War of the Worlds season two begins 16 July following Bristol shoot

The second series of War of the Worlds starring award-winning talent Gabriel Byrne and Daisy Edgar Jones will be available for UK viewers to watch on Star on Disney+ from Friday 16th July, after filming in Bristol last year with support from the city’s Film Office.

Written and created by BAFTA award-winner Howard Overman (Misfits, Crazyhead, Merlin), War of the Worlds is a modern re-imagining of the classic H.G. Wells novel produced by Urban Myth Films, set in present-day France and the UK. Season two stars an ensemble cast, including Golden Globe winner and Emmy and Tony award-nominated actor Gabriel Byrne (In Treatment), and Golden Globe and Critics Choice Award winner, Daisy Edgar-Jones (Normal People), along with returning cast members, Léa Drucker, Natasha Little, Stéphane Caillard, Adel Bencherif, Ty Tennant, Stephen Campbell Moore, Bayo Gbadamosi, Aaron Heffernan and Emilie de Preissac.
 
The eight-part series was the very first High-End TV drama to commence production in the UK after the first Covid-19 lockdown. It began filming in a Newport studio on 13th July and went on to shoot on location across South Wales and Bristol. Between August and October 2020, filming took place at central Bristol locations including inside The Old Soap Factory at Gardiner Haskins on Unity Street (where the main car park accommodated a unit base), Charleton House on Eyer's Lane, Redcross Street in Old Market, No 1 Temple Way, St Matthias House in St Pauls and Glass Wharf on Avon Street. The team received a Special Mention in the 2020 Production Guild of Great Britain Innovation Awards for being the first HETV title to resume filming in the UK post-lockdown.

Adam Knopf, Head of Production, Urban Myth, says: “Bristol Film Office were incredibly supportive in aiding the return of War of the Worlds to shoot in the city following Covid. As the city has numerous areas that double well for London it is a natural fit for us. Combined with the flexibility, efficiency and ‘can do’ attitude from the Bristol Film Office the whole process of filming in Bristol has been a smooth and organised experience. They worked together with the production to ensure that all locations were well aware of our strict Covid protocols which meant that very few requests were turned down.”
 
Laura Aviles, Senior Film Manager for Bristol City Council says: “Urban Myth filmed series one of War of the Worlds in Bristol so we welcomed the chance to have them back for series two. Bristol is such a versatile city, it can be the ideal dystopian backdrop for a sci-fi thriller, whilst also catering so well for productions of contrasting genres, like period drama. As the very first UK title to restart filming after the initial lockdown, the Film Office worked especially closely with the War of the Worlds crew, supporting them to put Covid-safety protocols for street filming in place. It’s great to now see the product of their hard work arriving on screens for viewers to enjoy.”
 
In the first season of War of the Worlds, an alien attack all but wiped out mankind, with just a handful of humans fighting to survive. And no one felt more rocked by the invasion than Emily (Daisy Edgar-Jones), who discovered she may have her own strange personal connection to the aliens. Season two of War of the Worlds sees our characters left reeling by the possibility that the invaders could be human. A tense fight to take back the planet awaits them. For some, the sheer desperation to survive will lead them to contemplate sacrificing one of their own…
 
Distributed internationally by STUDIOCANAL, the drama series is executive produced by Howard Overman, Julian Murphy and Johnny Capps for Urban Myth Films. War of the Worlds was produced with support of Welsh Government funding through Creative Wales. The second season of the contemporary adaptation sees Richard Clark return to direct episodes 1-4; Ben A. Williams directs episodes 5-8.
 
War of the Worlds season 2 begins 16th July on Star on Disney+, where you can also catch up on season 1.