If you loved Band of Brothers and liked The Pacific (a perfectly serviceable series that was, if we’re being honest, nonetheless a step down) you’ll certainly have some kind of emotional reaction to Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks’ third love letter to the “Greatest Generation” and their baffling ability to actually win a war.
When is Masters of the Air being released in New Zealand?
Masters of the Air is streaming in New Zealand from January 6, 2024, exclusively on Apple TV+.
Masters of the Air: Limited Series
What is Masters of the Air about?
Thematically, it’s about Baby Boomer feelings of inadequacy. Narratively, however, Masters of the Air gives us a bird’s eye view of World War II. While Band of Brothers followed the men of Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division, into the cauldron of the European Theatre, and The Pacific told the tale of the 1st Marine Division in the bloody, island-hopping war against Japan, Masters of the Air details the exploits of the US’s 100th Bomb Group in Europe. It’s based on Donald L. Miller’s 2007 non-fiction tome, Masters of the Air: America’s Bomber Boys Who Fought the Air War Against Nazi Germany.
The cast of Masters of the Air
Once again we get an impressive ensemble cast packed with hot-right-now young actors, including former Elvis and future Feyd-Rautha Austin Butler, Callum Turner, Anthony Boyle, Nate Mann, Raff Law, Barry Keoghan, Josiah Cross, Branden Cook, Ncuti Gatwa, Kai Alexander, James Murray, Tommy Jessop, Freddy Carter, Nikolai Kinski, Oaklee Pendergast, Louis Greatorex, Adam Long, Jordan Coulson, and Fionn O’Shea. Deeper in the cast list we find Sawyer Spielberg as Lt. Roy Frank Claytor, who no doubt faced a gruelling audition process and won his role by sheer force of talent.
Masters of the Air trailer
Why we’re excited about Masters of the Air
Look, as we get older we find ourselves drawn to this kind of detailed, self-serious historical drama, all big machines and earnest cornfed boys stepping up to do their duty and/or get bloodily dispatched. It’s just an age thing for guys – your waistline expands, the grey starts creeping into your beard, you start reading every historical plaque you walk past, and Time-Like books with titles like Burma 1944-45: Mountbatten’s Graveyard start spontaneously spawning in your study.
Embrace it – it’s all part of the process.
