On the TV guide front, we have all moved from a packed festive viewing schedule into a very dry January.
But that will all change with the arrival of Masters Of The Air, a Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks-produced WWII epic telling the true story of the 100th Bombardment Group, based on the stories from the historian Donald L. Miller’s 2007 book Masters of the Air: America's Bomber Boys Who Fought the Air War Against Nazi Germany.
Featuring a heavyweight line up of actors such as Austin Butler, Barry Keoghan and Ncuti Gawta, it’s looking set to become the year’s first must-watch series, and here’s exactly how to do just that.
What’s the big idea?
According to the official synopsis, the nine-part series follows the group known as 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.” It's a companion to the critically acclaimed 2001 film Band of Brothers, which served as a launchpad for the likes of Tom Hardy, Damian Lewis and Michael Fassbender, amongst others.
The series will portray “the psychological and emotional price paid by these young men as they helped destroy the horror of Hitler’s Third Reich… 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.”
The group’s 306 wartime missions have been called the “singular event in the history of warfare”, and the military men helped lead the allied forces to victory, however 757 men were killed or deemed missing in action.
How to watch Masters Of The Air for free
The first two episodes will stream on Apple TV+ from 26 January, then each remaining episode will air weekly until the finale.
The last episode streams on 15 March. If you can hold out until then, Apple TV+ are still running their seven-day free trial to the service, so there’s a whole week to binge the entire season. Alternatively, you can use the free trial to see if it's your cup of tea before you commit.
But if you’re due for an upgrade on an iPhone or any other Apple device – or have bought one in the last 90 days – you’ll get free Apple TV+ for three months, which should take you well beyond the finale, giving you time to enjoy other recent great new Apple TV+ shows and films like Slow Horses season 3, John Lennon: Murder Without A Trial and Platonic.
Masters Of The Air starts on Apple TV+ on January 26.
