Summary

• Netflix's limited series "All the Light We Cannot See" is a compelling WWII drama that explores themes of hope, heartbreak, and connection.
• Viewers looking for more historical war dramas can turn to acclaimed shows like "Band of Brothers," "The Pacific," and "Transatlantic" for similar storytelling.
• "All the Light We Cannot See" is a short binge, but other series like "Outlander" and "Poldark" offer longer, immersive narratives set in different periods and perspectives during wartime.

Netflix released the four-episode limited series All the Light We Cannot See on November 2, 2023, and following a quick binge, viewers might be left wanting more. Thankfully, numerous historical war drama television shows exist and are available on streaming platforms. All the Light We Cannot See is based on Anthony Doerr's 2014 book of the same name and tells the story of two people who share a connection, thanks to a radio broadcast, while World War II rages on around them. The show contains a lot of hope, heartbreak, and everything in between, similar to a handful of other series that take place during wars.

All the Light You Cannot See occurs during the height of the Second World War and revolves around Marie-Laure LeBlanc, played by Aria Mia Loberti, and Werner Pfennig, played by Louis Hofmann. Marie-Laure is a French girl who moved from Paris to Saint-Malo with her father after Nazi soldiers invaded the city, and Werner is a young German soldier who was forced to the Nazis and specializes in radios. Both characters face unthinkable struggles, just like any other figure in a historical war series.

10 Band Of Brothers

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Band of Brothers is arguably one of the best historical war drama television shows of all time. The 2001 miniseries, which won multiple awards, was created by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks and depicts (and dramatizes) the true story of the "Easy" Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division in the United States Army during World War II, from their training to the end of the war. Band of Brothers contains an ensemble cast of noteworthy actors, like David Schwimmer, Colin Hanks, Ron Livingston, Donnie Wahlberg, Michael Fassbender, and many more.

9 The Pacific

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The Pacific is another critically acclaimed war drama miniseries that premiered on HBO in March 2010 and serves as a companion piece to Band of Brothers. The 2010 television show also takes place during the throes of World War II. But unlike its sister series, The Pacific focuses on three United States Marines who were in different regiments of the 1st Marine Division. The three Marines — Robert Leckie, Eugene Sledge, and John Basilone — fought in the Pacific Theater of the Second World War, and the show revolves around their traumatic experiences while fighting.

8 Transatlantic

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The 2019 Netflix limited series Transatlantic is another war drama set during World War II. The show takes place in Marseilles, , in 1940, when Nazis were gaining power throughout Europe, and revolves around the Emergency Rescue Committee, a group that helped refugees escape and the German military. The miniseries, which is derived from Julie Orringer's 2019 novel The Flight Portfolio, is inspired by true events, and the characters, like Gillian Jacobs' Mary Jayne Gold, Lucas Englander's Albert Hirschman, and Cory Michael Smith's Varian Fry, are based on real people.

7 War Sailor

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War Sailor is another Netflix limited series that takes place during World War II. But unlike the other shows on this list, War Sailor is a Norwegian war drama that highlights 30,000 Norwegian sailors who took part in Allied convoys and were instrumental in helping the Allied powers — Great Britain, the United States, and the Soviet Union — win the war. The miniseries is based on a true story and is told over the course of three episodes, and the cast includes Kristoffer Joner, Pål Sverre Hagen, and Ine Marie Wilmann.

6 Outlander

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Whereas All the Light We Cannot See is only four episodes long and is a relatively short binge, Outlander requires a little bit more of a viewer's time. The Starz historical drama series contains seven seasons and (as of the writing of this article) 83 episodes, so watching it is a commitment. The show centers around Claire Randall, played by Caitríona Balfe, and Jamie Fraser, played by Sam Heughan, and their unlikely romance. Claire is a military nurse who worked during World War II in Scotland, but following the end of the war, she time travels to 1743 and meets Jamie, a tacksman of Clan Fraser of Lovat.

5 The Plot Against America

Stream on Max

The Plot Against America is a six-episode history drama miniseries that premiered on HBO in 2020 and depicts an alternate version of American history. The show tells the story of a Jewish family living in New Jersey during World War II. But in this interpretation of events, a xenophobic populist rises to power in the United States and becomes president. Fascism soon infiltrates the country, threatening the lives of the aforementioned Jewish family and other people like them.

4 Women At War

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Whereas the majority of the television shows on this list take place during the Second World War, Women at War is set in 1914 during the First World War. The 2022 Franco-Belgian historical limited series is about the lives of four women who could not be more different — Marguerite de Lancastel, played by Audrey Fleurot, Caroline Dewitt, portrayed by Sofia Essaïdi, Mother Agnès, played by Julie de Bona, and Suzanne Faure, portrayed by Camille Lou. They hold down the fort at home while the men of their country go off to fight in a horrifying war.

3 Poldark

Stream on Amazon Prime Video

Poldark ran for five seasons and 43 episodes on BBC One and was set following the American Revolutionary War when Captain Ross Vennor Poldark, played by Aidan Turner, returned home to England after fighting in the war. However, once he got to Cornwall, Poldark realized that a lot had changed in his three years of absence. Although the television series took place following the war, it still contains some of the historical elements and themes that can be found in All the Light We Cannot See on Netflix.

2 Turn: Washington's Spies

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Turn: Washington's Spies is based on Alexander Rose's 2007 book Washington's Spies: The Story of America's First Spy Ring and is set during the American Revolutionary War. The 2014 period drama series contains four seasons and 40 episodes. It showcases the Culper Ring, a network of spies for the Continental Army founded by General George Washington, hence the show's name, and documents historical events between 1776 and 1781.

1 World On Fire

Stream on Amazon Prime Video

Instead of focusing on soldiers, World on Fire highlights the lives of normal European citizens during a war. The 2019 British historical war drama show starts at the beginning of World War II in 1939 and includes characters from all over Europe, like Paris, Warsaw, Manchester, Berlin, and Dunkirk. Like All the Light We Cannot See, World on Fire is a short watch, containing only 13 episodes over the course of two seasons.

All episodes of All the Light We Cannot See are available to stream on Netflix.