Taking to the SKIES

What to expect from Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg's World War Two epic...

MASTERS OF THE AIR FROM FRI 26 JAN, APPLE TV+ DRAMA  (FIRST TWO EPS FROM 26 JAN, THEN WEEKLY)

Hollywood filmmakers Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks are no strangers to bringing World War Two stories to our screens, having previously explored the achievements of an elite team of paratroopers in Golden Globe-winning 2001 drama Band of Brothers and followed a marine division battling on the frontline in acclaimed 2010 mini-series The Pacific.

Now, the pair are offering a different perspective on the conflict as they serve as executive producers on Masters of the Air, a much-anticipated companion piece that charts the brave exploits of the American bomber pilots of the Eighth Air Force’s 100th Bomb Group.

Launching on Apple TV+ this week with a double-bill, the nine-part epic begins in 1943 as the crew arrive in Britain with a plan to carry out high precision daytime bombing of key targets in Nazi Germany.

But it proves a perilous assignment, with the unit soon earning the nickname ‘The Bloody Hundredth’ due to the heavy losses it suffers in combat missions as its B-17 Flying Fortresses head deep into enemy territory.

THE MAKING OF HEROES

Among the 100th Bomb Group’s top pilots are best mates Major Gale ‘Buck’ Cleven (portrayed by American film star Austin Butler) and Major John ‘Bucky’ Egan (The Capture’s Callum Turner), neither of whom are ready for the dangers that await them.