HBO's 'War' Is an Instant Streaming Hit — and Season 2 Is Already Wrapped
George Kay's legal thriller landed in HBO Max's global Top 10 within days of its Oct. 1 premiere. HBO ordered two seasons before it aired.
HBO's War premiered on Thursday. By Saturday, it was one of the most-watched shows on HBO Max.
Collider reported on Oct. 3 that, according to streaming tracker FlixPatrol, the series landed in HBO Max's global top 10 immediately after its debut. In the United States, it was the fourth-most popular series, trailing Lanterns and Stuart Fails to Save the Universe and ahead of Sharon Horgan's Youth.
The show is a legal thriller from George Kay. Kay created Lupin, Criminal and Hijack.
Sienna Miller plays Carla Duval, an international film star. Dominic West plays Morgan Henderson, a British tech billionaire. Their explosive divorce is the engine of the first season. Two rival London law firms, Cathcarts & Sons and Taylor & Byrne, take the case.
The lawyers are played by Phoebe Fox, James McArdle, Celia Imrie and Emma Laird. Decider's cast list also includes Archie Renaux, Nina Sosanya, Pip Torrens and Nick Mohammed.
Critics have been kind. The series holds an 87 percent Certified Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Decider called it “an absolute blast” and compared it to The Good Wife meets Industry. Not everyone is sold: Time's Judy Berman called the first season “slick but shallow.”
HBO gave the show a two-season order before the first season aired. Season one runs eight episodes, with new installments weekly through Nov. 19. Production on season two began earlier this year and has already wrapped, according to Sky. It shifts to a defamation case and adds Marisa Tomei, Kelly Macdonald and David Harewood.
The series is built as an anthology. Each season follows a new headline case through the same two firms.
