![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/a320720752ddbf3e25b8505ec7f9b644a9-war-appt-viewing.rsquare.w400.jpg\")
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\n Appointment Viewing<\/a>: The shows you\u2019ll always want to pencil in on your calendar and unpack in your group chat.\n <\/p>\n \n Photo-Illustration: by The Cut; Photo: Justin Downing\/Sky\/HBO\n <\/p>\n Scrolling through 12 streaming platforms but still can\u2019t find something to watch? You\u2019re not alone. Our television columnist Michel Ghanem, a.k.a. @tvscholar, watches over 160 seasons of television each year, and he is here for you. Perhaps you\u2019re in the mood for a hidden gem that\u2019s sitting undiscovered on a streamer or a series with mysteries so tantalizing you can\u2019t stop thinking about them long after the credits roll. It\u2019s all about carving out time for the shows that are actually worth it \u2014 your appointment viewing. Fire up that group chat because we\u2019ve got some unpacking to do.<\/p>\n So far this year, we\u2019ve covered everything from Emmy-winning comedies like Widow\u2019s Bay<\/a> to hard-hitters like Half Man<\/a>. This month, as fall television returns, we\u2019ve been absorbed in War, a sleek legal drama starring Sienna Miller<\/a> and Dominic West that follows the law firms representing each half of a couple in a high-profile divorce.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Despite its ominous title, War is not a military drama \u2014 but divorce might as well be the trenches, especially when there\u2019s this much subterfuge. Carla Duval (Miller) and Morgan Henderson (West) haven\u2019t been getting along. Ten years into their marriage, they lead busy lives and co-parent an angsty teen in London. Carla is a well-known actress, although she\u2019s struggling to book notable roles as of late. Ironically, the series kicks off with her promoting a middling war movie, and she\u2019s even considering starring in a play despite the pay cut. Morgan, on the other hand, is peaking. His social-media platform Zephyr has grown exponentially in valuation and he\u2019s winning awards for reshaping online connection. Having grown suspicious of Morgan\u2019s evening whereabouts, Carla makes the first move that breaks the stalemate of their relationship by sending a woman to seduce him. It works, kicking off a nasty separation that will take two entire law firms to settle.<\/p>\n War is the first season of a new anthology series by George Kay (Hijack, Lupin) in a co-production between HBO Max and Sky UK airing stateside October 1. Unlike seemingly everything else on television, there are no dead bodies or murders here. It\u2019s an old-school adult drama that excavates the high-profile divorce experience when millions of pounds are at stake. The series is sleek and well-acted all around with a large ensemble of actors who each get their moment to shine. West has played his fair share of unlikable cheating men (see: five seasons of The Affair), and Miller is right at home playing an actress trying to make the best of press junkets.<\/p>\n At the center of the conflict are the leads\u2019 respective law firms, who become, in some ways, even more invested in the divorce than the couple themselves. The wife\u2019s law firm, Taylor & Byrne, is all glass walls and blue tones \u2014 very cold and modern. The team is led by Nicholas Taylor (James McArdle) and Serena Byrne (Phoebe Fox), a couple expecting their first child while running their first big case, which could make or break the firm. A junior lawyer who works for them, Johnny Warren (Archie Renaux), plays a pivotal role. He is back in London after hitting a career speed bump in New York and \u2014 without spoiling too much \u2014 is prepared to do just about anything to secure his financial future. On the husband\u2019s side, the Cathcarts firm is led by the conniving duo Beatrice Ubosi (Nina Sosanya) and St. John Smallwood (Pip Torrens). In contrast with the other team, its offices are decorated with deep-brown hues and wooden furniture, signaling an older, more established firm with confidence and a willingness to play dirty. Some of the best scenes of the season occur when these firms are sparring, especially when you find out how each of the lawyers know one another and what secrets might be hiding within those relationships.<\/p>\n