Chief of War

In Chief of War, Jason Momoa once again takes on a towering persona with Hawaiian warrior Ka’iana. The actor, who is also co-creator, writer, director, and executive producer, backs this violent but ambitious retelling of the unification of Hawaii’s islands during the late 1700s. The epic drama is also a history lesson combined with age-old themes of honour, pride, greed, and most importantly, power. The nine-part series focuses on the kings, rulers, warriors, and, of course, the people of Hawaii with its traditions and beliefs that must change over time. Ka’iana (Momoa) and his small family have relocated from Maui to the island of Kauai. But upon command of his king, Kahekili (Temuera Morrison), who has visions from a certain prophecy, he joins him for a battle on Oahu. There he realises the power-hungry Kahekili has deceived him and he spends the rest of the series atoning for his actions. Ka’iana leaves Hawaii and returns stronger, armed with knowledge and power that will help him in the war that is to come.

It takes great writing discipline to make a show like Chief of War. Nearly everybody who watches it on Apple will be entering a world that they’re entirely unfamiliar with. And yet, they must surrender to its intimate yet epic narrative. Set in the late 18th century, the nine-episode drama tells the story of the unification of the Hawaiian islands, from the perspective of the Polynesian community. Riskier is the creative decision to set it almost exclusively in the native language. Perhaps the folks behind it — Chief of War is co-created by Jason Momoa and Thomas Pa’a Sibbett — were empowered by the success of similar grand-scale productions such as FX’s Japanese-language drama Shōgun and Apple’s own Korean-language show Pachinko.