Review: in 'War', Dominic West and Sienna Miller's divorce is just the excuse — the lawyers own the show

This is an opinion review of 'War', the series created by George Kay ('Lupin') and directed by Ben Taylor that premiered October 1 on HBO, co-produced with Britain's Sky. Over eight episodes it follows the explosive divorce between tech billionaire Morgan Henderson (Dominic West) and movie star Carla Duval (Sienna Miller), fought out by two rival London firms, Cathcarts and Taylor & Byrne.

The couple on the poster is, oddly, the weakest link. West and Miller work better apart than together: when they share the screen the spark is missing, and a conflict that should be volcanic feels perfunctory. The opening episodes also take too long to get the gears turning, stuck on setup and intrigue that only pays off later.

Once the show realizes its real engine is the lawyers, everything changes. Phoebe Fox and James McArdle as partners Serena Byrne and Nicholas Taylor, Pip Torrens as the ruthless St. John Smallwood, Nina Sosanya, Celia Imrie and Archie Renaux's ambitious rookie steal the show with sharp dialogue at a pace reminiscent of 'Industry'. The score and editing help turn hearings and settlements into suspense set pieces.

'War' is also smarter than it looks in showing how public opinion flips in hours, driven by the press and social media, and in exposing the sexism that still weighs on the woman in a celebrity divorce. Not everything lands — some twists are predictable and a side romance is underdeveloped — but HBO has already secured a second season, built around a defamation case with Marisa Tomei in the cast. It's worth sticking with.

Score: 7/10