The upcoming war drama Masters of the Air is the brainchild of producers Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg. A perfect pair as the two have worked on Saving Private Ryan together with Hanks acting and Spielberg directing, which landed the Academy Award for Best Directing at the Oscars and many other accolades. They gathered inspiration from author Donald L. Miller’s book Masters of the Air: America’s Bomber Boys Who Fought the Air War Against Nazi Germany, which depicted a team of Air Force soldiers who aided in the defeat of Nazi Germany during World War II. It tells the stories of terrifying aerial combat and the men who faced these tremendous challenges with honor and bravery. It’s eerily reminiscent of the film Flyboys, which underlined young men’s short life expectancy rates in World War I in the first aerial battles.
It has been over two decades since the dream of turning Masters of the Air into a series began. HBO had originally announced the show’s development but had since released a statement that it would halt its production. But finally, with an arsenal of directors and cast members, the all-new miniseries has finally reached a release date. All the commotion over whether it would ever actually come out has finally ended, but at this point, patient fans might be wondering where they will have the opportunity to see it. Luckily, we’ve done the digging to help you know exactly when the long-awaited series will become available.
‘Masters of the Air’ Cast and Character Guide: Who Stars in Apple TV+’s World War II Series?
There’s a reason this division was nicknamed the “Bloody Hundredth.”
Where Is ‘Masters of the Air’ Streaming?
Masters of the Air
From Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, and Gary Goetzman – the producers of Band of Brothers and The Pacific. During World War II, airmen risk their lives with the 100th Bomb Group, a brotherhood forged by courage, loss, and triumph.
- Release Date
- January 26, 2024
- Main Genre
- War
- Seasons
- 1
Apple TV+ announced a deal to stream Masters of the Air exclusively as of 2019. With delays and a looming global pandemic, the mini-series overcame many hurdles to reach its 2024 release date.
When Does ‘Masters of the Air’ Come Out?
The miniseries has finally set a release date of January 26, 2024, with two new episodes to be released simultaneously. The show will air new episodes weekly until March 15, 2024.
Watch on Apple TV+
Watch the Trailer for ‘Masters of the Air’
Apple TV+ first released a teaser to its YouTube channel on November 9, 2023.
It starts with an eruption of explosions, lighting up the night sky like a field of fireworks. A group of soldiers admire from the ground what beauty lies in the image of violence and destruction. As the aptly nicknamed crew of the Bloody Hundreth gears up for war in the sky, somber music plays. Their planes are fired upon in the deadly air strikes while they acknowledge that the mission might very well be “suicide”; however, they carry on through bravery. Fiery bombs drop through the cities as the men give their biggest battle cries, wounded men are extracted, and the unit perseveres with determination. A stunning display of action, and the teaser already has your heart pumping, yearning to see more.
Fortunately, Apple TV+ released a full trailer on its YouTube channel on Dec 6, 2023.
The trailer starts in a similar tone but shows the softer side of a young soldier in love as the 100th Air Refueling Wing deploys him. It introduces more of the soldiers, including the original member of the Bloody Hundreth, Major Egan (Callum Turner), and another original member, Major Gale ‘Buck’ Cleven (Austin Butler). As they are ordered to lead their men into one of the most dangerous military zones, which houses Hitler himself, a younger member of the unit says to a woman, “You might be the last pretty face I ever see.” A shuttering moment, with a brief pause before a plane in blown out of the sky. It forces you to experience the trauma of war, with men falling from the sky and stranded in enemy territory. But a vision of the Nazi prisoners reminds us why these men did what they had to do. Through prayer and camaraderie, they face the battle and finish with a quote, “We won’t go without a fight,” which leaves us even more excited in anticipation of the series’ release.
More Series Like ‘Masters of the Air’ You Can Watch Right Now
Band of Brothers
Band of Brothers, also produced by Hanks and Spielberg, is based on a non-fiction book of the same title by historian Stephen E. Ambrose. This story follows a group of army soldiers training and fighting in World War II, as well as the emotional journey involved when facing dangerous missions in war. It featured a star-studded cast, including David Schwimmer (Friends), Ron Livingston (Office Space), and more. The series achieved numerous awards and has been deemed one of the best war dramas about WWII ever made.
Watch on Netflix
The Pacific
The Pacific is yet another World War II series brought to us by Hanks and Spielberg, this time focusing on a few specific Marine soldiers who fought in the war. These men, Robert Leckie (James Badge Dale), Eugene Sledge (Joseph Mazzello), and John Basilone (Jon Seda), wrote about the iconic battles of The Pacific Theater, and their stories were turned into the series. This part of the war involved battles between the United States, Australia, New Zealand, and Britain against the Empire of Japan, aptly named for its location in the Pacific Ocean. It focuses on the challenges and experiences these men faced during the many battles that ended in victory for the allies, but at what cost?
Watch on Netflix
Generation Kill
Rolling Stone journalist Evan Wright wrote the non-fiction book Generation Kill, which followed the First Reconnaissance Battalion in the initial years of the Iraq War. The book was developed into a series by David Simon and Ed Burns (The Wire) and depicted the battle stories from a journalist’s perspective, as well as how complicated, messy, and dangerous the war was from a civilian perspective.
Watch on Max
