HBO & HBO Max

The ‘War’ Trailer Asks What Divorce Is Good For

Absolutely money. (Say it again.)

Ani Bundel

17 Sep 2026 — 4 min read

Nina Sosanya, Pip Torrens, and Dominic West in 'War' Season 1 (HBO)

War: What is it good for? Singer Edwin Starr asked that in 1970, but to be fair to him, California had only just passed the first-in-the-nation no-fault divorce law less than a year earlier. Had Starr waited a few years, he would have discovered war is very good for the rich and famous (and the newspapers and TV shows that cover them) when they are tired of being married to each other. Or at least, that’s what HBO’s newest series, War, would argue in court.

High-profile divorces have been a source of drama since the Victorian age, when Caroline Norton first filed for divorce in 1836 from George Chapple Norton MP. (Her failure to obtain one directly led to the creation of the Custody of Infants Act of 1839, the Matrimonial Causes Act of 1857, and the Women’s Property Act of 1870.) In the 21st century, Hollywood stars divorcing each other provide enough fodder for gossip sites of all sizes, whether it’s the end of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie or Ben Affleck and Jennifers Garner & Lopez. With so many high-profile divorces in the last 50 years, it makes sense the idea would become the basis for a courtroom drama anthology series.

War, greenlit out of the gate for two seasons, focuses on the world of prominent marriage breakups through two of London’s most powerful law firms, Cathcarts & Sons and Taylor & Byrne. The former is hired by tech entrepreneur Moran Henderson (Dominic West), and the latter by his soon-to-be ex-wife, film star Carla Duval (Sienna Miller), as they argue over money and custody of their son (Aran Murphy).

Here’s the anthology series’ logline for Season 1:

War is a high-stakes, legal drama following the lives of London’s most powerful lawyers as firms Cathcarts & Sons and Taylor & Byrne clash over a headline-grabbing legal battle, drawing ambitious young lawyer Jonathan “Johnny” Warren into a ruthless world where ambition is currency, betrayal is strategy, and winning is everything. Season one follows the explosive divorce of British tech entrepreneur Morgan Henderson and international film star Carla Duval, as Cathcarts & Sons and Taylor & Byrne stop at nothing to secure victory for their clients.

West (The Crown), Miller (Anatomy of a Scandal), and Murphy (Klara and the Sun) are technically the Season 1 guest stars. (The production has already confirmed Season 2 will feature Kelly Macdonald (Line of Duty), David Harewood (The Agency), and Marisa Tomei (The Handmaid’s Tale) instead.) The series actual lead is Archie Renaux (Shadow & Bone), the newest hire, through whose eyes we are introduced to this high-stakes, brutal world.

The rest of the series’ leading cast features Phoebe Fox (The Great) as Serena Byrne and James McArdle (Playing Nice) as Nicholas Taylor, partners in life and business at Taylor & Byrne, with Nina Sosanya (Good Omens) as Beatrice Ubosi and Pip Torrens (Down Cemetery Road) as St John Smallwood, their counterparts and fierce rivals at Cathcarts & Sons.

The star-studded ensemble also includes PBS favorites Celia Imrie (The Thursday Murder Club) and Adrian Scarborough (The Chelsea Detective). The supporting cast features Nick Mohammed (Ted Lasso), Emma Laird (Mint), Miles Jupp (Belgravia: The Next Chapter), Archie Panjabi (Doctor Who), Shaheen Jafargholi (Lost Boys & Fairies), Akiya Henry (Protection), Honor Swinton Byrne (A Very Royal Scandal), Kartanya Maynard (Deadloch), Alexandra Mardell (Smoggie Queens), Dylan Edwards (The Long Call), Mark Quartley (The Marlow Murder Club), and Steve Furst (The Serpent Queen).

Series creator George Kay (Hijack) penned all episodes of Season 1, with Ben Taylor (Sex Education) as lead director and Laurie Borg as series producer. Kay also executive produces, alongside Willow Grylls and Matt Sandford for New Pictures, and Susan Breen, Ben Taylor, Andrea Dewsbury, and Megan Spanjian for Sky.