7 Underrated War Shows With Rotten Tomatoes Scores Above 90%, Ranked

October 4, 2025 | by ltcinsuranceshopper

Rotten Tomatoes, if you didn’t know it already, is a critical site where scores of movies or films are based on percentages. The percentages are a weighted average of positive or negative reviews, with separate sections allowing for both scores from registered and renowned critics and from casual viewers. It’s a site that many have used to gauge the inherent quality or entertainment factor of many a film and many TV series.

Of course, this extends to all genres, including war. War-themed TV shows are actually more plentiful than one would think, even though only a select few really get attention. Even though many war shows don’t make it into the spotlight, their critical and audience scores promise greatness and indicate that they are definitely worth watching. These are the best, yet most underrated war TV shows with Rotten Tomatoes scores of about 90%.

7

‘World on Fire’ (2019–2023)

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 92%

World on Fire is a BBC series that was unfortunately cancelled after two short seasons and only 13 episodes. This was a treatment that it likely didn’t deserve, because critics absolutely loved this show. It’s not exactly a masterpiece, but it’s easy to appreciate a lot of things about it. The series is set in the earlier days of World War II, and details some of the most unknown battles to occur. From the Battle of Danzig in Poland to the Battle of the River Plate near Uruguay, this series explores some really important parts of the war that often get overlooked.

But of course, it makes sure to leave the more renowned parts in too, depicting the Battle of Dunkirk, the Battle of Britain, and the Siege of Tobruk in equal measure. The series suffered a bit from trying to cram too much in at once, but overall, it was well-loved by critics. It does a pretty good job at showing people from all walks of life beyond just the soldiers at its heart. Even then, the soldiers depicted come from a variety of places, showing how many people from all over the world risked and gave their lives to fight back against tyranny.

6

‘Transatlantic’ (2023)

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 95%

Lucas Englander as Albert Hirschmann and Cory Michael Smith as Varian Fry in Transatlantic.

Transatlantic is a miniseries that comes as a joint production by Germany and France. The acclaimed seven-part miniseries, based on a novel by Julie Orringer, is about an organization known as the Emergency Rescue Committee, which helped more than 2,000 refugees escape occupied France, many of them being on the Nazis’ most wanted list. The novel is, in itself, a fictionalized retelling of true events, and features many real-life characters.

Critics were all over this miniseries, loving how it felt like a classic throwback to the melodramas of old Hollywood, and how the series was able to be itself without having to conform to other standards. This makes it wholly unique, making it extremely difficult to draw any comparisons to other series. This isn’t exactly an action series due to its inherent nature, but it’s still a drama that is, dare we say, “fun.” It also draws attention to a severely overlooked group of heroes, which it definitely deserves points for.

5

‘Prisoners of War’ (2009–2012)

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 100%

Prisoners of War is set in 2008 and follows three soldiers who are captured during a secret mission to Lebanon. The series follows their lives in the prison camps and occasionally flashes back to their service in the 1990s. Most people probably haven’t heard of this show, which is fair, as it was completely overshadowed by its more popular adaptation. See, before Prisoners of War even aired, the series was acquired by 20th Century Fox, where it became the widely-popular show, Homeland.

While Prisoners of War may have been short-lived and fizzled out quietly compared to the money-making behemoth it spawned, it’s still worth watching. The series actually saw a few other adaptations as well, all in other countries such as Russia and India. This obviously makes it worthwhile, as it serves as the basis for many popular series worldwide. But beyond that, Prisoners of War was met with excellent reviews, with critics praising it for its impartiality on sensitive issues and for simply telling the story as it is for entertainment rather than politics.

4

‘A Small Light’ (2023)

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 100%

A Small Light is a biographical series about the life of Miep Gies (Bel Powley), a Dutch secretary who received international fame due to her heroic actions. During World War II and the concurrent Holocaust, Gies risked everything to protect the lives of her boss and his family. That family’s story would become an international symbol of the brutality of the Holocaust, largely in part due to the diary written by the family’s daughter, Anne Frank (Billie Boullet).

In just eight episodes, A Small Light successfully depicts the true horror of the world’s deadliest genocide and emphasizes the importance of taking risks for the sake of morality. Gies could have been killed had she not been careful, yet she did what she did anyways, just because she cared about people. It’s a tragic and heartwrenching miniseries about family life, friendship, and, of course, the loss that comes naturally during wartime.

3

‘Manhattan’ (2014–2015)

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 91%

Before Christopher Nolan‘s Oppenheimer hit the silver screens, there was Manhattan, a TV series that outlines much of the same events. That’s right—this show details the scientific process and genius minds involved with the invention of the world’s first atomic bomb. Some of the characters in this show are fictional, while others are representations of real people. As such, the story is mostly fiction, albeit based on true events.

Since it takes place in the US during World War II, Manhattan is definitely more of a drama rather than an action-oriented series. That said, it’s still a wonderful watch and was met with unanimous acclaim, though it was sadly cancelled after just two seasons. Even though it had a premature ending, this is a series that grapples with the ethics and processes involved with creating weapons of mass destruction. It doesn’t focus on one particular viewpoint either, allowing viewers to develop their own opinions based on how the characters think and feel about the situation.

2

‘The Narrow Road to the Deep North’ (2025)

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 100%

Jacob Elordi as Dorrigo Evans as an emaciated soldier in a POV camp in The Narrow Road to the Deep North

The Narrow Road to the Deep North is a recently released Australian miniseries that takes place during the Second World War. The series consists of just five episodes, and can easily be tackled in one sitting, should you desire to. Though it was produced and filmed in Australia, the creators did everything in their power to distribute it as far as it could possibly go, meaning it’s easy to get a hold of in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Canada, the US, the UK, and New Zealand, among others.

The Narrow Road to the Deep North follows an Australian trauma surgeon who has been taken prisoner in the jungles of Burma, which he is only able to suffer through by having a forbidden affair with his own aunt. Yes, ew. But it does make for a compelling story. Critics loved how it actually feels realistic and gritty, and how the actors do a superb job. It received a perfect score on Rotten Tomatoes, which it certainly deserves.

1

‘SAS: Rogue Heroes’ (2022–2025)

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 100%

Jack O'Connell and Connor Swindells stand in the desert in SAS Rogue Heroes — Jack O’Connell and Connor Swindells in SAS Rogue Heroes

SAS: Rogue Heroes details the origins of Britain’s Tier One special forces unit: the Special Air Service, or the SAS for short. The unit was formed in World War II and has since become famous for being one of the most elite special forces units in the world. Though the events of this series are, of course, highly dramatized, many of the actors play real-life soldiers who were among the first to form the SAS as a secret weapon against the Axis forces.

The series follows the newly-formed unit across numerous daring missions in some of the most active theaters of war. From the North African Theater to the Allied Invasion of Sicily to the Liberation of France, audiences won’t miss a moment of some of the most renowned and iconic battles of the Second World War. This series has been met with near-perfect reviews and critical acclaim, which is why it’s definitely the best on this list, if not one of the best war shows of the decade.