War TV shows have seen a resurgence thanks to streaming platforms. The genre, though often found in movies, continues to evolve on the small screen, offering timeless anti-war messages. This article discusses the staying power of war TV shows, highlighting classics like 'The Pillars of the Earth' and 'Tour of Duty'.
War TV shows have been coming out for 60 or so years now, and are seeing an increase in production thanks to the rise of streaming platforms. Though the genre is more commonly explored in movies, that hasn't stopped small-screen developers from creating their own stories, often to fantastic reviews.
The genre is always evolving, much like the medium of television itself, yet there are so many shows that still hold up. From miniseries to long-running, multi-season affairs, war TV shows often have timeless anti-war messages that will never get old so long as there are wars in the world. Which, suffice it to say, means they will never, ever get old, unfortunately. Though they often aren't for the faint of heart, these classic war shows are still worth binging long after their conclusions. 10 'The Pillars of the Earth' The Pillars of the Earth is based on a novel of the same name by Ken Follett, which is set during the Anarchy. The Anarchy was the name given to a long period of uprising, civil war, and societal unrest in 12th-Century England, where law and order all but collapsed throughout the kingdom. In this messy time, a few select people just want to build a cathedral in the fictitious town of Kingsbridge. The miniseries made a lot of notable changes from the book, even coming up with a completely different ending. Despite how unfaithful it is, it's still a brilliant political thriller/war series, which examines the culture of the Middle Ages with a broad lens. Lots of big names appear in this series, which is why it became such a classic. To this day, while it's not the most action-packed series, it's still a fantastic show that's worth watching. 9 'Tour of Duty' Tour of Duty took a gamble and took audiences to the dense jungles of Vietnam, which was kind of a fresh wound for the American public, considering public outrage about the Vietnam War in the decades prior. The show cranks things up a notch, too, touching on concepts like prejudice and mental illness in the military that many other war shows wouldn't dare touch upon. Or at least, not at the time. There aren't too many TV shows out there about frontline combat in the Vietnam War, so this one really does feel fresh and original. It's not the best thing out there, but it was well-received and is commonly seen as a cult classic, and a classic nonetheless. Tour of Duty does almost everything really well, with an anti-war message that remains applicable long after it concluded. 8 'The White Queen' Based on a novel of the same name by Philippa Gregory, The White Queen is set during the Wars of the Roses. The Wars of the Roses occurred in England in the 15th Century, and were a period of societal unrest and civil war as two royal houses violently competed for the throne. Though the battles fought with sword and shield are obviously important, the series turns its attention elsewhere. Instead, this show focuses on the women of the royal houses, who enact a series of daring political maneuvers to ensure their house's victory. Most of the characters are actual historical figures, too, which is nice. It's a rewarding political thriller that, sadly, was very underrated, yet it is still seen as an all-time classic. If you like political drama, this really is one of the most perfect shows to watch. 7 'The Man in the High Castle' The Man in the High Castle is an alternate history TV series that takes place in the 1960s. It imagines a bleak world in which the Nazis won the Second World War and have succeeded in their mission for world domination. Most of the series occurs in what was once the United States of America, where a small, but dedicated resistance movement emerges, hoping to bring down the totalitarian regimes. This series is more relevant than ever, as it's a harsh reminder of how bloody lucky we really are that the Allies won World War II, because the world would have been a much worse place had they not. On top of that, the series is a tense political thriller, and a brilliant bit of speculative fiction to boot. Though it ended less than a decade ago, it still has an applicable message, and it has most definitely established itself as a classic TV series. 6 'Combat!' Combat! is widely seen as the first war-themed TV show ever created. At the very least, it was the first one that was broadcast to American audiences. This series, as the name implies, is an action-packed epic about frontline combat, specifically during the Second World War. Most of it is set after D-Day, meaning it is limited to the final years of the war, 1944 and 1945. The main characters of this series are, of course, American soldiers and military officers, who endure hellish conditions throughout their time on the Western Front. Since it's the first war TV show to hit American small screens, this show is basically the ultimate classic, and yet, it's barely aged. It did well for itself at the time, and it's done pretty well for itself now, too. COLLIDER Collider · Quiz Collider Exclusive · Sci-Fi Survival Quiz Which Sci-Fi World Would You Survive? The Matrix · Mad Max · Blade Runner · Dune · Star Wars Five universes. Five completely different ways the future went wrong — or sideways, or up in flames. Only one of them is the world your instincts were built for. Eight questions will figure out which dystopia, galaxy, or desert wasteland you'd actually make it out of alive. 