MANILA, Philippines - 2014 marks the centennial year since the momentous events that triggered the First World War happened, and History is marking the occasion as it screens its boldest production yet — The World Wars.
Airing tonight at 10, The World Wars explores the two defining wars of the last century through the lives of the men who lived through and influenced them.
The show, which was recently nominated for three Emmy Awards (Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series, Outstanding Writing for Nonfiction Programming and Outstanding Sound Editing for Nonfiction Programming) and done in collaboration with Emmy Award-winning production company Stephen David Entertainment, is a “television event of relevance,” according to A+E Networks VP for international programming, production and operations Sally Habbershaw.
“The series looks at World War I and II from a fresh perspective, focusing on the hiatus between the wars,” she reveals. “And this time, we take a look at these in a way that hasn’t been explored previously: Through the core characters, their personal experiences and the relationships between them in that era.”
Adolf Hitler, Charles de Gaulle, Winston Churchill, Joseph Stalin, Benito Mussolini, Hideki Tojo and Franklin Roosevelt each take the spotlight in the eye-opening series, as each episode immerses viewers in their individual stories in a compelling way, marrying dramatic recreations with archival footage and cutting-edge CGI by Brainstorm Digital — the company credited for its superb work on miniseries The Men Who Built America and TV series Boardwalk Empire.
At the helm of the ambitious production is executive producer Russ McCarroll, the man behind History’s highly-successful The Men Who Built America and Mountain Men. McCarroll shares that The World Wars took two years to develop and produce. “There were a lot of ups and downs, but the journey has been pretty amazing since the time we first set out to make this project.” Habbershaw adds, “The biggest editorial challenge was capturing a 30-year period of history from a global point of view because the wars are perceived differently in various countries.”