Trivia

The main character George shares many similarities with H.G. Wells. Like George, Wells also married his cousin, only to leave her for a younger woman named Amy. The couple both moved to a house in Woking named 'Lynton,' again just like George and Amy have. It was there Wells wrote The War of the Worlds.

This is the first British television adaptation of the 1898 novel "The War of the Worlds" by H.G. Wells.

The building used to represent the Office of the Admiralty was St George's Hall in Liverpool.

Unlike Steven Spielberg's 2005 movie adaptation starring Tom Cruise and Dakota Fanning, the BBC's version will be true to the original period and setting. "H.G. Wells' seminal novel has been adapted for the screen many times, but it's always had a contemporary (and American) setting," director Craig Viveiros said in an interview. "This is the first version to be set in London and [its environs] during the Edwardian period." However, the characters George and Amy are a new addition. Writer Peter Harness added: "The version of The War of the Worlds that I wanted to make is one that's faithful to the tone and the spirit of the book, but which also feels contemporary, surprising and full of shocks: a collision of sci-fi, period drama and horror."

Rafe Spall has said that his character (George) is an expanded version of the unnamed narrator from H.G. Wells' novel and that he is actually named after Wells (whose full name was Herbert George Wells).