HBO Max and Sky TV to Release British Legal Drama War on October 2

TechRadar's verdict describes War as exactly what it wants from a British legal drama with an American-style budget. The review says the high-profile divorce battle is brutal and never lets up, and that its parallels to real life are biting. It adds that the real strength is away from the big names.

The plot sets Morgan's law firm, Cathcarts, against Carla's firm, Taylor & Byrne. Cathcarts is described as a stalwart of the legal world. Taylor & Byrne was co-founded by an old Cathcarts employee who was refused partnership. TechRadar frames the conflict as old money meeting nouveau riche, with both sides carrying grievances.

The review praises the ensemble cast. It says Miller and West play things incredibly close to home, while Celia Imrie serves diva at every opportunity. It notes that Imrie's Celebrity Traitors reunion with Nick Mohammed is equally enjoyable, and that Nina Sosanya is the one to watch. Archie Renaux appears as new legal assistant Johnny, who thinks he is outwitting everyone around him when he is really ten steps behind. The review says there is something for every armchair gossip.

TechRadar says the public scrutiny Carla and Morgan receive is true to life. The pair are hounded by the press through relentless front-page tabloid articles, uncomfortable questions at events and lawyer-up red carpet premieres. The reviewer says they can vividly remember both actors being in similar situations before, and applauds their personal and professional separation in the roles.

The review finds one fatal flaw in the structure. From the opening seconds, viewers are pushed into the trenches of a doomed marriage with such severity that it could give them a headache, but after seven episodes the stakes are exactly the same. TechRadar compares the eight-episode season to a flatlining heart monitor. It also lists a one-note storyline that gains tension quickly but stays at that level, and a theme tune that is a total letdown after a dynamic trailer.

When the series works, TechRadar says it is golden. It describes War as biting, cutting and scheming at every turn, and as a British legal drama at its best. The review says none of this is possible without the ensemble cast, with Imrie and Sosanya standing out. Imrie plays Budgie, a freelance lawyer working under Taylor & Byrne, not the High Court judge overseeing the trial as the trailer might have suggested. The review says that the minute she enters the room, all decisions pay deference to her presence.

TechRadar calls War the ultimate game of celebrity tennis with no winners. It says the series eviscerates the British legal system, the public's consumption of celebrity culture and the continued fascination with people's private lives. Yet because nobody in the show is real, viewers can happily berate them, and the review says the characters give plenty of ammunition. From Carla and Morgan's sneaky manoeuvres behind closed doors to Johnny's misplaced confidence, the show offers material for viewers who like to gossip from their armchairs.