Entertainment
6 Modern War TV Shows That Are 10/10, No Notes
War is a genre that is more commonly explored in movies than on television, but it has been on the rise recently, thanks to the trend of on-demand viewing and streaming services. Numerous great TV shows and miniseries have emerged in the war genre, exploring a vast array of conflicts and showcasing the darkest moments in world history. They’ve attracted their fair share of fans because there’s something strangely fascinating about witnessing even a small drop of the destruction and damage that humankind is really capable of.
Most of these war-themed TV shows that have come out are good, but some, especially in the last decade or so, have surpassed all expectations and blown every other series out of the water. Whether it’s the distant past or even the last 100 years or so, these war-themed TV shows have done pretty much everything right, without missing a beat, making them genuinely perfect in every sense of the word.
6
‘SAS: Rogue Heroes’ (2022–Present)
The United Kingdom’s Special Air Service, or SAS, is known for being one of the oldest and most elite special forces units in the world. It has its roots in the Second World War, where it was formed for desert operations in North Africa. The SAS stands strong today, often conducting high-risk counter-terrorism operations for the Crown, becoming famous after they defused a hostage crisis at the Iranian embassy in London in 1980. SAS: Rogue Heroes is a TV series that takes audiences way back to the origins of the group, allowing them to see how the group formed under immense pressure during World War II.
During the world’s deadliest conflict, the SAS was responsible for conducting a series of dangerous raids on critical Axis military installations, often involving sabotage operations to slow the flow or production of weapons and supplies. This series is absolutely brilliant in the way it depicts the SAS, especially with how it puts names to faces and makes the original unit members feel more life-like. There’s so much chemistry between the main cast, and the show features some great action to boot. While there have only been two seasons so far, a third is expected to be released sometime soon, since a third season was greenlit in 2025. What audiences have gotten so far, though, is really remarkable, and lets audiences see the high-stakes operations conducted by the unit, as well as the immense bravery its members showed.
5
‘The Narrow Road to the Deep North’ (2025)
The Narrow Road to the Deep North is an Australian miniseries set during the Second World War that remains criminally underrated. Despite critical scores that were pretty much perfect, many still have yet to tune into this masterwork of television. The Narrow Road stars Jacob Elordi as Dorrigo, an Australian man who is deployed into the Second World War and is eventually taken prisoner in the Far East. The series later fast-forwards to several decades after the war. Throughout the episodes, one plot point stands strong: Jacob’s forbidden love affair with his own aunt.
Granted, he and his aunt aren’t related by blood, but that only makes it marginally less weird, and certainly doesn’t make it okay. However, the series is based on a 2013 novel, which was very successful, so it would seem that many are into the plot. Even though it is kind of icky, the series is definitely well-made, and hits all the beats of not only being a fantastic war TV show, but a fantastic drama miniseries too. At only five episodes, it doesn’t waste a second of screentime. It’s perfectly paced and perfectly executed, and you need to watch it if you haven’t already.
4
‘The Tattooist of Auschwitz’ (2024)
The Tattooist of Auschwitz isn’t a place to find heroic stories of excellence or battle prowess. Instead, this miniseries is a harrowing reminder of the Holocaust, the most well-documented and deadliest genocide in human history. The Holocaust is a pretty famous event, one that really doesn’t need any introduction, as many know about it already. But for the unaware or uninitiated, the Holocaust was the systematic murder of millions of people, primarily Jewish people, across Nazi-occupied Europe. The genocide is closely intertwined with the Second World War.
Auschwitz-Birkenau is infamous for being one of the most active death camps during the genocide, with over one million people meeting their deaths within its walls. This series is about historical figure Lali Sokolov, played by Harvey Keitel. Sokolov was a Jewish inmate whose job was to tattoo identification numbers on the arms of other inmates, hence the title. Based on a 2018 novel of the same name, this series is a sobering reminder of the cruelty and oppression that came with the Third Reich, and the unimaginable suffering millions of people endured under its shadow. Despite this, the series is brilliant in every way. Not only is it well-made, but it’s also a fresh reminder that human cruelty really has no limits.
3
‘Chief of War’ (2025–Present)
Hollywood actor Jason Momoa has never been shy about his Hawaiian ancestry, and often incorporates elements of Hawaiian culture into his roles. However, no project of his has ever really let his roots shine more than Apple TV’s Chief of War. This series follows a conflict that likely has never been explored in cinema or television before. It occurred at the end of the18th century, when the Kingdoms of the Hawaiian Islands were fractured into a state of civil war, and had yet to be assimilated into the United States. This happened under the rule of Kamehameha I, who actually makes an appearance in the show, played by Kaina Makua.
Jason Momoa plays historical figure Ka’iana, a Hawaiian warrior who spent some time abroad, only to return and join the current civil conflict plaguing the Hawaiian islands. As the four kingdoms of Maui, Oahu, Kauai, and Hawaii are at each other’s throats, Ka’iana leads a rebellion against Kamehameha I in a bloody campaign that lasted almost three decades. With versions in both English and Hawaiian, it is clear that this series is a major passion project for Jason Momoa, who also serves as one of the show’s executive producers and co-creators. Whenever an actor or showrunner truly cares about something, it definitely translates to the audience. Viewers can feel the love that went into it, and it results in a historical drama full of action, adventure, and a glimpse into a piece of the past that has long since been forgotten. Each episode is pretty much perfect, and it’s left viewers hungry for more.
2
‘Barbarians’ (2020–2022)
Barbarians is a German Netflix series that is set during the First Century CE, when the newly-formed Roman Empire began to invade Germania. In these untamed wilds, many local tribes, including the famous Teutons, put aside their feuds and differences to fight the Roman invaders. The Germanic tribes went down in history for giving the Romans a really hard time, completely halting their invasion and driving the disciplined Roman military back.
Even though it only lasted two seasons, the war series is a bona fide masterpiece in every way. The action is exciting, and the series portrays the conflict from both sides. The violence is brutal and unflinching, and the famous Battle of Teutoburg Forest is depicted in full display, allowing audiences to really experience this important, yet often overlooked, piece of European history. It’s exciting, heart-wrenching, and inspiring all in one package.
1
‘Shōgun’ (2024–Present)
Shōgun has been super popular since it came out, and the excitement about it has scarcely died down. Based on a massive novel by James Clavell, there really isn’t all that much truth to the story of Shōgun. In fact, most of the events, characters, and feuds are entirely fictional. But that hasn’t slowed down its popularity. In truth, most of the things in Shōgun are based on true events and historical figures, but only loosely. The series is set at the onset of the Edo Period, a time commonly known as Feudal Japan. This period of Japanese history was marked by constant strife, political upheaval, societal unrest, civil war, and rebellions, and is practically synonymous with the legendary class of noble warriors known as the samurai.
This Hulu and FX joint project really made waves when it came out. It’s not the first TV adaptation of James Clavell’s novel, but it is undoubtedly the best. There isn’t a single wasted frame in this series, which is why it earned such fantastic critical and audience reviews. In fact, it was so successful that what was planned to be a miniseries eventually got a second season, which is expected to come out fairly soon. This is one of the greatest TV shows of any genre in recent years, with great action, romance, drama, and political intrigue. It’s definitely a 10 out of 10, although many viewers would likely give it a higher score if they could.
- Release Date
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2024 – 2026-00-00
- Directors
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Fred Toye, Jonathan van Tulleken, Charlotte Brändström, Takeshi Fukunaga, Hiromi Kamata
- Writers
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Rachel Kondo