Masters of the Air is the newest tribute to World War II veterans from Spielberg and Hanks. All of their projects on the subject, including Saving Private Ryan, Band of Brothers and The Pacific, concentrate on different aspects of the Great War and make for good viewing companion pieces. As the new series follows the men of the 100th Bomb Group (the “Bloody Hundredth”) as they conduct perilous bombing raids over Nazi Germany, the review from our own Alex Maidy spoke highly of the show. He stated, “It is unlikely that any series will equal the acclaim that Band of Brothers achieved. Still, the blend of feature film directors and a cast of actors more than up to the task, Masters of the Air is a powerful companion to that HBO series and ranks slightly higher than The Pacific.

The Pacific and Band of Brothers would go on to become landmark television and ushered in a grand viewership for HBO. Now, Variety reports that Masters of the Air has equally become a major hit as AppleTV+’s most-watched series launch in the existence of the programming platform. The series would even outperform Apple’s banner original shows like the popular and acclaimed Severance, The Morning Show and Hijacked. According to Variety, “viewership across all of Apple TV+ climbed by 65% worldwide when compared to the previous seven-day period. The streamer also maintained double-digit growth across more than 100 territories.”

Masters of the Air premiered on the streamer in late January and is still releasing episodes, with its sixth entry set to premiere on February 23. The finale is scheduled to be released on March 15. Hanks and Spielberg produce the show through their respective Amblin and Playtone production companies. Gary Goetzman produces along with Hanks for Playtone. Darryl Frank and Justin Falvey of Amblin Entertainment serve as co-executive producers of the series, along with Playtone’s Steven Shareshian, show writer John Orloff and Graham Yost.

While Spielberg and Hanks’ WWII shows sport large ensembles of established actors and up-and-comers, Masters of the Air features two stars currently making rounds in prominent film projects like Austin Butler, who broke out in the Baz Luhrmann biopic Elvis and will be seen in the upcoming Dune Part Two from Denis Villeneuve, and Barry Keoghan, who made a splash in The Banshees of Inisherin and the provocative Saltburn. Masters of the Air also features Callum Turner, Anthony Boyle, Nate Mann, Rafferty Law, Josiah Cross, Branden Cook and Ncuti Gatwa.

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