Peter Bowker’s war drama, World On Fire, follows the story of different families and ordinary civilians that are trying to make a living at the time of World War II. The show premiered on BBC One on 29th September 2019.
Political war dramas are always intense and entertaining, but to see World War II from the perspective of so many different people is a whole new experience. The story begins with Harry Chase, an interpreter being commissioned into the British Army and leaving his love interest Lois Bennett behind. While in Warsaw, he falls in love with another woman named Kasia Tomaszeski.
Kasia later becomes the face of the Polish Resistance, and World On Fire takes a more interesting turn. However, Harry’s story is not the only one that the show focuses on. We see World War II from the perspective of many more people like Albert Fallou, Nancy Campbell, and others. Taking place in 1939, we see the war’s effects in places like Warsaw, Manchester, Berlin, and other cities.
The cast of World On Fire includes Jonah Hauer King as Harry Chase, Helen Hunt in the role of Nancy Campbell, Julia Brown plays the role of Lois Bennett, and Zofia Wichlacz stars as Kasia Tomaszeski. Other cast members are Brian J. Smith, Blake Harrison, and Ahad Raza Mir (season 2).
World On Fire: Filming Locations
Since this historical war drama shows us the situation in many cities, we often get to see a lot of different scenes throughout World On Fire. All the locations of war in the series are Paris, Berlin, Dunkirk, Warsaw, and Manchester, while for the second season, the list includes North Africa as well.
Filming for the first season of World On Fire began on November 2018 and continued up until March 2019. The filming locations for season 1 consist primarily of places like England and the Czech Republic.
The shooting for the second season of this war drama began in July 2022 and lasted till September of that year. This time, the crew traveled to Northern Ireland for the scenes.
Prague, Czech Republic:
While having so many cities’ perspectives in a show is interesting, it also comes with its drawbacks. The crew had to use multiple places to recreate the environment that would suitably represent these war-torn chaotic countries. For scenes set in Poland and Berlin, World On Fire cast filmed these parts in the Czech Republic, mostly Prague.
Being the capital, Prague has a wide range of buildings and localities that can easily look like they’d just be a part of Berlin or Poland. Almost all of the Paris scenes were also filmed in the Czech Republic. Other places besides Prague that we see in World On Fire include Zatec and Terezin.
While filming for the scenes, the crew came across an abandoned factory in the Czech Republic which served as a prime place for filming war-torn scenes.
Prague is a very popular filming spot for any TV show or movie that involves espionage or any historical war themes. This is because the city has the perfect atmosphere and architecture for such genres. Projects like Jack Ryan, Mission: Impossible, Outlander, Jojo Rabbit, and many others were all filmed right in Prague.
Wigan, England, UK:
Most of the city scenes that were supposed to be based in Manchester were filmed in Manchester itself. Wigan, a town in Greater Manchester, also served as one of the main filming spots for World On Fire. Asides from being the representation of Manchester, Wigan doubled as Paris for some of the scenes.
While the buildings and surroundings may have been decorated to look like a 1939 Paris, the producers also used CGI multiple times in the scenes to make the atmosphere feel genuine.
Other projects besides World On Fire that were filmed in this part of Greater Manchester include International Velvet, Testimony, and Cuckoo.
Lancashire, England, UK:
For scenes that took us to Dunkirk, places like Blackpool and Lancashire served as the filming locations. Known for its beaches and resorts, this place is filled with history and entertainment. It also is home to one of the only first-generation tramways. The evacuation scenes in World On Fire were filmed on St. Anne’s Beach, which is just south of Blackpool.
At present, World On Fire is available to watch on Prime Video, Disney+, and BBC iplayer.
Also Read: London Kills Filming Locations: Where Is The Show Filmed?
