Summary

• Masters of the Air is the highly anticipated World War II miniseries from the creators of Band of Brothers and The Pacific.
• The series will focus on the airmen of the 100th Bombardment Group, a decorated and tragic division of the U.S. Army Airforce in Europe.
• The release date is set for January 26, 2024, exclusively on Apple TV+, and the cast includes Austin Butler, Callum Turner, and Barry Keoghan.

Masters of the Air is the latest World War II miniseries from the team behind 2001's Emmy and Golden Globe winning Band of Brothers and its followup 2010 The Pacific. Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, and Gary Goetzman have teamed up with Apple TV+ to bring their third WWII epic, Masters of the Air, to screens in 2024. With a cast led by Austin Butler (Elvis), Callum Turner (Fantastic Beasts), and Barry Keoghan (The Banshees of Inisherin), there’s a huge amount of anticipation surrounding the upcoming Second World War miniseries.

2001’s Band of Brothers told the story of the Easy Company of the 101st Airborne Division in Europe, whereas 2010’s The Pacific focused on various regiments of the 1st Marine Division during various campaigns against the Japanese in the Pacific. Masters of the Air will once more focus on Europe, this time on the airmen of the 100th Bombardment Group — an incredibly decorated and distinguished wing of the United States Army Airforce by the end of World War II, though also one that suffered some incredibly tragic losses.

Most Recent Masters Of The Air News

The most recent news on the new miniseries from the Band of Brothers creative team arrived on October 5, 20202 (via Deadline). Apple confirmed that the first WW2 miniseries from the Band of Brothers team in 13 years had a premiere date of January 26, 2023. Not only was the Masters of the Air release date announced, but first-look images from the show were also revealed, showing the various members of the vast ensemble cast in their roles as the airmen of the 100th Bombardment Group.

Masters Of The Air Is Confirmed

Masters of the Air is confirmed, with the official greenlight announcement from Apple TV+ arriving on October 11, 2019 (via THR). The project had been discussed for several years before this, however, with HBO initially planning to move forward with a miniseries to spiritually follow-on from Band of Brothers and The Pacific as far back as 2013.

It was confirmed from the off that the creative team behind Band of Brothers would return for Masters of the Air. Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, and Gary Goetzman are all executive producers on the Apple TV+ miniseries. It was also revealed that, as was expected given the previous attempts with HBO, Masters of the Air would be based on the book Masters of the Air: America’s Bomber Boys Who Fought The War Against Nazi Germany by historian Donald L. Miller.

Filming for Masters of the Air began in 2021, as confirmed by director Cary Joji Fukunaga on Instagram at the time, and had wrapped by April 2022.

Masters Of The Air Release Date

The release date for Masters of the Air has been set for January 26, 2024. The new miniseries from the creative team behind Band of Brothers will be an Apple TV+ exclusive, with no plans for wider distribution or traditional broadcast. The Friday January 26 premiere will bring the first two episodes, with episodes then released weekly until the finale on March 15.

Masters Of The Air Cast

The cast for Masters of the Air is impressive, and as stacked with recognizable names as one would expect a project helmed by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks to be. Band of Brothers included A listers such as David Schwimmer (Friends) and Damian Lewis (Homeland), as well as early performances from the likes of Tom Hardy (Venom) and Michael Fassbender (Inglourious Basterds).

Masters of the Air continues this casting tradition with multiple known talents including Tom Hanks’s former Elvis castmate Austin Butler and The Banshees of Inisherin’s Barry Keoghan. The full cast like for Masters of the Air is known to include:

• Austin Butler (Elvis) as Major Gale Clevan
• Barry Keoghan (The Banshees of Inisherin) as Lt. Curtis Biddick
• Ncuti Gatwa (Sex Education) as 2nd Lt. Robert Daniels
• Callum Turner (Fantastic Beasts) as Major John Egan
• Anthony Boyle (Tetris) as Major Harry Crosby
• Nate Mann (Evil) as Major Robert Rosenthal
• Raff Law (Twist) as Sgt Ken Lemmons

However, the ensemble cast of Masters of the Air is extensive, with literally dozens of cast members across its 9 episodes. Band of Brothers reportedly featured a cast with 200 speaking roles and well over 10,000 on-set extras. While CGI may replace some of these background characters in Masters of the Air thanks to advances in technology, and aerial battles presumably requiring less extras than the vast skirmishes of Band of Brothers, it still already seems that the upcoming Apple TV+ miniseries will have a considerably large cast.

Masters Of The Air Story Details

Masters of the Air will tell the story of the 100th Bombardment Group, a World War II United States Army Air Force division deployed in Europe. The group suffered heavy losses throughout the second World War, as detailed by historian Donald L. Miller in his book Masters of the Air: America’s Bomber Boys Who Fought The War Against Nazi Germany. Many of the cast members of Masters of the Air will be playing real airmen of the 100th. Just as with Band of Brothers and The Pacific, great care will be taken to tell the stories of the airmen of the 100th with respect and accuracy.

The official plot synopsis for Masters of the Air is as follows:

Masters of the Air follows the men of the 100th Bomb Group, known as 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. It portrays 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.

There aren’t many specifics known beyond the premise, however. The 100th Bombardment Group flew countless missions throughout the war, and it’s unclear exactly which ones Masters of the Air will focus on. The scripts have been written by Timothy Orloff, who also was on screenwriting duties for Band of Brothers.