Masters of the Air: AppleTV+’s new World War II aerial combat series unveils new trailer

Last Updated on November 21, 2023

“Let’s rack ’em up and knock ’em down.” Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks return to tell more heroic stories of World War II after their previously acclaimed efforts, Saving Private Ryan and the HBO series Band of Brothers. This time, audiences are treated to stories of aerial combat fighters during the war. Apple has just released the newest trailer for Masters of the Air that gives us a better look at what’s to come.

The official synopsis from Apple reads,
“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. Portraying the psychological and emotional price paid by these young men as they helped destroy the horror of Hitler’s Third Reich, is at the heart of Masters of the Air. 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.

Ranging in location from the bucolic fields and villages of southeast England, to the harsh deprivations of a German Prisoner of War Camp, and depicting a unique and crucial time in world history, Masters of the Air is enormous in both scale and scope, and a genuine cinematic achievement.”

The ensemble cast is headed up by Academy Award-nominee Austin Butler, Callum Turner, Anthony Boyle, Nate Mann, Rafferty Law, Academy Award-nominee Barry Keoghan, Josiah Cross, Branden Cook, and Ncuti Gatwa. Spielberg and Hanks are on board as executive producers with Gary Goetzman, who also produced Band of Brothers and The Pacific. Goetzman boasts, “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.” 

The limited series is set to debut on the streaming platform starting on Friday, January 26, 2024. It will start with the first two episodes, then will be followed by one new episode every Friday through March 15, 2024.