Ever since Saving Private Ryan, it has been nearly impossible not to get excited over a Steven Spielberg/Tom Hanks collaboration, especially when it comes to projects surrounding their shared love of World War II. And their latest, Masters of the Air, looks to be a stellar addition to the lineup.
This time around, executive producers Spielberg and Hanks – along with Gary Geotzman who, like the aforementioned men, helped get Band of Brothers and The Pacific on the air – take to the skies, focusing on a group in the United States Army Air Forces. While Band of Brothers and The Pacific were both monumental hits for HBO and won the Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Miniseries, Masters of the Air will be headed to Apple TV+, where it is no doubt one of the most highly anticipated series since the service launched.
The stacked cast features Austin Butler, Barry Keoghan, Callum Turner, Anthony Boyle, Nate Mann, Raff Law, and so many more, while the directors are Cary Joji Fukunaga (True Detective), the duo of Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck (FX’s Mrs. America), Dee Rees (Hulu’s Saint X), and Tim Van Patten (Boardwalk Empire, The Sopranos), who will helm the Masters of the Air finale.
The official plot of Masters of the Air reads, in part: “Based on Donald L. Miller’s book of the same name, and scripted by John Orloff, “Masters of the Air” follows the men of the 100th Bomb Group (the “Bloody Hundredth”) as they conduct perilous bombing raids over Nazi Germany and grapple with the frigid conditions, lack of oxygen and sheer terror of combat conducted at 25,000 feet in the air. Portraying the psychological and emotional price paid by these young men as they helped destroy the horror of Hitler’s Third Reich, is at the heart of “Masters of the Air.” Some were shot down and captured; some were wounded or killed. And some were lucky enough to make it home. Regardless of individual fate, a toll was exacted on them all.”
Masters of the Air soars to Apple TV+ on January 26th, with the first two episodes airing that date and the remaining arriving on a weekly basis.
Are you looking forward to Masters of the Air? How do you think it will stack up against Band of Brothers and The Pacific?