Like the novel, the series follows the lives of the fictional Henry and Jastrow families as they intersect with the major global events of the early years of World War II.

The series also includes segments of documentary footage, narrated by William Woodson, to explain major events and important characters.

It stars an ensemble cast, featuring Robert Mitchum, Ali MacGraw, Jan-Michael Vincent, John Houseman, Polly Bergen, Chaim Topol, Peter Graves, Jeremy Kemp, Victoria Tennant, and Ralph Bellamy.

[4] The series follows the plot of Wouk's novel closely, depicting events from March 1939 until the entry of the United States into World War II in December 1941.

It tells the story of Victor "Pug" Henry (played by Robert Mitchum), an American Naval attaché in Berlin and a confidant to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and his family, and their relationships with a mixture of real people and fictional characters.

He was convinced by Paramount Pictures and the ABC television network that a miniseries would allow the full breadth of his epic story to be brought to life onscreen.

Principal locations were Zagreb, Opatija and Rijeka in Yugoslavia; Berchtesgaden and Munich in West Germany; Siena, Florence, Milan and Rome, Italy; London, UK; Vienna, Austria; Naval Station Bremerton in Bremerton, Washington and throughout the Los Angeles area and Southern California.

In the beginning of part 6, the train scenes were filmed at the Orange Empire Railway Museum with Ventura County 2-6-2 number 2.

[12] A premiere screening of the first episode was held in Washington, D.C. at the Kennedy Center on Thursday, February 3, 1983, three nights before airing on ABC.

The screening was attended by members of the cast including Robert Mitchum, Ali MacGraw, John Houseman, Polly Bergen and Peter Graves.

Also attending were Paramount owner Charles Bluhdorn, who hosted the event, as well as ABC Motion Pictures President Brandon Stoddard, Jack Valenti, Ted Kennedy, Robert McNamara, Art Buchwald, two senators, and numerous other Washington luminaries.

"[15] Columnist Tom Shales of The Washington Post called the miniseries "bulbous and bloated" and said "a first-year film-school student could edit three or four hours out of the thing without hurting the flow at all."