The First World War

Watch S1E1

The First World War

2003- 2003

1 Seasons

10 Episodes

7.3(21 votes)

Ended

Documentary

War & Politics

Overview

This ten-part docuseries tells the comprehensive story of the First World War, featuring excerpts written by Winston Churchill, Karen Blixen, Georges Clémenceau, David Lloyd George, Siegfried Sassoon and Rudolf Hess.

Links & Resources

IMDbView

Social & External

IMDb

Production Companies

Episodes

No episodes found for this season.

The people behind it

Cast & crew

4 featured cast members

Starring

Ferdinand I of Bulgaria

Self

Marie of Romania

Self

Hermann Göring

Self (archive footage)

Jonathan Lewis

Self - Narrator

Creative team

Written by: Hew Strachan
Produced by: Jonathan Lewis

Similar TV Shows

2024

Jaakko Keso: This is America

Jaakko Keso travels through Middle America to find out why the country is so polarized.

TV Series

2006

Shipwreck: Ark Royal

One of the Royal Navy's most modern aircraft carriers when the Second World War began, HMS Ark Royal was eventually sunk by a German torpedo. Now her wreck has been found in the Mediterranean, and veterans are among the first to see it. With Dan Snow.

TV Series

7.3

2017

The Great War in Numbers

The Great War in Numbers tells the complete story of World War I - from outbreak to conclusion - and the fragile peace that followed. It was a war unlike any other before it, with a number of firsts along the way. Seventy-milliion men were mobilised to fight around the world, from the trenches of the Western Front to the Middle East and Africa.

TV Series

1970

The Restless Wave

Three hour-long programs about the history of the Royal Canadian Navy. Filmed archives from Ottawa, the CBC and newsreels provide the bulk of the visuals.

TV Series

7.3

2009

The Diary of Anne Frank

Five-part adaptation of Anne Frank's famous wartime diaries in which a young teenager and her family go into hiding from the Nazis in wartime Amsterdam.

TV Series

Under Pressure: The U.S. Women's World Cup Team

7.2

2023

Under Pressure: The U.S. Women's World Cup Team

In this docuseries, the U.S. women's national soccer team pursues their third consecutive title amid trials and triumphs at the 2023 FIFA World Cup.

TV Series

8.0

2009

Darwin's Dangerous Idea

Andrew Marr explores how Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection has taken on a life of its own far beyond the world of science.

TV Series

7.5

2005

Space Race

The untold true story behind the Cold War race to put man into space.

TV Series

6.9

2014

The Assets

1985 serves as the backdrop to the final showdown of the Cold War when Sandy and her partner Jeanne Vertefeuille vowed to find the mole that would turn out to be the most notorious traitor in US history, Aldrich Ames. Sandy is in a race against time to save the Soviet intelligence officers from being caught and killed. Living her own double life at home, this beautiful wife and mother vowed to stop at nothing until she uncovered the truth.

TV Series

Michael Palin: Around the World in 80 Days

7.5

1989

Michael Palin: Around the World in 80 Days

Michael Palin attempts to copy the exploits of fictional character Phileas Fogg, by trying to travel around the world (without flying) in 80 days.

TV Series

7.9

1992

Pole to Pole

Michael Palin undertakes an epic journey of 23,000 miles, traveling from the North to the South Pole across 17 countries with a minimum of air travel, all on a tight deadline.

TV Series

7.1

1999

Michael Palin's Hemingway Adventure

Michael Palin's Hemingway Adventure is a 1999 BBC television documentary presented by Michael Palin. It records Palin's travels as he visited many sites where Ernest Hemingway had been. The sites include Spain, Chicago, Paris, Italy, Africa, Key West, Cuba, and Idaho. After the trip was over Michael Palin wrote a book about the journey and his experiences. This book contains both Palin's text and many pictures by Basil Pao, the stills photographer who was on the team.

TV Series

8.6

2006

Planet Earth

David Attenborough celebrates the amazing variety of the natural world in this epic documentary series, filmed over four years across 64 different countries.

