War Season 1 Review: HBO's Superb Legal Series Brings The Drama & Betrayals

HBO and Sky's thrilling anthology, War, debuts with a gripping first season, featuring a stellar ensemble cast led by Sienna Miller and Dominic West.

Published Sep 25, 2026, 10:00 AM EDT

Dani Kessel Odom (they/them) is an autistic lead writer and TV critic who covers sci-fi shows like Doctor Who and Pluribus, fantasy shows like The Magicians and Percy Jackson, and horror of all kinds. They also cover Marvel and DC TV shows and movies, with a robust knowledge of comic books. Their TV reviews can be found on Rotten Tomatoes.

Dani is also part of ScreenRant's books team, using their fiction writing and literature studies as the backbone for their book analyses.

They have covered events, such as the Denver Fan Expo. Professionals in the field, such as Damien Leone and Lucy Hale, have shared their articles. Their review of Ponies was quoted in the show's TV trailer.

In university, they majored in English Writing with a minor in psychology. They have always had a passion for analyzing TV and movies, even taking filmography and scriptwriting classes in university. They also studied and participated in onstage and onscreen acting extensively from the ages of 7 to 18.

Aside from working at Screen Rant, Dani has worked as a freelance editor and writer over the past decade, often in a ghostwriting capacity.

HBO and Sky’s War season 1 delivers an almost perfect debut, with quick pacing and plenty of surprises that will keep audiences on the edge of their seats. Television has no shortage of legal dramas, and every new release in the genre gets compared to fan-favorite law classics like Better Call Saul and Suits, which set the bar impossibly high. However, HBO and Sky’s War, which was included in ScreenRant's fall 2026 TV preview, has such a phenomenal first season that it could easily find a place among the greats if it maintains the quality in future seasons.

Picked up for a two-season order with the potential for more, War will have an anthology format, with each season following different legal cases and characters. The first season centers on the high-profile divorce case between social media mogul Morgan Henderson, played by Dominic West, and famous actress Carla Duval, played by Sienna Miller. The competing firms Cathcarts and Taylor & Byrne represent Morgan and Carla, respectively, and neither will back down from a fight, especially since lawyers at the two firms used to work together. This leads to a legal battle filled with skeezy, unethical behavior.

War represents every negative stereotype that leads people to hate lawyers, but that's also what makes it so entertaining. The excellent legal drama is packed with money-hungry, power-grabbing lawyers who manipulate everyone around them, and you can't help but root for them all to fail. Ultimately, War’s so gripping and dramatic that it’s impossible to turn off.

Manipulation & Power Struggles Make HBO’s War Feel Shakespearean

I never thought I could be deeply invested in the divorce proceedings of two fictional characters; however, HBO’s War proved me wrong. The family law angle gives the series a fresh perspective, since most of the best lawyer shows focus on criminal law. However, it still captures a high-pressure, high-stakes feel that propels the story forward. Much of that feeling can be attributed to creator George Kay, who also served as executive producer and lead writer. His previous work is predominantly in the crime and thriller genres.

HBO's War is a gloriously dramatic story of power struggles and betrayals that can only be described as Shakespearean.

Kay successfully makes a divorce between two obscenely rich and powerful people feel like life or death, even though neither party is ever threatened, and both can walk away with any of the suggested settlements and live just fine. The perspectives bounce back and forth between lawyers at Cathcarts and Taylor & Byrne, plus their clients, similar to the show Damages. There’s also just enough realism, with the sharing of documents and junior attorneys being worked hard, to anchor the story.

The counterbalance is extremely necessary, as HBO's War is a gloriously dramatic story of power struggles and betrayals that can only be described as Shakespearean. The Cathcart firm and Taylor & Byrne possess a burning hatred for each other, and it’s unclear where it all started. The law firms use underhanded methods to get ahead. The firms have a clear push-and-pull, and I was never quite sure who would win in the end. The family drama, enhanced by the paparazzi, feels epic. The lawyers use Carla and Morgan's fatal flaws against each other.

Even Carla Duval, one of the two individuals getting divorced in War season 1, says the quiet part out loud. She explains to her lawyers, “I don’t understand how you can start so in love and end up so stuck, so humiliated, so determined to ruin each other.”

The British Legal Drama Is Perfectly Cast

Image from HBO

The HBO show is a rare case in which nearly every actor feels perfectly cast. Two recurring characters, Gabe Duval and Saeed Masood, felt less convincing. This wasn't due to overtly poor casting, as Aran Murphy and Shaheen Jafargholi are both skilled actors. They just may not have been the ideal choices for those specific roles. The mismatch was only noticeable, though, because the surrounding characters were so exceptionally well cast. Dominic West and Sienna Miller, two incredibly well-known actors, make Morgan and Carla feel like hurt people who wound each other emotionally out of pain. However, they’re still redeemable. Archie Renaux, a decently well-known but still-rising actor, makes the young lawyer Johnny completely engrossing. Meanwhile, Rose Williams doesn’t appear in even half the episodes, but her presence is commanding any time she shows up onscreen.

Beyond the individual performances, the chemistry between scene partners really elevated War from great to excellent.

Meanwhile, the actors playing the lawyers do a great job of creating characters I loved to hate. Besides the training associates and paralegals, the legal professionals on both sides are awful people. They’re terrible people doing terrible things. However, the excellent acting made it entertaining instead of irritating. I found amusement in their underhanded methods of making each other’s lives worse, especially because the reactions were golden.

The story only crossed into uncomfortable territory twice. The first occurs when one character intentionally made another’s speech impediment worse. The second is when a child is used as a pawn in a divorce. However, the acting in both instances makes it clear that War isn’t endorsing either behavior, even if I felt uneasy watching them. These moments are performed with sinisterness and cruelty.

Beyond the individual performances, the chemistry between scene partners really elevated War from great to excellent. Dominic West and Sienna Miller’s romantic chemistry shows the thin line between love and hate. Phoebe Fox and James McArdle create realistic tension between Serena Byrne and Nicholas Taylor, a married couple trying to keep their legal firm afloat while also preparing to have a baby. They feel like they’ve been married for a while and have developed some resentment. Another acting pair, Pip Torrens and James McArdle, work well together as former colleagues who now hate each other.

War’s Anthology Format Prevents An Overwrought Story

Image from HBO

HBO and Sky’s legal drama will be an anthology, and this feels like the right format after watching War season 1. Morgan and Clara’s story lasted eight episodes, which was exactly the right length. Neither six nor ten episodes, other usual season lengths, would have felt appropriate. Only a few scenes in the legal drama felt like they could have been cut without affecting the story, and I ended the show with only one or two questions, neither of which is big enough to warrant a longer runtime.

Question 1 of 2

The writers found the sweet spot, and the conclusion is satisfying, without leaving major open-ended questions or cliffhangers. As such, War season 2 can move on to a new story and characters without baggage. Though I’ll miss the excellent cast of War season 1, they already have Marisa Tomei, Kelly Macdonald, and David Harewood lined up to lead the next installment. By embracing the anthology, George Kay can keep things fresh while moving forward. Hopefully, War Season 2 meets the incredibly high bar set by season 1, bringing viewers more unethical lawyers and salacious storylines.

War season 1, episode 1 debuts October 1 on HBO and HBO Max and October 2 on NOW and Sky, with new episodes releasing every Thursday and Friday, respectively.

Pros & Cons

• HBO's War has an excellent cast
• War's story is gripping and Shakespearean
• War doesn't drag out the story too long
• Dominic West & Sienna Miller have great chemistry

• Johnny's backstory leaves a couple questions unanswered
• Gabe & Saeed felt poorly cast