[
World War II was the deadliest conflict in human history and is a topic that is popular in the media. The primary reasons for this are, of course, the scale of it and the fact that there was a clearly defined good and evil, with many of the world’s nations putting their differences aside to fight a common evil. For six years, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Oceania were wracked with bloody conflict, with almost every single country in the world taking part in some way.
It’s an event that provides a lot of ground to cover (both literally and figuratively), so it lends itself quite nicely to both movies and TV. In fact, many TV shows have touched upon various aspects of the war, but with the size of the conflict, they only really scratch the surface. Regardless, they are some of the best television shows ever made, shows that simply must be watched by Second World War enthusiasts.
15
‘All the Light We Cannot See’ (2023)
All the Light We Cannot See is a romantic drama that critics were not too pleased with. In fact, most critics gave it pretty scathing reviews, which is honestly kind of surprising. Casual viewers actually liked this show quite a lot, and gave it much better reviews than the critics, making for a pretty remarkable disparity between the two groups. Perhaps that speaks to the polarizing quality of the show.
The story here is based on a novel by Anthony Doerr, which follows a blind French woman who unexpectedly crosses paths with a young German man who was conscripted to fight for the war effort. Despite Germany occupying France and ruling with an iron fist, the two form an unlikely and forbidden romance. The four-part miniseries has some star quality, but some people can’t get past how some of the dialogue is kind of cringe. It’s not a show for everybody, but it did find its niche of fans.
14
‘The Liberator’ (2020)
The Liberator is a super unsettling animated miniseries that is intentionally drawn to look hyperrealistic, resulting in visuals that come straight from the uncanny valley. This might seem unintentional, but it actually does help the mood of the show, as the entire point of it is to showcase the horrors of war in a way that doesn’t shy away from showing uncomfortable things in full force.
The series centers on real-life military officer Felix Sparks (Bradley James) during his time fighting in the Italian Campaign of the Second World War. The show details the journey of Sparks and his unit as they perform monumental feats and become one of the most decorated units in American military history, winning loads of medals and awards. Though the show did have some clichés and flaws, it’s pretty good overall, if not anything groundbreaking.
13
‘Transatlantic’ (2023)
Transatlantic is a series about American heiress and journalist Mary Jayne Gold (Gillian Jacobs), a woman who traveled to France in the early days of World War II to arrange for safe passage out of the country for Jewish people, along with others who were marked as targets of interest by the Third Reich. She spent 13 months there, and in the end, saved the lives of over 2,000 people.
Since Transatlantic is about a real person, many of the characters are also based on real people, who come to life in a whole new way via the small screen. There isn’t a whole lot of action in it on account of the fact that it’s primarily a drama/thriller, but it’s still a remarkable tale of heroism, and shows that there was more than one way to aid the war effort, and that anyone can stand up for what is right, provided they are willing to do it.
12
‘Masters of the Air’ (2024)
Masters of the Air is the third companion series to the all-time classic, Band of Brothers. The story follows the 100th Bomb Group, which is assigned to conduct air raids and bombing runs on key targets in German-occupied areas of Europe during World War II. The series dispels the illusion that being a pilot or airman during the war was a walk in the park, as the crew faces intense violence and repeated dangers during what should be some very basic missions.
Masters of the Air was nominated for three Emmys but only won one of the awards. Still, this is pretty impressive and is a testament to its overall quality. The series didn’t hold up as much as Band of Brothers, as it seems to sacrifice the authenticity the latter was known for in favor of flashy visuals and casual storytelling, but all in all, it’s a rather enjoyable addition to the universe that Band of Brothers created.
11
‘Catch-22’ (2019)
Catch-22 is a dark comedy series about a beleaguered British Air Force bombardier named John Yossarian (Christopher Abbott) who initially chose his position because he was under the impression being up in the air was way less dangerous than being on the ground. Unfortunately for him, the Crown repeatedly sends him on missions that get increasingly more dangerous, driving John to try to find some way to weasel his way out of the Air Force.
Much of the series centers on the ridiculous series of legal loopholes and hoops that he has to jump through just to try and quit before his deployment is over. Much of the show is satirical in nature and contains a lot of gallows humor and tongue-in-cheek jokes, which is by far part of the appeal. Another great part of it is Abbott’s chemistry with George Clooney on screen, which keeps the show lively and interesting.
10
‘Combat!’ (1962–1967)
Combat! might just be the very first war-themed TV show to ever be broadcast to American audiences. Coming out of the 1960s, this series comes from director Robert Pirosh, who, at the time, was known primarily for his comedy films. One would expect this show to be appropriately comedic; however, it’s quite the opposite. Combat! is a deeply serious drama following the lives of American soldiers on the Western Front in the months following D-Day.
While its name may have become more obscure in the 21st Century, Combat! is an all-time classic, and one of the greatest and first examples of war television. It’s doubtful that any of the other shows on this list would ever have been made had it not been for Combat!. While it may seem dated now, it was state-of-the-art for the time, and remains exciting and emotionally moving even to this day.
9
‘Das Boot’ (2018)
Das Boot (German, “The Boat”) is a miniseries based on the original novel by Lothar-Günther Buchheim. It also serves as a pseudo-sequel or spiritual successor to the classic 1981 film of the same name, which is one of the most gripping and powerful war films ever made. The original movie was known for its brutally realistic depiction of life in a German U-Boat, and its successor definitely follows suit in this regard.
The story follows a mutiny within the crew of a German U-Boat; the captain intends to abandon Nazi Germany and defect to the United States of America. Meanwhile, opposition against the Führer begins to gain traction amongst the other men of the Kriegsmarine. While this miniseries was nowhere near as perfect or legendary as the original film, it’s still pretty darn good, and felt like a fitting continuation of the story.
8
‘SAS: Rogue Heroes’ (2022–2025)
Britain’s Special Air Service, or the SAS, is one of the best special forces units in the world, and to this day remains the primary tier one spec ops unit used by the Crown, specializing in counter-terrorism, hostage rescue, and intelligence gathering operations. SAS: Rogue Heroes takes viewers back to the unit’s origins during the Second World War. Many of the characters in the show are dramatizations of real people and are some of the founding members of the organization.
The series has been a smash hit in its native United Kingdom, and though the show isn’t very historically accurate (and it knows it), it is still pretty exciting and shows how the new unit is utilized to infiltrate deep behind enemy lines and perform various operations to help the war effort from afar.
7
‘The Man in the High Castle’ (2015–2019)
The Man in the High Castle is an alternate history TV show that focuses on a bleak world where the Nazis and the Axis forces have won the Second World War, and begin to rule over the majority of the world with an iron fist. The show is quite paradoxical, as it can be pretty daunting to see how the world would have turned out had the Allies lost World War II, yet at the same time, it’s kind of uplifting, as it serves as a poignant reminder of how lucky we really are that things turned out the way they did.
It is primarily set in the 1960s, with the war being won by Germany as a result of them getting a huge technological boost, assassinating President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and dropping the first atomic bomb on Washington, D.C. On top of that, Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler is still alive, and his reign of terror is just as oppressive as it once was. For a morbid show speculating on a potential outcome, or for a sci-fi drama series, The Man in the High Castle really delivers and has remained a hallmark show about the Second World War, even if the conflict itself isn’t depicted in full detail.
6
‘The Tattooist of Auschwitz’ (2024)
With a title like The Tattooist of Auschwitz, you know you’re in for a really rough ride. The quality of this miniseries is impeccable, but it’s a real downer, emotionally speaking. As its name suggests, the series is set in the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, a name synonymous with terror and death. Here, over 1,000,000 Jewish inmates were systematically executed by the Nazis during the war, making it one of the most prolific and effective death camps operated by the Reich.
The Tattooist of Auschwitz is about an inmate whose job is to tattoo ID numbers on other inmates, a practice common across concentration camps. The inmate in question, played by Harvey Keitel, was a real person whose name was Lali Sokolov. The man’s story was first told by way of the novel of the same name, originally written by Heather Morris, before making its way to the small screen. While it does do a good job, this series is a real tear-jerker, and there’s no way to prepare yourself for how emotionally devastating it is.
https://static0.colliderimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/band-of-brothers.jpg?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop
https://collider.com/ww2-shows-best-ranked/
Dawson Nyffenegger
Almontather Rassoul
