Airborne TV event: New series honors 8th Air Force, WWII fighters
Through all of the ups and downs, changes and adaptations of the world, one thing seems pretty solid: humanity’s interest in the art and devastation of war. This interest may be reflected in the hobbies of Civil War re-enactors, one’s choice of literature or, as it turns out, one’s choice of televised entertainment.
Luckily for the World War II enthusiasts out there, Apple TV+ releases a new series Friday, Jan. 26. Based on author and historian Donald L. Miller’s book, “Masters of the Air: America’s Bomber Boys Who Fought the Air War Against Nazi Germany,” the series, titled simply “Masters of the Air,” follows the 100th Bomb Group, an American airborne unit that helped defeat the Nazis during World War II. Nine action-packed episodes are to be released weekly until the March 15 finale, with the first two dropping on the streamer Jan. 26.
Billed as — as British GQ writer Jack King wrote in his Nov. 9 article — the “spiritual sequel to ‘Band of Brothers,’” “Masters of the Air” is made possible by the HBO series’ producers Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman, all of whom also collaborated behind the scenes on the 2010 miniseries “The Pacific.” While not a direct sequel to either HBO miniseries, “Masters of the Air” promises to take viewers away from a literal bootson-the-ground look at the war machine and instead takes to the equally treacherous skies.
There are plenty of recognizable faces for viewers to watch in awe, including “The Banshees of Inisherin” (2022) actor Barry Keoghan, who also starred in the popular 2017 war epic “Dunkirk”; “War and Peace” star Callum Turner; and the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll himself, Austin Butler (“Elvis,” 2022).
Also starring in all nine episodes of the series are Ben Radcliffe (“Anatomy of a Scandal”), Anthony Boyle (“Tetris,” 2023), Rafferty Law (“Repo Men,” 2010), David Shields (“The Crown”), Darragh Cowley (“The Essex Serpent”), Edward Ashley (“The Terror”), Elliot Warren (“The Batman,” 2022) and Nate Mann (“Licorice Pizza,” 2021). BBC’s newest Time Lord, “Doctor Who’s” Ncuti Gatwa, and Sawyer Spielberg (“Honeydew,” 2020) also appear in the series.
Adapted from Miller’s novel by “Band of Brothers” and “The Last Vermeer” (2019) screenwriter John Orloff, “Master of the Air” flies viewers back in time to Europe during the Second World War, a time when the 8th Air Force’s 100th Bomb Group become known by its nickname, “The Bloody Hundredth.” And like most war films and series, the excitement and patriotism are featured alongside a healthy dose of grounded reflection and plenty of unthinkable devastation.
Per the official Apple TV+ description, the series takes a pilot’s-seat approach to the carnage as the men “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.”
While set largely in and over “the bucolic fields and villages of southeast England,” the nine-episode event is, in fact, based on a true story and visits “the harsh deprivations of a German prisoner of war camp” (per Apple).
Such sensitive material requires an expert approach, and so Hanks, Spielberg and Goetzman are the perfect team to do the 100th’s story justice. With plenty of history in this genre and an undying respect for the perils of war, the trio reproduces “a unique and crucial time in world history” by way of “a genuine cinematic achievement.”
“Tom [Hanks] and Steven [Spielberg] have always wanted to visualize cinematically what our author Don Miller has called this ‘singular event in the history of warfare,’” said Goetzman, as reported by Esquire. “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.”