** SPOILER ALERT: If you haven't watched season 1, stop now and head straight over to enjoy every moment, as the following includes a few mentions of people and events that might give away some crucial developments **
It's been four months since the initial attack that devastated the planet. In season 2, the human resistance is fighting back - but desperation will drive some to extreme measures. And while Bill Ward (Gabriel Byrne) has discovered more about the aliens, it just raises more questions. Why are there undeniable similarities between these violent invaders and humans? What is going on with Emily (Daisy Edgar-Jones), who was so uniquely affected by the alien arrival? And as the action unfolds in episode one it seems one of the aliens is on the search for one man in particular - but who, and why?
Season 2 of War of The Worlds is just as gripping as when season one unfurled - on both the alien action front, and the way it takes us into the complicated, challenging lives and relationships of the surivors. It's all starting on August 18 with new episodes released weekly on Wednesdays on SBS and SBS On Demand (so don't get too excited when the trailer below says 'streaming now'. This is a sneak preview, after all! Well okay, get excited! And mark August 18 in the diary. It's going to be big.)
Can't wait for the new season? There are two ways to fill the days 'til August 18: rewatch season one of this excellent re-imaging of H.G. Wells' classic book, or discover some other gripping tales of alien visits or possible futures streaming now at at SBS On Demand.
Season 1: the attack
A military experiment to capture unlimited energy goes horribly wrong, leaving a pilot with no choice but to battle an imploding world to save his family and the planet itself. An alien attack in present-day Europe is scarily real - and exposes the deepest vulnerabilities of the survivors as they navigate a new, dangerous world. Among those fighting for their lives is Bill Ward (Gabriel Byrne), a neuroscientist; Catherine Durand (Léa Drucker), the astrophysicist who first discovers the alien signal; Emily Gresham (Daisy Edgar-Jones), an independent 18-year-old who lost her sight five years ago; Jonathan Gresham (Stephen Campbell Moore), Emily's father, who is abroad when the aliens attack and has to fight to make his way back to England; and Kariem Gat Wich Machar (Bayo Gbadamosi), a refugee fleeing civil war.
War of The Worlds season 1 is (also available with and subtitles). Start with episode 1:
AND WHILE YOU WAIT: Future visions and strange visitors
If you want to get into the mood, these movies and acclaimed series will do the job:
Fear The Walking Dead
There’s a lot to be scared of in this zombie apocalypse series, but the zombies are only one of the dangers in Fear The Walking Dead. The show kicks off with the apocalypse already in full effect, and the hordes of zombies are a real problem for survivors. But this is a series with intensely timely plot threads: a rising tide of infections from a new disease, rumours, gossip, even a subplot about public protests against police shootings.
Beforeigners
Beforeigners is a Norwegian crime series with an intriguing twist: what would happen if people from the past suddenly appeared here and now? Across the world, flashes of light start appearing in the oceans and harbours; panicked people from three eras in the past – the Stone Age, the Viking era and the late 1800s – suddenly appear in the water. No-one knows why or how this is happening, and the ‘beforeigners’ have no memory of how they got here. Years later, with the appearances continuing but scientists no wiser as to why, burned-out Oslo police officer Lars Haaland (Norwegian actor Nicolai Cleve Broch, Acquitted) is paired with Alfhildr Enginsdottir (Krista Kosonen, Blade Runner 2049), a woman originally from the Viking Age, to investigate the murder of a woman with Stone Age tattoos. Beforeigners is part crime show, part sci-fi, with a dash of comedy.
Kill Switch
In this action movie, a military experiment to capture unlimited energy goes horribly wrong, leaving a pilot with no choice but to battle an imploding world to save his family and the planet itself.
Kill Switch is streaming now at SBS On Demand:
How to Talk to Girls at Parties
In this sci-fi romance, starring Elle Fanning, Alex Sharp and Nicole Kidman and based on a short story by Neil gaiman, aliens touring the galaxy drop into London for a visit. Fanning is Zan, a rebellious young alien, Sharp is a comic book artist.
How to Talk to Girls at Parties is streaming at SBS On Demand until 31 August:
Years and Years
Years and Years stars Emma Thompson as an ambitious politician but the heart of the story is what happens to one close-knit family as dramatic changes in the political landscape see their daily lives changed in ways no one could have expected. Created, written and executive produced by Russell T. Davies (A Very English Scandal, Doctor Who, Queer as Folk), Years and Years spans 15 years, but it happens quickly, reminding us that a terrifying future could be not that far away for any of us.
The full series of Years and Years (also available with and subtitles) is streaming now :
See the Australian premiere of War Of The Worlds Season 2 on SBS and SBS On Demand from August 18. Episodes will be available at SBS On Demand each Wednesday, and also air on SBS at 9.30pm. Season 1 is streaming now at . The series is also subtitled in and for SBS On Demand. Here's where it all began in season one:
