6 War TV Shows That Are Perfect From Start To Finish (# 1 May Be The Best Ever)

These six war TV shows don’t have a single bad episode between them, an impressive stat considering one of these shows has 26 episodes. When we think of war TV, our minds probably jump to World War II, and while that definitely makes up a large percentage of those shows, that’s not the only war to get the TV treatment.

However, just because a TV show is set during a war does not make it a war TV show. Take Rome, the HBO historical action TV show classic. War is a significant part of that series, but it’s not solely about war. This is a list of shows that are focused entirely on warfare, where every episode is great.

6

SAS: Rogue Heroes (2022-Present)

12 Episodes

SAS: Rogue Heroes depicts the origins of the British Army Special Air Service, a team of soldiers who came together during World War II to execute missions that required skill, courage, and determination. The series stars Connor Swindells as David Stirling and Jack O’Connell as Paddy Mayne, two of the lead figures in the group.

Season 1 premiered in October 2022 and is set during the Western Desert Campaign, while season 2 of SAS: Rogue Heroes premiered in January 2025 and tracks the soldiers’ efforts in Italy during the waning years of the war. It’s violent and exciting, and created by Steven Knight of Peaky Blinders fame.

The series manages to perfectly balance the warfare, historical accounting, and humor to create something unique that never gets tiresome. When SAS: Rogue Heroes needs to be solemn, it’s solemn; when it needs to be fun, it’s a blast; and when it needs to teach, it does so without being a drag.

5

The Vietnam War (2017)

Ten Episodes

Ken Burns’ 2017 documentary series, The Vietnam War, stands tall among his proud filmography, which also includes critical, deep looks into Americana, including series on baseball and the Civil War. His research and attention to detail are second to none, and he covers this controversial war from several angles.

The ten-part series is one of the few PBS shows to carry a TV-MA rating, a result of the violence and horror on display. Burns and his documentary team do not shy away from the atrocities and tragedies that were a result of this military action, and yet you can’t turn away from it.

The Vietnam War features dozens of interviews that show what people thought of the war from the ground up. Protestors, soldiers, government officials, and Vietnamese combatants all provide their insights on the war. It’s a powerful and gut-wrenching look at a dark time in America’s history.

4

The Pacific (2010)

Ten Episodes

The darker, meaner brother of Band of Brothers, The Pacific also comes from Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg. This World War II series features the same incredible acting, fantastic production, and unflinching look at the real cost of war. This time it all takes place in the Pacific Theater, however.

Instead of following one group of soldiers, The Pacific jumps around to a few different characters, Marines battling through Pacific islands against an enemy they can rarely see. It’s harrowing, and there are few heroics. That’s not to say there isn’t any courage, but it’s mostly regarding the men keeping themselves alive and sane.

The Marines sent into this fight seem to be the most dangerous and capable men who could have gone, and even they struggle to believe they’re ever coming home. The Pacific is a powerful look at the cost of war and how even those trained for it can’t comprehend some of the horrors.

3

The World At War (1973-1974)

26 Episodes

The World at War is over half a century old, but it remains one of the most complete examinations of World War II from just about every angle. Narrated by the great Laurence Olivier, The World at War is a documentary that begins in 1933 with the rise of Nazi Germany and ends after 1945, reflecting on the impact of the war.

There are almost no retrospectives like this. It’s modern in style, its scope is all-encompassing, and it was made less than 20 years after the end of the war. That’s less time between 2025 and the beginning of the Iraq War. It’s an up-close look at an event dramatized and mythologized by this point.

Many people, both from the Axis and Allied sides, are interviewed, giving the series a strikingly intimate tone. It may be a documentary, but their stories will move you. Karl Wolff is even present for one interview. Wolff was the adjutant to Heinrich Himmler, arguably the second most powerful man in the Third Reich.

2

Generation Kill (2008)

Seven Episodes

Generation Kill is based on Evan Wright’s 2004 book of the same name, which he wrote as a reporter for Rolling Stone after he was embedded with the US Marine Corps’ 1st Reconnaissance Battalion during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. The series only depicts a few weeks, but it’s enough to reveal a vivid story.

One of the best miniseries on HBO, Generation Kill takes no sides and has no agenda; it’s simply a depiction of what happens when a hyper-trained, modern-armed military force is sent somewhere unfamiliar that is only beginning to dig in for a long fight. It’s 95% tedium, and 5% terror.

This is not Band of Brothers, The Pacific, or Masters of the Air. Generation Kill shows a new kind of warfare, where the soldiers go so long without an enemy that they’re just itching to pull the trigger, either to finally use their training or to get over the creeping dread that a firefight can break out at any moment.

1

Band Of Brothers (2001)

Ten Episodes

Band of Brothers is the definitive war show, and it’s a series you can watch multiple times over and gain something new each time. The series depicts Easy Company of the 101st Airborne who parachuted into Nazi-occupied France on D-Day and stayed in Europe till the war’s end.

Though there are a few branching storylines, we stick with most of the same characters throughout the series, and it’s shocking how few are with us in the final episode compared to the first. Even those who are still around for the final episode have been changed by their experiences on the front.

Band of Brothers is sometimes looked at as romantic or overly patriotic, and while there is something to that, a rewatch of Band of Brothers will remind you that it is quite a realistic and harrowing series. It’s a war TV show that builds up the characters as heroes, then quickly reminds you they are just men hoping to survive.