Steven Spielberg & Tom Hanks WWII Drama ‘Masters of the Air’ Sets Premiere Date

Martin Holmes October 5, 2023, 9:02 am

Austin Butler in Masters of the Air — Apple TV+

Apple TV+ is giving viewers their first look at its upcoming World War II drama series, Masters of the Air, which is set to debut globally on Friday, January 26, 2024.

The nine-episode limited series reunites Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, and Gary Goetzman (the award-winning team behind Band of Brothers and The Pacific) and follows the true story of an American bomber group in the Second World War.

“Masters of the Air is a salute to the brave men of the 8th Air Force, who, through their courage and brotherhood, helped defeat Nazi Germany in World War II,” said Goetzman, who will executive produce the series alongside Spielberg and Hanks.

Apple TV+

He continued, “Tom and Steven have always wanted to visualize cinematically what our author Don Miller has called, this ‘singular event in the history of warfare.’ We’re thrilled that Apple TV+ has given us the opportunity to combine the efforts of so many talented people, on-screen and behind the camera, to tell this important story.”

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.

The drama will portray the psychological and emotional price paid by these young men as they helped destroy the horror of Hitler’s Third Reich. 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.

Apple TV+

Oscar-nominated actor Austin Butler (Elvis) leads the cast, which also includes Callum Turner (The Capture), Anthony Boyle (The Plot Against America), Nate Mann (Men of Divorce), Rafferty Law (Twist), Barry Keoghan (The Banshees of Inisherin), Josiah Cross (King Richard), Branden Cook (Tell Me Lies), and Ncuti Gatwa (Doctor Who).

The series will take viewers from the bucolic fields and villages of southeast England to the harsh deprivations of a German Prisoner of War Camp. Depicting a unique and crucial time in world history, Masters of the Air is enormous in both scale and scope.

Masters of the Air is executive produced by Spielberg through Amblin Television and Hanks and Goetzman for Playtone. Amblin Television’s Darryl Frank and Justin Falvey co-executive produce alongside Playtone’s Steven Shareshian. In addition to writing, Orloff co-executive produces. Graham Yost also serves as co-executive producer.

Check out more of the first look images below.