TV Series

Indian Predator: The Diary of a Serial Killer

6.3

2022

Indian Predator: The Diary of a Serial Killer

When a suspect is found in a journalist's murder, the case is considered closed until a secret diary suggests 13 more victims — and possible cannibalism.

TV Series

7.6

2013

A Very British Murder with Lucy Worsley

This documentary takes a look at some of the most horrible and despicable murders in modern British history. From Jack the Ripper in the 1880s to Agatha Christie's best known stories.

TV Series

7.1

2019

History Uncovered

Myths die hard, and the history of the 20th century is no exception to this rule. Even today, we hold popular beliefs that we take for Evangelical truths. Thus, we believe that Hiroshima caused Japan to surrender, that the Marshall Plan saved Europe, that Adolf Hitler was a military genius, or that Mao Zedong was a necessary evil for China’s modernization. Of course, these judgements contain some truth; but, too broad-stroked to be accurate, they contradict the historical reality by denying its complexity. What if the truth was slightly different? Through an exploration of great national or international myths, this full archive documentary collection revisits the key moments of the 20th century with a new perspective in order to provide a new, smarter and more subtle interpretation, bringing elements to light that have been forgotten or sometimes overshadowed.

TV Series

7.5

2022

Untold: The Girlfriend Who Didn't Exist

From Notre Dame to the NFL, Manti Te'o's future in football showed promise until a secret online relationship sent his life and career spiraling.

TV Series

7.2

2025

King & Conqueror

Harold of Wessex and William of Normandy are two men destined to face each other at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. Two former allies, neither of whom had aspired to the British throne, are forced, by circumstances and their personal obsession, to wage war over possession of the crown.

TV Series

7.5

2013

Superheroes: A Never-Ending Battle

Examines the dawn of the comic book genre and its powerful legacy, as well as the evolution of the characters who leapt from the pages over the last 75 years and their ongoing worldwide cultural impact. It chronicles how these disposable diversions were subject to intense government scrutiny for their influence on American children and how they were created in large part by the children of immigrants whose fierce loyalty to a new homeland laid the foundation for a multi-billion-dollar industry that is an influential part of our national identity.

TV Series

8.2

2023

Wild Isles

This nature documentary introduces viewers to the fauna and flora of Britain and Ireland across four main areas: woodlands, grasslands, freshwater and marine.

TV Series

Recommended TV Shows

7.6

2009

WWII in HD

WWII in HD is a 10-part American documentary television miniseries that originally aired from November 15 to November 19, 2009 on the History Channel. The program focuses on the firsthand experiences of twelve American service members during World War II, including an Army nurse, a member of the Tuskegee Airmen, a second generation Japanese American and prisoner of war, and an Austrian Jewish immigrant. The twelve members recorded their time in both theaters and some had later interviews; found footage from the battlefield was paired with the stories of the twelve service members. The episodes premiered on five consecutive days, with two episodes per day. The series is narrated by Gary Sinise and was produced by Lou Reda Productions in Easton, Pennsylvania, United States.

TV Series

8.1

2007

The War

The story of the Second World War through the personal accounts of a handful of men and women from four American towns. The war touched the lives of every family on every street in every town in America and demonstrated that in extraordinary times, there are no ordinary lives.

TV Series

8.0

2023

World War II: From the Frontlines

Through vividly enhanced archival footage and voices from all sides of the conflict, this docuseries brings WWII to life like never before.

TV Series

7.9

1990

The Civil War

A documentary on the American Civil War narrated by Ken Burns, covering the secession of the Confederacy to the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.

TV Series

8.3

1973

The World at War

A documentary series that gives a historical account of the events of World War II, from its roots in the 1920s to the aftermath and the lives it profoundly influenced.

TV Series

7.5

2014

The World Wars

The story of three decades of war told through the eyes of various men who were its key players: Roosevelt, Hitler, Patton, Mussolini, Churchill, Tojo, DeGaulle and MacArthur. The series examines the two wars as one contiguous timeline starting in 1914 and concluding in 1945 with these unique individuals coming of age in World War I before ultimately calling the shots in World War II.

