HBO's 12-Part Tom Hanks Miniseries Is As Good As Band of Brothers

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Donnie Wahlberg screams in Band of Brothers

Published Feb 10, 2026, 3:28 PM EST

Cathal Gunning has been writing about movies, television, culture, and politics online and in print since 2017. He worked as a Senior Editor in Adbusters Media Foundation from 2018-2019 and wrote for WhatCulture in early 2020. He has been a Senior Features Writer for ScreenRant since 2020.

While Band of Brothers might be a more famous miniseries, HBO’s underrated From the Earth to the Moon might be Tom Hanks’ best historical show from the ‘90s. Tom Hanks produced Band of Brothers, which is still often listed as one of the greatest TV miniseries of all time thanks to its immersive storytelling.

While other acclaimed shows like The Sopranos might tell longer stories, Band of Brothers is notable precisely for the economy of its storytelling. The show manages to immerse viewers in the lives of the soldiers it follows, despite the limited runtime of Band of Brothers, making their experience of war feel lived-in and real.

HBO’s From the Earth to the Moon Arrived Before Band of Brothers

Astronauts in the suits in From The Earth To The Moon

However, before Hanks worked on the 2001 series, the acclaimed actor produced another HBO miniseries based on another famous moment in US 20th-century history. Airing from April to May 1998, From the Earth to the Moon was a 12-part docudrama based largely on Andrew Chaikin’s non-fiction book A Man on the Moon.

A fastidiously accurate retelling of the 12 missions of the Apollo program, From the Earth to the Moon tells the stories of the space race that director Ron Howard’s earlier hit Apollo 13 didn’t have time to cover. Real-life astronaut David Scott was a technical consultant on the series, ensuring the show maintained as much accuracy as possible.

Although From the Earth to the Moon focused on the Apollo missions in sequential order, the show frequently switched its viewpoints to illustrate the historical story from every angle. Early episodes center on the historic Apollo 8 flight, the design of the Lunar Module, and eventually the Apollo 11 Moon landing halfway through the show’s run.

Tom Hanks’ Historical HBO Miniseries Is A Perfect Companion Piece to Apollo 13

From The Earth To The Moon (1998) Trailer Thumbnail

While the movie Apollo 13 already covered the events of that fateful mission in detail, there is little in the way of overlap between Hanks’ blockbuster and From the Earth to the Moon. This might be because Apollo 13 director Ron Howard was a producer on the series and Hanks directed the finale, meaning the pair had a hand in its creative direction.

The result is a show that serves as a perfect companion piece to that earlier hit, as well as a fitting precursor to Band of Brothers. While Band of Brothers was undoubtedly a more tragic story, From the Earth to the Moon features plenty of hardship on the long road to the first successful manned flights to the moon.