People urged to watch war drama which soldiers hail as the 'most realistic military series of all time'

An American war drama you've probably never heard of has been hailed by soldiers as the 'most realistic military series of all time'.

The seven-part miniseries is based on Evan Wright's 2004 book about his experience as an embedded reporter with the US Marine Corps' 1st Reconnaissance Battalion during the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

The book was adapted into a TV series by David Simon, Ed Burns, and Wright, airing on HBO in 2008.

Directed by Susanna White and Simon Cellan Jones, the all-star cast includes Alexander Skarsgård as Sergeant Brad 'Iceman' Colbert, Jon Huertas as Sergeant Tony 'Poke' Espera, James Ransone as Corporal Josh Ray Person, and Lee Tergesen as Wright.

To get a taste, take a look at the trailer for Generation Kill below:

A former Marine - who served in the US Marine Corps for five years in an intelligence role and as a Recon Marine - has since hailed the show for getting things pretty spot on.

"I think Generation Kill and, more so, Jarhead did a pretty good job of representing what it’s like to be a junior enlisted (I’m including NCO’s) Marine," he wrote on Quora.

"Marines are d**ks. Every Marine thinks he/she’s the baddest motherf**ker around. Doesn’t matter if he/she’s Admin, Infantry, Recon or Marsoc.

HBO

"In the show they are under supplied and tasked with a mission that seems flawed. That is the life of a Marine. We get s**t gear and s**t tasks.

"I spent the first two months in Afghanistan in a hole. No tent. No toilets. No nothing."

John Anderson, a former Intelligence Analyst at the US Marine Corps from 2003 to 2006, also admitted: "There were a lot of parts in Generation Kill that were very, very realistic.

"Uniforms, banter, petty politics, and lack of gear. The way the actors talked, they way they moved, they way they carried their kit… a lot of effort was put into that, and it showed."

HBO

He also noted that some things were perhaps not as realistic, adding: "You would be hard pressed to find that many incompetent officers in one unit, in one place and time.

"Incompetent, a**hole officers exist… they just aren’t clustered like we see in the show."

Viewers have also been raving about the show, which has a solid 94 percent audience score on Rotten Tomatoes and 8.5/10 on IMDb.

HBO

Taking to X (Twitter), one person said: "Never heard of it.

"But the most realistic portrayal of the modern US military was Generation Kill."

Another added: "If you watch HBO's Generation Kill, the s**t that comes out of the mouths of those marines will have you spun.

"One of the most realistic portrayals of the US military and actual urban combat, the ineptitudes of field-grade officers and humorous cynicism of the enlisted and NCOs."

UK viewers can watch Generation Kill on Sky.