TV Series

Oliver Stone's Untold History of the United States

7.9

2012

Oliver Stone's Untold History of the United States

Oliver Stone's re-examination of under-reported events in American history.

TV Series

8.2

2017

The Vietnam War

An immersive 360-degree narrative telling the epic story of the Vietnam War as it has never before been told on film. Featuring testimony from nearly 80 witnesses, including many Americans who fought in the war and others who opposed it, as well as Vietnamese combatants and civilians from both the winning and losing sides.

TV Series

7.6

2009

World War II in Colour

World War II In Colour is a 13-episode television documentary miniseries recounting the events of World War II narrated by Robert Powell. The show covers the Western Front, Eastern Front, and the Pacific War. It is on syndication in America on the Military Channel. This series is in full color, combining both original and colorized footage.

TV Series

8.1

2026

World War II with Tom Hanks

Explores WWII from Germany's invasion of Poland through the atomic age, examining pivotal battles, wartime leaders like Churchill and Roosevelt, and the human cost of total war.

TV Series

7.3

2021

How to Become a Tyrant

The documentary series explores different political figures throughout history.

TV Series

Greatest Events of World War II in Colour

8.0

2019

Greatest Events of World War II in Colour

Using highly advanced colourisation techniques, critical moments from World War II, from Stalingrad to The Battle of Britain, are shown in a whole new light.

TV Series

7.2

2017

Five Came Back

Five acclaimed contemporary directors tell the story of five legendary Hollywood filmmakers who enlisted in the armed forces to document World War II.

TV Series

7.5

2026

Death of the Pastor's Wife

What happened to Mica Miller? This documentary series retraces her promising life, toxic marriage and the mysterious circumstances of her death.

TV Series

5.9

2025

The American Revolution

The American Revolution was at once a war for independence, a war of conquest, a civil war, and a world war, fought by neighbors on American farms and between global powers an ocean or more away. It impacted millions from Vermont’s Green Mountains to the swamps of South Carolina, from Indian Country to the Iberian Peninsula. In defeating the British Empire and giving birth to a new nation, the American Revolution turned the world upside-down. Thirteen colonies on the Atlantic Coast united in rebellion, won their independence, and established a republic that still endures. The American Revolution will present the story of the men and women of the Revolutionary generation, their humanity in victory and defeat, and the crisis that they lived through.

TV Series

7.4

2021

Marvel Studios Legends

Revisit the epic heroes, villains and moments from across the MCU in preparation for the stories still to come. Each dynamic segment feeds directly into the upcoming series — setting the stage for future events. This series weaves together the many threads that constitute the unparalleled Marvel Cinematic Universe.

TV Series

7.1

2025

Turning Point: The Vietnam War

This thought-provoking documentary series examines the harrowing consequences of the Vietnam War, from the Gulf of Tonkin incident to the fall of Saigon.

TV Series

7.5

2009

30 for 30

30 for 30 is the title for a series of documentary films airing on ESPN, its sister networks, and online highlighting interesting people and events in sports history. This currently includes four "volumes" of 30 episodes each, a 13-episode series under the ESPN Films Presents title in 2011–2012, and a series of 30 for 30 Shorts shown through the ESPN.com website. The series has also expanded to include Soccer Stories, which aired in advance of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, and audio podcasts. This entry refers to the main Volumes of the series presented by ESPN

TV Series

7.2

2018

Hitler's Circle of Evil

Surviving power struggles, betrayals and plots, Hitler's inner circle of Nazi leaders seizes control of Germany and designs its disastrous future.

TV Series

7.7

2014

The Roosevelts: An Intimate History

Chronicles the lives of Theodore, Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, three members of the most prominent and influential family in American politics. It is the first time in a major documentary television series that their individual stories have been interwoven into a single narrative. This seven-part, fourteen hour film follows the Roosevelts for more than a century, from Theodore’s birth in 1858 to Eleanor’s death in 1962.

TV Series