The Great War: Story, Cast and Series Facts

Story and premise

The Great War is a four-hour cinematic documentary covering U.S. involvement in World War I in the critical year of 1918. After three years of horrific battle in the trenches of France and Belgium, the Allies are on the verge of collapse—and Germany the cusp of victory. The United States is forced to rapidly train, arm, and ship millions of young soldiers overseas to Europe for the first time.

Our story follows General John J. Pershing, leader of the American Expeditionary Force, who is charged with training and deploying an army almost from scratch; Michael B. Ellis, a young man fighting with the Army's soon to be legendary Big Red One; and Horace Pippin and Henry Johnson, brave African American soldiers whose courage in battle helped their regiment be christened the Harlem Hellfighters.

The Great War weaves together the stories of these four men to tell one story: how an isolationist America reluctantly entered World War I and emerged a global power.

Series details

• Title: The Great War
• Format: Documentary
• Language: English
• Genres: War, History
• Premiere date: 2024-05-27
• Final broadcast date listed: 2024-05-28
• Status in TVmaze: Ended
• Network listed by TVmaze: History
• Network country: United States
• Typical episode runtime: 125 minutes
• TVMaze ID: 76749

Seasons in the TVmaze catalogue

• Season 1: premiered 2024-05-27; final listed air date 2024-05-28; episode order: 2.

Source and licence

Adapted from The Great War on TVmaze. The synopsis is reproduced as plain text; catalogue facts, cast and season records are selected and reformatted. This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, following the TVmaze API licence. Network and web-channel credits identify the service listed in this source; they do not establish current streaming availability.