Television Review

Masters of the Air (2024) • Apple TV+ — flies high on action but crashes to earth on character

During WWII, five miles above the ground and behind enemy lines, 10 men inside a bomber known as a “Flying Fortress” battle unrelenting flocks of German fighters.

Fans of World War II dramas like HBO’s Band of Brothers (2001) and The Pacific (2010) were delighted when rumours were confirmed of a third show in the series focusing on the 100th Bomber Group. Given their gripping story, recounted in a bestselling 2007 book by Donald L. Miller, and with the promise of Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg attached as producers, Masters of the Air had all the hallmarks of prestige television at its finest. But now the final episode has aired and the dust from the many crashed planes has settled, it seems as though our hopes and expectations may have been set too high.

Masters of the Air, based on the aforementioned book Masters of the Air: America’s Bomber Boys Who Fought the Air War Against Nazi Germany, centres on the 100th Bomber Group of the…