Apple TV's 9-Part War Series With 85% On Rotten Tomatoes Was Secretly Part Of A Trilogy

Viewers may not know it, but 2024’s Apple TV hit Masters Of The Air is secretly the third installment in a loose trilogy that began with Band of Brothers. Re-watching Band of Brothers proves just how influential the miniseries has been in the 25 years since the show first aired on HBO.

Like the underrated The Shadow of the Moon, Band of Brothers was produced by Tom Hanks, with Steven Spielberg co-creating the show alongside the actor. Based on the 1992 book of the same name by Stephen E. Ambrose, Band of Brothers was a 10-episode miniseries that follows E Company, 506th Infantry Regiment, nicknamed “Easy Company.”

Considered one of the best TV shows of all time, Band of Brothers helped usher in the Second Golden Age of Television alongside fellow early 2000s HBO hits like The Sopranos, The Wire, and Six Feet Under. The show’s high production values and starry cast made Band of Brothers a major cultural event, and the miniseries received near-universal acclaim upon its original release.

How Masters Of The Air Ties Connects To Band Of Brothers & The Pacific

Since Band of Brothers is so widely beloved and considered to be so influential, it might surprise some readers to learn that the series had a sequel in 2010’s The Pacific. Co-created by Bruce McKenna, alongside Hanks and Spielberg, this miniseries starred Jon Bernthal, Nate Corddry, Rami Malek, and a whole host of other stars.

Like Band of Brothers, The Pacific was a critical success. Based on two memoirs, Eugene Sledge’s With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa and Robert Leckie’s Helmet for My Pillow, the show was praised for displaying even more psychological complexity than its predecessor. Both series were huge ratings successes for HBO upon release.

As such, it may shock readers to learn that there is a third installment in this loose trilogy, albeit one that didn’t air on HBO. Released in 2024, Masters of the Air was a miniseries based on the book of the same name by Donald L. Miller. The show follows the 100th Bomb Group.

Why Masters Of The Air Was Not On HBO

A unit in the Eighth Air Force that was posted in German-occupied Europe during World War II, the 100th Bomb Group’s members were played by major stars like Austin Butler, Callum Turner, and Barry Keoghan. The supporting cast of Masters of the Air included Bel Powley, Ncuti Gatwa, and Isabel May, and the show’s performances were roundly praised.

Unfortunately for the creators of the series, its reception wasn’t as unambiguously positive as that of The Pacific and Band of Brothers. Masters of the War’s historical inaccuracies and inconsistent tone both garnered criticism, as did its screenwriting. While the show still managed a Rotten Tomatoes score of 85%, its overall reception paled in comparison to its predecessors.

Although the show wasn’t released until 2019, Masters of the Air was in production a lot earlier. As far back as October 2019, The Hollywood Reporter revealed that Apple would be streaming the series exclusively, ending Hanks and Spielberg’s successful collaboration with HBO. HBO soon confirmed they weren’t going forward with the series.

This was striking since the show had been in development at HBO since 2012, when a third installment of the series was first teased. Although it is not entirely clear why the show switched from the cable network to the streaming service, its hefty price tag might have played a part.

With a budget of $250 million, Masters of the Air was one of the most expensive shows of all time at the time of its release. In contrast, The Pacific cost $217 million, while Band of Brothers cost half as much as Apple TV’s 2024 historical epic, coming in at only $125 million. Masters of the Air’s huge budget may have impacted its reception.

Is Masters Of The Air As Good As Band Of Brothers?

Although some critics praised Masters of the Air for its traditional, old-fashioned storytelling style, many critics said that the show’s return to the format of Band of Brothers felt outdated in the streaming era. The Pacific kept up with the changing face of TV by offering viewers something darker and more complex, as befit the era of Breaking Bad and Mad Men.

In contrast, Masters of the Air felt even more old-fashioned than Band of Brothers, a nostalgic celebration of the military that lacked the moral ambiguity and complexity of its predecessors. Although there are plenty of great Apple TV shows that have been under-seen, this series felt overhyped and over-promoted thanks to its infamously big price tag.

While hardly unwatchable, Masters of the Air is certainly not as good as Band of Brothers, and few critics consider the series the equal of The Pacific. While Masters of the Air wanted to bring back the cultural impact of Band of Brothers, ironically, the show instead proved that the original series was a unique product of its time.