Apple TV+ Teases Release of Miniseries Developed By Creators of ‘Band of Brothers’

Apple TV+ has released the teaser trailer for its winter 2022-23 schedule. The clip features previews of a number of upcoming releases, including one of the new wartime miniseries, Masters of the Air. The show, starring Austin Butler, comes from the creators of Band of Brothers (2001) and The Pacific (2010).

Masters of the Air is being developed by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks’ production company, Playtone. (Photo Credit: Kevin Mazur / Getty Images for National Board of Review)

Word of the series, based on the book by Donald L. Miller, first arose in 2012, with HBO initially confirming the news. Seven years later, Apple revealed it had made a deal with Playtone, the production company founded by director Steven Spielberg and actor Tom Hanks, to exclusively premiere the series on its Apple TV+ streaming service.

Production on Masters of the Air began in the United Kingdom in February 2021, with Austin Butler, best known for portraying Elvis Presley in 2022’s Elvis, starring as Maj. Gale Cleven and Nate Mann portraying Maj. Robert Rosenthal. Callum Turner, James Murray, Anthony Boyle and Barry Keoghan are among those who have also been cast.

Masters of the Air will depict the strategic bombings conducted by the Eighth Air Force during World War II. (Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain)

Masters of the Air depicts the actions of the Eighth Air Force during the Second World War. Nicknamed the “Mighty Eighth,” it served as part of the US Army Air Forces and carried out operations across northern Europe, with a focus on Germany, the Low Countries and France. Its primary objective was the planning and execution of strategic daytime bombings on German-held areas.

The Eighth Air Force had the largest combat strength in the service, in terms of personnel, equipment and aircraft. It featured over 200,000 personnel by mid-1944, and was capable of sending 2,000 bombers and 1,000 fighters on a single air raid. This amounted to 440,000 sorties, during which 697,000 tons of bombs were dropped.

Following the German surrender, its members were transferred to Okinawa to train new groups for combat against the Japanese Empire. However, the country surrendered before the group’s first combat sortie in the Pacific Theater. Of those who served with the Mighty Eighth during World War II, 556 became air aces. There were also 17 Medal of Honor recipients, 442,000 Air Medals awarded and 220 Distinguished Service Crosses handed out.

The brave men and women of the Eighth Air Force have continued to serve as part of the US Air Force ever since.

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Masters of the Air was written by John Orloff and Graham Yost, with Hanks and Spielberg serving as executive producers alongside Cary Joji Fukunaga and Gary Goetzman. While an exact release date has yet to be revealed, the series will likely premiere sometime in late 2022 or early ’23.

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