Sci-Fi
Original Language
British English
Release Date
Oct 6, 2019