A brigade of military-focused scripted series has invaded TV screens, as cable networks look to offer action-packed, often heroism-themed content depicting the U.S. armed forces.

National Geographic Channel’s The Long Road Home, which premiered on Nov. 7, is cable’s latest entry in the military genre, joining sophomore shows Shooter (USA Network) and SIX (History).

Related > MCN Review: 'The Long Road Home'

Cable programmers aren’t the only distributors deploying shows in the genre. The broadcast networks have launched three freshman shows during the during the 2017-18 television season, including Valor (The CW), The Brave (NBC) and SEAL Team (CBS).

Even Netflix’s latest series from Marvel, Marvel’s The Punisher, is based on a former marine ensnared in a military conspiracy, according to the streaming service.

Related > Watch Netflix's Trailer for 'Marvel's The Punisher'

Enjoyed Success in Past
The shows are tapping into a void of programming in what’s historically been a successful genre of television, network executives said.

“Military-themed series have a long history of success,” said Barry Jossen, executive vice president of A+E Studios, which is producing the Navy SEAL-themed series SIXfor History. “There are so many great stories to be told, filled with compelling characters and lots of aching emotion.”

Such shows also provide audiences with clear-cut heroes in a TV environment where characters often blur the lines between good and bad, executives said, reflecting the very real military conflicts covered in the news.

Related > MCN Review: History's 'SIX'

“There is a tremendous interest among the viewing audience right now to understand the military and the sacrifices that the families go through,” said Dale Ardizzone, chief operating officer for INSP, which airs the documentary series Brush of Honor about military portrait artist Phil Taylor. “All the things that are going on that have shown what a dangerous place the world can be at times combined with the social media efforts in making the lives of [military men and women] so personal have been the driving factors for the popularity of these shows.”

Nat Geo’s eight-part series The Long Road Home — based on the bestselling book by ABC News chief global affairs correspondent Martha Raddatz, chronicling the 2004 “Black Sunday” ambush of a U.S. Army platoon in Baghdad — is the network’s first foray into military programming drama. Nat Geo has produced many unscripted programs about war, the military and the valor of service members.

Related > Watch Nat Geo's 'The Long Road Home' Trailer

“It is a populist approach to storytelling, and it makes sense to tell stories that celebrate the American military, which is a really a timeless idea,” Carolyn Bernstein, National Geographic executive vice president and head of global scripted development and production, said.

Though The Long Road Home is a scripted series, its story is based in fact and depicts the lives of both the soldiers deployed in Iraq and their family members at home, Bernstein said. “For us, this was a story that deserved to be told in a complete and dramatic fashion that featured relatable and universal humanistic values,” she said.

History will return combat drama SIX for a second season in 2018. The show allows the network to tell a military story through the eyes of members of a Navy SEAL Team, affording viewers a more humanistic viewpoint of those who protect and serve their country than traditional documentary series can provide.

“SIX feels real, very real,” Jossen said. “It is a perfect blend of mission stories, providing insight into the brotherhood of SEAL Team members and home life with the varied conflicts of family, commitment and life that goes on while these heroes are away. The high-stakes drama of SIX elevates viewer emotion, who find relatable connections to their own lives.”

The action and scenarios depicted in shows such as SIX are very similar to the current conflicts facing the U.S. armed forces around the world, Jossen added. For instance, there are multiple depictions of missions in Africa on the show that preceded the Oct. 4 ambush of U.S. Army Special Forces soldiers in Niger.

“SIX is telling stories that are timely and topical as anything else on TV or in the movies,” he added.

Not a Political Thing
Although it’s difficult not to equate the rise of the genre with the general populist and pro-military themes espoused by President Donald Trump, Nat Geo’s Bernstein said such shows can entertain and build on the positive values of the military without being overtly political.

“It’s really about these people who have stories of their own to tell that have nothing to do with politics,” she said. “We’re less focused on whether it’s the perfect timing [for military shows]. From our perspective, this kind of approach to storytelling with a military subject feels like its always the right time to tell this story.”

