Old School. Biblically Independent.
By Dustin Rowles | TV | October 6, 2026
It is surprising that there aren’t more television series about divorce. If the old adage holds and roughly half of all marriages end in divorce — though it’s closer to 40 or 45 percent for the pedants among us — it is a reality most of us have touched. We’ve either lived through it ourselves, watched our parents go through it, or seen close friends weather the storm. Few divorces are truly amicable, but most aren’t downright vicious. Add significant money, real estate, and custody battles to the mix, however, and things can get ugly fast.
Enter HBO’s War, which tackles the high-stakes split between tech mogul Morgan Henderson (Dominic West) and international film star Carla Duval (Sienna Miller). Their marriage has been loveless for years; ironically, dismantling it seems to be the most exciting thing to happen to them in decades. Both are fiercely determined to “win.” In the premiere, their adversarial relationship isn’t friendly, but it is deeply knowing — less like bitter exes and more like rival generals directing troops from a war room.
Carla launches the first missile by honeypotting Morgan, but he counters with a ruthless volley of his own — a maneuver clearly inspired by Jason Sudeikis serving Olivia Wilde custody papers while she was on stage at CinemaCon. It’s deliciously petty.
Yet the real meat of the series isn’t Morgan and Carla; it’s their commanders on the front line: rival law firms Cathcarts and Taylor & Byrne. Both firms are intent on winning — and equally intent on milking their ultra-wealthy clients for every penny. For the couple, the actual settlement is secondary to the thrill of total victory.
Much like Industry and Succession, War introduces a sprawling roster of characters to parse, though young associate Johnny Warren takes center stage in the pilot. Ambitious and opportunistic, Johnny exploits the feud between the firms to position himself as a double agent. He’s going to be a blast to watch.
It’s early days, and the plot is dense, but War feels tailored specifically for the high-strung, prestige-drama crowd, and it feels like a worthy successor. It strikes that ideal HBO balance: sharp, sophisticated, and unapologetically trashy. The network clearly knows what it has on its hands, having already renewed the anthology series for a second season focused on a defamation suit starring Marisa Tomei and Kelly Macdonald.