💊The Matrix 🔥Mad Max 🌧️Blade Runner 🏜️Dune 🚀Star Wars TEST YOUR SURVIVAL → QUESTION 1 / 8INSTINCT 01 You sense something is deeply wrong with the world around you. What do you do? The first instinct is often the truest one. APull on every thread until I understand the system — then figure out how to break it. BStop asking questions and start stockpiling — food, fuel, weapons. Questions don't keep you alive. CKeep my head down, observe carefully, and trust no one until I know who's pulling the strings. DStudy the patterns. Every system has a rhythm — learn it, and you learn how to survive it. EFind the people fighting back and join them. You can't fix a broken galaxy alone. NEXT QUESTION → QUESTION 2 / 8RESOURCE 02 In a world of scarcity, what resource do you guard most fiercely? What we protect reveals what we believe survival actually requires. AKnowledge. If you understand the system, you don't need resources — you can generate them. BFuel. Everything else — movement, power, escape — runs on it. CTrust. In a world of fakes and informants, a truly reliable ally is rarer than any commodity. DWater. And after water, information — the two things empires are truly built on. EShips and credits. The galaxy is big — you survive it by being able to move through it freely. NEXT QUESTION → QUESTION 3 / 8THREAT 03 What kind of threat keeps you up at night? Fear is useful data — if you're honest about what you're actually afraid of. AThat reality itself is a lie — that everything I experience has been constructed to keep me compliant. BA raid. No warning, no mercy — just the roar of engines and then nothing left. CBeing identified. Once someone with power decides you're a problem, you're already out of time. DBeing outmanoeuvred — losing a political game I didn't even know I was playing. EThe Empire tightening its grip until there's nowhere left to run. NEXT QUESTION → QUESTION 4 / 8AUTHORITY 04 How do you deal with authority you don't trust? Every dystopia has a power structure. Your approach to it determines everything. ASubvert it from the inside — learn its rules well enough to weaponise them against it. BIgnore it and stay out of its reach. The further from any power structure, the better. CAppear to comply while doing exactly what I need to do. Visibility is the enemy. DManoeuvre within it carefully. You can't beat a system you refuse to understand. EResist openly when I have to. Some things are worth the risk of being seen. NEXT QUESTION → QUESTION 5 / 8ENVIRONMENT 05 Which environment could you actually endure long-term? Survival isn't just tactical — it's physical, psychological, and very much about where you are. AUnderground bunkers and server rooms — cramped, artificial, but with access to everything that matters. BOpen wasteland — brutal sun, no shelter, constant movement. At least the threat is honest. CA dense, rain-soaked city where you can disappear into the crowd and nobody asks questions. DMerciless desert — extreme heat, no water, and something enormous living beneath the sand. EThe fringe — backwater planets and busy spaceports where the Empire's attention rarely reaches. NEXT QUESTION → QUESTION 6 / 8ALLIANCE 06 Who do you want in your corner when things fall apart? The company you keep is the clearest signal of who you actually are. AA tight crew of believers who've seen behind the curtain and have nothing left to lose. BOne or two people I'd trust with my life. Any more than that and someone talks. CNobody, ideally. Alliances are liabilities. I work alone unless I have no choice. DA community bound by shared hardship and mutual survival — people who need each other to last. EA ragtag team with wildly different skills and total commitment when it counts. NEXT QUESTION → QUESTION 7 / 8MORALITY 07 Where do you draw the line — if you draw one at all? Every survivor eventually faces a moment that tests what they're actually made of. AI won't harm the innocent — even the ones who'd report me without hesitation. BI do what I have to to protect the people I've chosen. Everything else is negotiable. CThe line shifts depending on who's asking and what's at stake. DI draw a long-term line — nothing that compromises my people's future, even if it'd help now. ESome lines, once crossed, can't be uncrossed. I know which ones they are. NEXT QUESTION → QUESTION 8 / 8PURPOSE 08 What would actually make survival worth it? Staying alive is one thing. Having a reason to is another. AWaking others up — dismantling the illusion so no one else has to live inside it. BFinding somewhere — or someone — worth protecting. A reason to keep moving. CAnswers. Understanding what I am, what any of this means, before time runs out. DLegacy — shaping the future in a way that outlasts me by generations. EFreedom — for myself, for others, for every world still living under someone else's boot. REVEAL MY WORLD → Your Fate Has Been Calculated You'd Survive In… Your answers point to the world your instincts were built for. This is the universe your temperament, your survival instincts, and your particular brand of stubbornness were made for. The Resistance, Zion The Matrix You took the red pill a long time ago — probably before anyone offered it to you. You're a systems thinker who can't help but notice the seams in things. The Wasteland Mad Max The wasteland doesn't reward the clever or the well-connected — it rewards those who are hard to kill