Foyle's War poster

Foyle's War

★ 8.6 21K votes 2002–2015 8 seasons · 28 episodes Ended ITV1
Rock SolidEvery season landed between 8.2 and 8.6 across 8 seasons.
Period pieceSet meaningfully in a past era.This show: 10/10Detective mysteryCrime-solving from the investigator's side of the table.This show: 9/10British TVThe British television sensibility: tone, restraint and format traditions.This show: 9/10War & militaryArmed conflict and the soldier's experience.This show: 8/10Real historyReal historical events and figures woven into the story.This show: 8/10NaturalisticUnderstated, lifelike performances and look.This show: 7/10ProceduralA case or problem of the week, solved by a formula that works.This show: 7/10
Rate this series
Starring
Michael KitchenHoneysuckle WeeksAnthony HowellEllie HaddingtonJulian OvendenJay Simpson
Written by
Anthony Horowitz
Starring
Michael KitchenHoneysuckle WeeksAnthony HowellEllie HaddingtonJulian OvendenJay Simpson
Written by
Anthony Horowitz
Ratings per Episode
246810
Votes per Episode
03757501k2k

Foyle's War Episode Ratings Heatmap

AvgE1E2E3E4
S18.28.18.48.28.2
S28.48.68.48.48.3
S38.38.38.48.38.0
S48.28.08.48.38.1
S58.48.38.58.4
S68.38.17.98.9
S78.48.28.48.6
S88.68.28.59.0

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About

"Wartime murder mysteries with a conscience"

Set in a quiet English coastal town during World War II, this mystery series follows a detective superintendent solving murders while the war grinds on around him. Each feature-length episode blends a proper whodunit with the moral compromises, black-market schemes, and grief the war brings to ordinary people. The pace is deliberate and dialogue-driven rather than flashy, carried by understated, humane performances and meticulous period detail. It rewards patience over adrenaline, favoring quiet observation and ethical nuance over twists. It's less about shocking reveals than about watching decency navigate a compromised world.

Watch it for

the way ordinary wartime moral dilemmas matter as much as the murder being solved.

Maybe skip if

you want fast-paced thrillers rather than slow, dialogue-heavy period mysteries.

Written by our AI editor to help you decide, spoiler-free by design.

All Seasons

Series 12002
8.25K46h 34m
The series begins in May 1940, a time when local Germans are being interned, the bombing of England has commenced, and anti-German feelings are running high. Detective Chief Superintendent Christopher Foyle's request for a service transfer is again denied, and he returns to local police work in Hastings. First broadcast in 2002 and covers the Spring/Summer of 1940.
Series 22003
8.44K46h 32m
It's Autumn, 1940, and DCS Foyle is once again thrust into the goings on around Hastings and beyond, investigating murder and other crimes committed during this time of war.
Series 32004
8.33K46h 12m
Set in Spring of 1941, once again we find ourselves in the midsts of mayhem and madness, as Foyle must determine the right from wrong in his home town. Even the war cannot prevent him from uncovering the truth behind organized crime, deserters and sabotage. First aired in 2004.
Series 42006
8.23K46h 12m
Series 52007
8.42K34h 39m
Series 62008
8.32K34h 34m
Covering the long year from April 1944 to May 1945, where the end of World War II slowly but inevitably approaches, Foyle and his fellow citizens learn the price of victory and face a peace that will transform their lives in unexpected ways.
Series 72010
8.42K34h 25m
We find Foyle in the Summer of 1945, In the immediate aftermath of World War II. Our Police detective now finds his longed-for retirement interrupted by cases of a different sort, involving international intrigue, military racism, and an accused traitor all too willing to go to the gallows.
Series 82013
8.62K34h 27m
World War II is over, but the Cold War simmers in the height of the 1946 London Summer. DCS Christopher Foyle has retired from police work when Britain's secret intelligence service compels him to join its ranks. Reunited with his former colleague, newlywed Sam Wainwright, Foyle faces new-but no less deadly-threats in the world of spies and counterintelligence.

Full Cast & Crew

Cast

Michael Kitchen Christopher Foyle
Honeysuckle Weeks Samantha Stewart, Samantha Wainwright
Anthony Howell Paul Milner, Sergeant Paul Milner, DI Paul Milner
Ellie Haddington Hilda Pierce
Julian Ovenden Andrew Foyle
Jay Simpson Sgt Brooke, Sergeant Ian Brooke
Tim McMullan Arthur Valentine
Daniel Weyman Adam Wainwright
Jeremy Swift Glenvil Harris
Rupert Vansittart Sir Alec Meyerson, Sir Alec Myerson

Crew

Anthony Horowitz

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