Apple TV+ and Spielberg's new WWII series is spiritual sequel to 97% Rotten Tomatoes classic

Apple TV+ will premiere Steven Spielberg's spiritual successor to Band of Brothers and The Pacific on 26 January 2024, and there's a new trailer to whet your appetite.

Starring Austin Butler (Elvis), Ncuti Gatwa (Doctor Who), Callum Turner (Fantastic Beasts) and Barry Keoghan (Dunkirk), it is based on the book by Donald L. Miller and follows the men of the 100th Bomb Group who conducted bombing raids on Nazi Germany during World War II.

Their assignments were among the most dangerous in the Air Force during the war, and the series takes us through the raids, capture and an insight into the conditions in a German prisoner-of-war camp.

As with Band of Brothers and The Pacific, the show isn't so much about the combat than the effect it has on the physical and psychological welfare of the men who experience it.

Masters of the Air is executive produced by the same team behind those WWII classic too – Steve Spielberg, Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman. It will run for nine episodes on Apple's streaming service with the first two arriving on Apple TV+ on 26 january. New episodes will then be available each consecutive Friday.

“[The series] is a salute to the brave men of the 8th Air Force, who, through their courage and brotherhood, helped defeat Nazi Germany in World War II,” said executive producer Gary Goetzman.

He, and the rest of the executive team, will be hoping Masters of the Air will repeat the critical success of Band of Brothers and The Pacific, which have Rotten Tomatoes scores of 97% and 91% respectively.

How much is Apple TV+?

Apple TV+ is available as either a standalone subscription or as part of an Apple One bundle, which includes other services, like Apple Arcade and Apple Music.

It costs £8.99 / $9.99 per month, with a free 7-day trial period beforehand. Up to five family members can share the same Apple TV+ subscription.

Apple One costs £18.95 / $19.95 per month for a single-person subscription. That gives you Apple TV+, 50GB of iCloud storage, Apple Music and Apple Arcade.

For £24.95 / $25.95 per month, a Family subscription ups the iCloud storage to 200GB and allows you to share all of the services with up to five people.

A Premier subscription is also available. It is priced at £36.95 / $37.95 per month and adds Fitness+ and Apple News+ to the services. You also get 2TB of iCloud storage.