Introduction
La Guerre Des Mondes, aka The War of the Worlds, is a television series produced by Fox Networks Group and StudioCanal-backed Urban Myth Films.
The series is written by Howard Overman, and directed by Gilles Coulier and Richard Clark. The series is an adaptation of the H.G. Wells novel of the same name, and is the third television adaptation of the Wells’ Martian invasion novel.
The first season consists of eight episodes, and first premiered in France in October 2019. An eight-episode second season premiered in France in May 2021. War of the Worlds was renewed for a third season in July 2021, which air in September 2022.
Outline
Set in contemporary France and the UK, this Anglo-French reimagining of H.G. Wells’ classic in the style of Walking Dead follows pockets of survivors forced to team up after an apocalyptic extra-terrestrial strike..
Cast
- Main:
- Gabriel Byrne as Bill Ward.
- Léa Drucker as Catherine Durand.
- Daisy Edgar-Jones as Emily Gresham (seasons 1-2).
- Elizabeth McGovern as Helen Brown, Bill’s ex-wife (season 1).
- Bayo Gbadamosi as Kariem Gat Wich Machar.
- Adel Bencherif as Colonel Mustafa Mokrani (season 1; guest season 2).
- Emilie de Preissac as Sophia Durand, Catherine’s sister.
- Natasha Little as Sarah Gresham, Emily and Tom’s mother.
- Ty Tennant as Tom Gresham, Emily’s brother.
- Stephen Campbell Moore as Jonathan Gresham, Emily and Tom’s father.
- Stéphane Caillard as Chloe Dumont.
- Aaron Heffernan as Ash Daniel (season 1 & 3; recurring season 2).
- Mathieu Torloting as Sacha Dumont, Chloe’s son (recurring season 1; main season 2).
- Pearl Chanda as Zoe (main: season 2-3).
- Molly Windsor as Martha (main: season 3).
- Lizzie Brocheré as Juliet (main: season 3).
- Lukas Haas as Richard (main: season 3).
- Featured:
- The below actors are credited in the opening titles of only one or two episodes in which they play a significant role.
- Georgina Rich as Rachel.
- Michael Marcus as Dan Ward, Bill and Helen’s son.
- Paul Gorostidi as Nathan.
- Théo Christine as Saaid.
- Alysson Paradis as Officer Clara.
- Guillaume Gouix as Noah Dumont, Chloe’s brother.
Production
Development
War of the Worlds is produced by Fox Networks Group and StudioCanal. AGC Television co-finances and co-distributes the series. The series is executive produced by Overman, Julian Murphy and Johnny Capps.
Gilles Coulier and Richard Clark each directed four episodes of the series, with Coulier directing the first four episode and Clark directing the last four. The series was written by Howard Overman. By October 2019, the creative team had begun work on a second season. Richard Clark returned to direct the first four episodes, with Ben A. Williams directing the final four.
In July 2021, War of the Worlds was renewed for a third season, with production already underway. The third season is set to air in 2022.
Casting
Gabriel Byrne and Elizabeth McGovern star in the series. They are joined by Daisy Edgar-Jones and Bayo Gbadamosi as co-stars, and Stéphane Caillard, Adel Bencherif, Guillaume Gouix, Léa Drucker and Natasha Little as main supporting cast. Greg Kinnear was originally set to star but was not listed in the starring cast list when it was revealed by Deadline Hollywood in January 2019.
Filming
Production for the first season took place in the United Kingdom, France and Belgium. The series was filmed in Bristol in March 2019, as well as filming in Cardiff, Newport and London.
The second season began filming on 13 July 2020, with filming concluding on 22 October 2020.
Release
The first series was released in full on MyCanal in France on 28 October 2019, before being broadcast from the same day in weekly batches of two episodes and was released in most parts of Europe and Africa weekly between 30 October and 18 December 2019. The series premiered in the United States on 16 February 2020, on Epix; in the UK on 05 March 2020; and in Canada on 07 October 2020, on CBC Television.
The eight-episode second season was released in full in France on MyCanal on 17 May 2021, before being broadcast from the same day in weekly batches of two episodes, mirroring the release of the first season. The season is set to premiere on Fox on 24 May 2021; in the United States on Epix on 06 June 2021; on CBC Gem on 06 October 2021 in Canada; and on the Star hub on Disney+ in the UK and Ireland on 16 July 2021.
