Ordinary people in tough times: why historical drama ‘World on Fire’ is a story for today

The acclaimed drama, back for a second season, tells of danger and difficult choices.

A woman in uniform stands in a dimly lit tent. A first aid cross can be seen, out of focus, behind her.

Julia Brown as Lois Bennett in 'World on Fire'. Credit: Steffan Hill / BBC / Mammoth Screen

World on Fire is set during the events of World War Two, and the ‘anything could happen, people could die’ reality of war is a constant part of this acclaimed drama, but what also makes it compelling is the fact that it’s about ordinary people, scattered across continents and sides, and the choices they make.

“As always, we tell stories which have an unforced and not always comfortable contemporary resonance, stories that demonstrate both human resilience and human folly and stories of ordinary lives in extraordinary times," says writer and creator Peter Bowker, talking about returning for a second series of the historical drama, somewhat later than originally planned. "Historical drama should not be about nostalgia and I hope this isn’t how this series is regarded. It is about asking questions of the present by interrogating stories from our past. And at the heart of these stories, amongst multiple perspectives, the single question remains – “If you had been there, what would you have done?”

Jonah Hauer-King as Harry in 'World on Fire'. Credit: BBC / Mammoth Screen

“In November 2019 – the week of the final episode of World on Fire – the BBC asked me about plans for a second series. The intention was to begin immediately and to have series two ready to go out in early 2021. Then COVID happened. And happened again. And I found myself writing a drama about a global event where people became unmoored from what they understood to be normal life while living through a global event where people ... well, you get the idea.

“As well as delaying series two, these circumstances influenced its creation in many ways. not least by bringing to the team two brilliant writers – Matt Jones and Rachel Bennette – who ran with my original vision and created half of this new series with invention and heart and a ridiculous dedication. And that original vision – to tell personal stories of life during warfare from multiple national perspectives – has, I hope been both honoured and expanded.”

Happier times: Zofia Wichlacz and Jonah Hauer-King in season one of 'World on Fire'. Credit: Gareth Gatrell / Mammoth Screen

Season one kicks off in 1939, with the intertwining stories taking us from Poland to Berlin, from Paris to Manchester. Brit Harry (Jonah Hauer-King) is working in Warsaw as a translator with the British Embassy, and falling in love with Polish waitress Kasia (Zofia Wichłacz), but what does that mean for Lois (Julia Brown), the girl he was involved with back in England?

In Manchester, we meet Harry’s stern-faced mother Robina (Lesley Manville) and Lois’ younger brother Tom (Ewan Mitchell) who’s also soon caught up in the war. American journalist Nancy (Helen Hunt) is in Berlin, risking her life to tell stories the Nazi regime would like to hide, while in Paris, the war creates more problems for lovers already facing challenges, surgeon Webster (Brian J. Smith) and jazz musician Alber (Parker Sawyers). For some, their lives are at risk every day; for others, there are secrets they are desperately trying to hide. What they all have in common is seeing their lives unexpectedly changed, in ways they can’t control.

“Lois says to Harry at one point that no-one will ever be the same again,” says Julia Brown. “That’s what’s so beautiful about Peter's writing – it's less about the facts of war and what happened in battle and more about the human stories. World on Fire is full of extraordinary stories about ordinary people. Stories that haven’t been told before.”

Season two sees many – but not all – of season one’s characters return. It’s 1940, and the war is raging in the skies over Manchester and on the ground in North Africa, where desert conditions can be as dangerous as their enemies for the British and Indian troops. Here we meet Rajib (Ahad Raza Mire), an Indian officer in the British army in charge of a team of Sappers, who starts to question his long-held beliefs about what ‘doing the right thing’ means.

Rajib (Ahad Raza Mir). Credit: BBC / Mammoth Screen

Other new additions include David (Gregg Sulkin), a Jewish fighter pilot; Sir James (Mark Bonnar), a British civil servant who may not be what he seems; and Marga (Miriam Schiweck), a German teenager caught up in the ideology of a Nazi youth movement.

World on Fire is as much about the everyday people who are trying to survive, or make a difference, as it is about the soldiers going to war. The Guardian described it as

“far from the standard wartime miniseries. It is a beautifully turned ensemble piece, with everyone getting their time in the spotlight”

. And indeed, the series does an impressive job of balancing multiple story lines in numerous locations. All of those people facing upheaval, danger and difficult choices are in some ways, all of us, dealing with our own challenges and bigger events – that “contemporary resonance” Bowker talks about. It’s a big, wide-sweeping drama, but at its heart, it’s all about people.

Both seasons of World on Fire are streaming now at SBS On Demand.