WORLD ON FIRE
DRAMA / ROMANTIC DRAMA / WAR
UNITED KINGDOM
2019-2023
WORLD ON FIRE is a British war drama television series created by Peter Bowker. Set in the Second World War, the series follows the intertwined lives of ordinary civilians across Europe who are caught up in the conflict. WORLD ON FIRE consists of 13 episodes of 57 minutes..
STORY: The first series covers March 1939 to July 1940, and features visits to Paris, Warsaw, Manchester, Berlin and Dunkirk. It details events such as the Defence of the Polish Post Office in Danzig, the Battle of the River Plate, the Dunkirk evacuation and the Battle of Britain. The second series covers October 1940 to May 1941 and features the beginning of The Blitz in Manchester and the North African campaign (including Operation Compass and the Siege of Tobruk) while also returning to occupied France and Nazi Germany, with the resistance movement and Lebensborn program being shown, respectively. Harry Chase (Jonah Hauer-King) is an interpreter at the British embassy in Warsaw who is later commissioned into the British Army, and joins the SOE. Nancy Campbell (Helen Hunt) is an American journalist struggling to broadcast the truth from Berlin. Douglas Bennett (Sean Bean) is a bus conductor, pacifist and shell-shocked veteran of the Battle of the Somme.
GAY COUPLE STORYLINE: Webster (Brian J. Smith) is a doctor in the American hospital in Paris. His aunt Nancy Campbell (Helen Hunt) warns him the war is coming, but he thinks her line of work has made her overly cautious. When Webster goes to an underground jazz club to burn off the stress of work, he sees Albert (Parker Sawyers). Albert is a popular Parisian saxophone player and bandleader. Webster is instantly attracted to Albert, despite coming from and living in opposite worlds. Music and the arts are Albert’s livelihood, which is worlds away from the sterile hospital hallways Webster spends his time in.
Webster O'Connor (Brian J. Smith) & Albert Fallou (Parker Sawyers)
BRIAN J. SMITH (2019) October 12, 1981, Allen, TX, USA
PARKER SAWYERS (2019-2023) May 24, 1983, Indianapolis, IN, USA
SPECIAL: According to a BBC interview with Smith, “Webster was brought up in Texas, which likely had a lot of intense racial undertones…however, in Paris and at Albert’s club he finds a place where he can be himself and live his dream.”
AWARDS: 'WORLD ON FIRE' 6 nominations.
7.4 IMDB