and harder to break. That's you. Los Angeles, 2049 Blade Runner You'd survive here because you know how to exist in moral grey areas without losing yourself completely. Arrakis Dune Arrakis is the most hostile environment in the known universe — and you are precisely the kind of person it rewards. A Galaxy Far, Far Away Star Wars The galaxy far, far away is vast, loud, and in a constant state of violent political upheaval — and you wouldn't have it any other way. ↻ RETAKE THE QUIZ 5 'Rome' Rome is a series that, believe it or not, is set in Ancient Rome. Specifically, it is set in the waning days of the Roman Republic, before its formation into an Empire. The war in question here is Caesar's Civil War in Egypt, which pitted the Pharaohs, Cleopatra VII, and her brother, Ptolemy XIII, against each other. Though the series only really addresses this conflict in its second season. Regardless, the show perfectly reflects Roman politics, society, culture, and the violence that occurred during this conflict. It set a lot of trends for the war genre and was a pioneering entry into TV shows with little to no censorship. Because of this, it became a classic pretty much overnight. If you're more into swords and sandals than bombs and bullets, Rome is the ultimate war show for you. 4 'Generation Kill' Generation Kill is a series that came out at the height of the very conflict it was depicting. The series is centered on the U.S. Invasion of Iraq, which began in 2003. The miniseries is a true story, based on a memoir written by journalist Evan Wright. Wright was embedded with an American military unit during the conflict, and even appears in the show, where he is played by Lee Tergesen. This miniseries really made waves because it was one of the first pieces of media to really bring the controversy of the Iraq War home to American audiences. It did away with censorship, allowing audiences to really witness the horror of the conflict and the chaos of modern combat. Generation Kill is a masterpiece, which was an instant classic in the world of television. With ongoing tensions in the Middle East, its message has remained fresher than ever, warranting a watch or rewatch. 3 'The Pacific' The Pacific takes viewers to the Pacific War, a major part of the Second World War that swept across the globe. This conflict was primarily fought between the Allies and the Japanese Empire, who wreaked havoc across Asia and Oceania. For years, the Japanese conquered island after island, hopping their way across many strategic countries, from the Philippines to the Solomon Islands. Subscribe for curated newsletter picks on war TV classics Get deeper context by subscribing to the newsletter for expanded recommendations, behind-the-scenes context, and curated exploration of war TV and related historical drama, perfect for readers who want deeper picks and viewing guidance. Get Updates By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime. This miniseries stars an American infantry regiment as they battle their way across the Pacific Theater, through some of the most famous battles, from Peleliu in Palau to Okinawa in Japan. The series features lots of jungle warfare and guerrilla tactics used by the Japanese, meaning the environment is just as hazardous as the actual weaponry. It's brutally violent, but very exciting, all the same, and is most definitely a war show worth binge-watching. 2 'Band of Brothers' Band of Brothers is a joint project between Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks, who co-created the series together. The show follows the men of Easy Company in the 101st Airborne Division of the US Army. These specialized troops served as paratroopers and were present in some of the bloodiest battles of the war's Western Front. From the invasion of Normandy on D-Day to the Battle of the Bulge, audiences get to witness the final push into Germany in the waning years of the war. Several things set this show apart. For one, it features interviews from real veterans of the very same unit. On top of that, it brings the violence and chaos of combat to life in a whole new way, which was much more visceral than anything TV had ever dared to show before. This show absolutely nailed the brotherhood dynamic, which is part of why it became such a classic. To this day, even a quarter of a century later, it's worth every second of watching. 1 'M*A*S*H' M*A*S*H is a classic wartime sitcom that surely needs no introduction. It's one of the most well-respected and positively-received TV shows of all time, and not just in the war genre. The series is set during the Korean War, also known as the Forgotten War or the Ugly War, but it doesn't take viewers to the frontlines. Instead, it follows a team of medics at an American base, who tend to the wounded, and encounter some pretty ridiculous circumstances. While the show does have its fair share of tragic and emotional moments, for the most part, it is lighthearted and comical. It showed that light can be found in even the darkest of times, and that the bright side is something everyone should aspire to seek. To this day, many people are discovering or rediscovering the series, which is why you should totally check it out if you haven't already. Like Follow Followed M*A*S*H Drama Comedy Release Date 1972 - 1983-00-00 Network CBS Showrunner Larry Gelbart Directors Larry Gelbart Cast See All
War TV Shows Television Streaming The Pillars Of The Earth Tour Of Duty Vietnam War Historical Drama
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