Added INSP’s Ardizzone: “If we look at it really close, the support for the military in these shows is really apolitical. In a time when there’s a lot of divisiveness in the country, when you look at the military and celebrate the sacrifices and the challenges that the people who serve go through, it really is bipartisan, compelling entertainment.”

National Geographic tonight (Nov. 7) debuts it’s eight-part drama series The Long Road Home, which relives the 2004 "Black Sunday” ambush of a U.S. platoon in Bagdad during the Iraq War.

The series, based on journalist Martha Raddatz’s best-selling book, is the latest of several military-themed series to hit the TV airways in 2017, including NBC's The Brave, CBS’ SEAL Team, CW’s Valor and History’s Six.

MCN Review: 'The Long Road Home' an Effective, Realistic Military Drama [subscription required]

I recently spoke to Carolyn Bernstein, National Geographic executive vice president and head of global scripted development and production, about the network’s ambitious undertaking in developing the series. 

Here’s what Bernstein and Nat Geo want you to know about The Long Road Home.

The series offers a dramatic look at an historical event: “We feel like this is a bulls-eye television project for us in terms of what we’re looking to do with our scripted dramas initiative. We’re leading with the entertainment value, but everything that we do needs to have nutritional value as well. When you watch any scripted drama on Nat Geo we hope that you would be entertained but also enlightened and learn something about the world around you that you may not have known. For us, this was a story that deserved to be told in a complete and dramatic fashion that featured relatable and universal humanistic values."

The series adds context to a high profile incident during the Iraq War: Certainly people will remember the Iraq War and have a point of view about it, and they may remember specific incidents during the Iraq War. But this is a very deep dive into an incident that may have gone in one ear and out the other due to the way the 24-hour cable news cycle works. It’s a way to understand the Iraq War from a character-driven and human perspective. The Iraq War is very universally known, but we thought it was really important to shine a light on this less well-known incident as a way of understanding the larger war.”

The Long Road Home does not look to make a political statement: “We look at this show as being apolitical. It’s really about these people who have stories of their own to tell that have nothing to do with politics. Martha speaks very eloquently about this in saying  that this is about men who go from driving minivans one day to a couple of weeks later finding themselves in a combat situation in Iraq, and having to find their determination, grit, resilience, courage and brotherhood to get through it. For us it’s really about the sacrifice and the courage that these men showed in the face of terrible adversity. It exists outside of the political and it feels timeless … it’s always a good time to tell this type of story.”

Watch the Trailer: Nat Geo's 'The Long Road Home'

Effective as a realistic military drama — and frightening in passages where soldiers in vulnerable positions are under fire from streets and rooftops — The Long Road Home has the added benefit of being based on the true, nonfiction book (by ABC’s Martha Raddatz) about a deadly ambush in Baghdad’s Sadr City district on April 4, 2004. The eight-hour drama matches the time the soldiers from the 1st Cavalry Division were under fire. And, as good military dramas do these days, the story is told from the perspective of the soldiers and their anxious families back in Fort Hood, Texas.

Related: Read More MCN Reviews

Eight U.S. soldiers were killed and 65 wounded on “Black Sunday.” It started out as a banal mission escorting Iraqi sewage trucks and escalated to the point where two convoys of rescuers and the original task force were involved in raging gunfights in too-lightly-armored vehicles. Sadr City was supposedly the safest place in Iraq, and the war was considered basically over.

The production — on sets built in and around Fort Hood — is first rate with attention to detail in every frame. Notable performances are turned in by Jeremy Sisto as Staff Sgt. Robert Miltenberger, who headed to Iraq with strong premonitions that he would die there; Michael Kelly as Lt. Col. Gary Volesky, the incoming battalion commander who idealistically had believed “people are going to see amazing things from us” in their peacekeeping mission; and Jason Ritter as Capt. Troy Denomy, who led one of the rescue convoys. Kate Bosworth stands out as Gina Denomy, at home with a newborn, coping with her husband’s absence.