Masters of the Air, a follow-up limited series to HBO’s Band of Brothers and The Pacific, is set to be produced by Apple for its upcoming streaming service Apple TV+. According to the Hollywood Reporter, HBO had the rights to the third installment of the historical drama, but released it based on the high cost to produce the series, in turn allowing Apple to pick it up. Masters of the Air will be based on Donald L. Miller’s nonfiction book of the same name, which focuses on the United States Eighth Air Force and the missions it flew over Nazi Germany.
The nine episode miniseries is significant in that it will be the first show to be produced in-house at Apple. The other Apple originals set to debut alongside the platform on November 1st all hail from different, established studios. The new production arm at Apple is being helmed by Zack Van Amburg and Jamie Erlicht, who also serve as co-heads of Worldwide Video for Apple. The pair boasts a history in production from their time running Sony Pictures Television.
Masters of the Air’s two predecessor series are considered classics, having won a combined total of fourteen Emmys, including respective wins for Outstanding Miniseries. The follow-up series will retain the same array of executive producers that worked on Band of Brothers and The Pacific, which includes the likes of co-creators Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg as well as Gary Goetzman. The new historical drama will mark Spielberg’s second show for Apple TV+, following the anthology series Amazing Stories, which debuts on November 1st with its first four episodes. The script for the series will be written by Band of Brothers alum John Orloff, who will also serve as co-executive producer. Darryl Frank, Justin Falvey, Steven Shareshian, and Graham Yost will join him as co-EP’s.
Apple has yet to announce a timeline for Masters of the Air’s release.