'War Of The Worlds' TV Series Trailer: Epix Focuses More On The Aftermath Of The Alien Invasion

Last year saw a BBC miniseries adaptation of H.G. Wells' classic sci-fi novel War of the Worlds bring the story of invading aliens to Edwardian England. But there's another eight-part series coming from Epix that finds modern day Europe dealing with an extra terrestrial threat. However, as the War of the Worlds series trailer shows, it doesn't look like we'll see much of the initial attack on Earth like Steven Spielberg's big screen take from 2005. Instead, we'll be dealing with the aftermath in a way that feels like The Walking Dead or A Quiet Place.

Not showing the attack itself is certainly one way to avoid having a big budget on a cable series. But it also seems to cheapen the experience a bit, especially after we've seen it done on such a huge scale by way of Steven Spielberg. Even when compared to the BBC miniseries adaptation from the end of last year, this one doesn't appear to pack much of a punch.

At the same time, putting the focus on human survival and what it's like to deal with the fallout of a situation like this does allow for a more intimate story to be told. Plus, there's always the fact that this one is set in Europe and follows an ensemble of different characters rather than one family caught up in the chaos. Unfortunately, many of the scenes in the trailer above feel like they could easily be from other sci-fi projects of the same ilk.

The series features an ensemble cast that also includes Gabriel Byrne, Elizabeth McGovern, Léa Drucker, Natasha Little, Daisy Edgar Jones, Stéphane Caillard, Adel Bencherif, and Guillaume Gouix. Gilles Coulier (The Natives) and Richard Clark (Versailles) are each directing four episodes apiece, and the series is created by Howard Overman (Misfits)

Set-in present-day Europe, War of the Worlds is a multi-faceted series, based on the story by H.G. Wells.  When astronomers detect a transmission from another galaxy, it is definitive proof of intelligent extra-terrestrial life. The world's population waits for further contact with baited breath. 

War of the Worlds premieres on Sunday, February 16, 2020 at 9pm ET.