The War of the Worlds is a British three-part science fiction drama television series, produced by Mammoth Screen for the BBC and co-produced with Creasun Media and Red Square. The series is an Edwardian period adaptation of H.G. Wells' 1898 science fiction novel of the same name about a Martian invasion, and is the first British television adaptation of the novel. The War of the Worlds premiered in other countries before its UK broadcast on the BBC between 17 November and 1 December 2019.

In Edwardian England, 1905, journalist George (Rafe Spall) has left his unhappy marriage behind to start a life with his partner Amy (Eleanor Tomlinson), an aspiring researcher, in the town of Woking. There, they befriend Ogilvy (Robert Carlyle), an astronomer and scientist. After a meteorite lands in the woods and proves to be more dangerous than it first appeared, they must fight to survive amid an alien invasion.

DEVELOPMENT

The War of the Worlds was first announced in December 2015, with the BBC confirming production of the series in May 2017.[6] The series was produced by Mammoth Screen for the BBC, co-produced with Creasun Media, in association with Red Square.

Writer Peter Harness expanded the role of the narrator's wife from the novel, stating "I think the clearest choice that I made from the start of this project was to give the male character a wife who had strength of character in her own right. It was very important to me to make the female character three-dimensional".

The three-part series was directed by Craig Viveiros and produced by Betsan Morris Evans. It was executive produced by Viveiros, Damien Timmer, Preethi Mavahalli and Peter Harness from Mammoth Screen;[1] Tommy Bulfin from the BBC;[1] Minglu Ma from Creasun; and Jamie Brown from Red Square.

The interpretation makes use of time-shifting forwards and backwards in the narrative timeline in order to "upend audience expectations".

FILMING

Filming began in April 2018 in Liverpool. Locations include St George's Plateau, Eldon Grove, Vauxhall (where an abandoned building was used as a London location), Sir Thomas Street, Dale Street, Ainsdale Woods, Delamere Forest, the village of Great Budworth in Cheshire, the Palm House at Sefton Park, and Croxteth Hall. Filming and post-production were completed by May 2019.

REAR COVER

England 1905. When a mysterious capsule lands on Earth at Horsell Common, George (Rafe Spall) and Amy (Eleanor Tomlinson) are among the first to examine it. Martians have arrived. And so begins a terrifying ordeal as more capsules land in Britain and release murderous Martian tripods, which stalk England exterminating and consuming everything in their wake. George and Amy, alongside every other human on the planet, soon find themselves fighting for their very survival against a ruthless enemy o beyond their comprehension - an enemy determined to destroy humanity and conquer the planet.