Sky's new drama War, starring Sienna Miller and Dominic West, is a savage and engrossing legal battle that hooked our TV editor from the very start.
The series depicts not one, but a multitude of battles. There is the divorce between famous actress Carla Duval and tech titan Morgan Henderson. There is tension brewing between rival law firms vying to win big over their lucrative split, fighting tooth and nail to defeat opponents with whom they have a personal, bitter history. Then there is the inner politics: within the law firms, they pretend to play fair while all secretly plotting dirty tactics to get the leg up on their foes, while also competing with their colleagues to be the top dogs.
What is War about?
Sky's new drama War depicts not one, but a multitude of battles. We have the divorce between famous actress Carla Duval and tech titan Morgan Henderson. There's the tension brewing between the rival law firms vying to win big over their lucrative split, fighting tooth and nail to defeat their opponents, with whom they have a personal, bitter history. Then there's the inner politics. Within the law firms, they pretend to play fair while all secretly plotting dirty tactics to get the leg up on their foes, while also competing with their colleagues to be the top dogs.
Our TV editor notes that she has never worked in a law firm, so cannot attest whether ploys like the ones in the drama actually happen, but her flabbers were sufficiently gasted.
Cast and characters
The cast of War includes Dominic West as Morgan Henderson, Sienna Miller as Carla Duval, Phoebe Fox as Serena Byrne, James McArdle as Nicholas Taylor, Pip Torrens as St. John Smallwood, Nina Sosanya as Beatrice Ubosi, Archie Renaux as Johnny Warren, Nick Mohammed as Michael Stefano, Shaheen Jafargholi as Saeed Masood, Akiya Henry as Nora Okafo, Honor Swinton Byrne as Bella Croft, Miles Jupp as David Schill, Kartanya Maynard as Suzie Levitniik, Emma Laird as Molly Giordano, Rose Williams as Flora Monroe, and Aran Murphy as Gabriel.
Our TV editor notes that she hasn't seen Sienna on screen in a while, perhaps since Anatomy of a Scandal in 2022. She might be playing a character with a life not too dissimilar to her own – an actress known globally who's constantly in the spotlight – but Carla is nothing like her. When she met Sienna in person for the War interview, she appeared very warm and approachable. Carla has an icy demeanour, one that she's built to protect herself from scrutiny and further hurt from her husband.
As for Dominic, he's gained somewhat of a reputation for playing unfaithful husbands. One of his best-known roles is opposite Ruth Wilson in the critically acclaimed drama The Affair. During the chat, our TV editor brought up the fact that she last spoke to him when he starred as then-Prince Charles in The Crown – another complicated marriage, another bitter divorce.
Verdict on War
War is savage TV, a story reeking of ruthlessness that's hidden behind a perfectly polished facade of courtesy and formality. Our TV editor loved it, and could lap up many more seasons. The only shortfall was the slightly anticlimactic end, but she still found it a fantastic watch.
Celia Imrie is a delicious addition to the cast, swooping in to add a touch of mischief when the rest of the lawyers are flailing in their despair, while Shadow and Bone star Archie Renaux brings the perfect dose of arrogance to his character Johnny, a budding lawyer who'll seemingly cross any line to crush his competition.
Our TV editor admits she found the ending quite anticlimactic given how fraught the hostility is from the moment the series begins. But that doesn't take away from how engrossing she found it. If this is the start of a long-running anthology series about warring law firms, sign her up.
War premieres on Friday October 2 on Sky and streaming service NOW.