Canal+ and Fox Networks Group have the rights to release the series in Europe and Africa. AGC Television distributes the series to the North American market and co-distributes, with StudioCanal, to Latin America, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and the Middle East. Fox Networks Group releases the series in Europe. The series broadcasts on Fox in more than 50 countries and on Epix in the United States and territories.
The eight-episode third season began broadcast from 05 September 2022, in weekly batches of two episodes. The season premiered in the US on Epix on 12 September 2022.
War of the Worlds Series (2019)
- Series 01 (2019):
- Series 02 (2021):
- Series 03 (2022):
The War of the Worlds Film, TV Series & Documentaries
You can find a full index and overview of the War of the Worlds franchise here.
Production & Filming Details
- Director(s):
- Richard Clark … (8 episodes, 2019-2021).
- Gilles Coulier … (4 episodes, 2019).
- Ben A. Williams … (4 episodes, 2021).
- Indra Siera … (1 episode).
- Producer(s):
- Johnny Capps … executive producer (17 episodes, 2019-2021).
- Adam Knopf … producer / head of production (17 episodes, 2019-2021).
- Julian Murphy … executive producer (17 episodes, 2019-2021).
- Howard Overman … executive producer / executive producer (17 episodes, 2019-2021).
- Emma Brown … line producer (8 episodes, 2019).
- Gilles Coulier … executive producer (8 episodes, 2019).
- Gilles De Schryver … associate producer (8 episodes, 2019).
- Wouter Sap … associate producer (8 episodes, 2019).
- Gareth Williams … producer (8 episodes, 2019).
- Darren Green … line producer (8 episodes, 2021).
- Claude Albouze … line producer: French unit (4 episodes, 2019).
- Nadine Borreman … line producer: De Wereldvrede (4 episodes, 2019).
- Sara Johnson … executive producer: Fox (4 episodes, 2019).
- Tahereh Kharzai … associate producer: Scope Pictures (4 episodes, 2019).
- Genevieve Lemal … producer: Scope Pictures (4 episodes, 2019).
- David Ragonig … line producer: Scope Pictures (4 episodes, 2019).
- Writer(s):
- Howard Overman … (creator) (17 episodes, 2019-2021).
- Howard Overman … (creator) (17 episodes, 2019-2021).
- Howard Overman … (writer) (17 episodes, 2019-2021).
- H.G. Wells … (novel) (8 episodes, 2019).
- Music:
- David Martijn … (16 episodes, 2019-2021).
- Cinematography:
- David Williamson … (5 episodes, 2019).
- Anton Mertens … (4 episodes, 2019).
- Mattias Nyberg … (4 episodes, 2021).
- Editor(s):
- David Blackmore … (3 episodes, 2019).
- Sarah Brewerton … (2 episodes, 2019).
- Ben Drury … (2 episodes, 2021).
- Sara Jones … (2 episodes, 2021).
- Simon Reglar … (2 episodes, 2021).
- Sam Williams … (2 episodes, 2021).
- Bert Jacobs … (1 episode, 2019).
- Burt Jacobs … (1 episode, 2019).
- Production:
- Urban Myth Films.
- Fox Networks Group.
- StudioCanal.
- Distributor(s):
- AGC Television.
- Canal+.
- De Wereldvrede (in association with).
- Urban Myth Films.
- Network(s):
- Fox Networks Group (2019-) (Non-US) (TV) (Europe and Africa).
- Canal+ (2019-) (Non-US) (TV) (Europe and Africa).
- StudioCanal (2019-) (Non-US) (TV) (Latin America, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and the Middle East).
- AGC Television (2019-) (USA) (TV) (and Latin America, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and the Middle East).
- Canal+ (2019-) (France) (TV).
- BluTV (2019) (Turkey) (video) (internet).
- Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) (2020-) (Canada) (TV).
- Disney+ (2021) (UK) (video) (VOD) (Star) (season 2).
- Epix (I) (2020-) (USA) (TV).
- FOX (2020) (UK) (TV) (season 1).
- FOX (2019-) (Netherlands) (TV).
- FOX (2019) (South Africa) (TV) (and rest of Africa).
- Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) (2020) (Australia) (TV).
- Release Date:
- Series 01: 28 October 2019 to 18 November 2019.
- Series 02: 17 May 2021 to 07 June 2021.
- Series 03: 05 September 2022 to 26 September 2022.
- Running Time: 60 minutes.
- Rating: 18.
- Country: US and France.
- Language: English and French.
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