Set in World War II, the series follows the intertwined lives of ordinary civilians across Europe who are caught up in the conflict.

The second series covers October 1940 to May 1941 and features the beginning of The Blitz in Manchester and the North African campaign (including Operation Compass and the Siege of Tobruk) while also returning to occupied France and Nazi Germany, with the resistance movement and Lebensborn program being shown, respectively.

[5] Casting began in October 2018, with Helen Hunt and Lesley Manville amongst the first additions,[6] with Sean Bean joining in November.

Lesley Manville, Jonah Hauer-King, Julia Brown, Zofia Wichłacz, Blake Harrison, Eugénie Derouand, Eryk Biedunkiewicz, Yrsa Daley-Ward, Parker Sawyers, Ewan Mitchell and Cel Spellman were all confirmed to be returning, while Mark Bonnar, Ahad Raza Mir, Miriam Schiweck and Gregg Sulkin joined the main cast.

The website's critical consensus reads “Though at times more style than substance, World on Fire's layered storytelling never steps on itself, leaving room for its excellent ensemble and gorgeous set-pieces to fill in any narrative gaps.”[15] On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 74 out of 100, based on reviews from 12 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".