The tech giant has handed out a nine-episode order for Masters of the Air, the follow-up drama to HBO's limited series Band of Brothers and The Pacific. Additionally, Apple is officially launching its own internal studio, making the series the first that it will own in-house.
Sources say HBO released the series — focused on historian Donald L. Miller's nonfiction book Masters of the Air: America's Bomber Boys Who Fought the Air War Against Nazi Germany — ages ago and before WarnerMedia became its new corporate parent. The decision, sources say, was based on the price tag for the series, which is said to clock in at an estimated $250 million. Also a factor was the fact that DVD sales were largely responsible for turning pricey awards winners The Pacific and Brothers into financial hits. With the DVD market imploding amid the explosion of streaming, sources say HBO opted to dedicated those resources elsewhere. (The cabler has continued to be an aggressive buyer amid the arms race for top talent, stars and packages.)
All of the producers behind both Brothers and Pacific are slated to return for the new installment. Tom Hanks, Gary Goetzman and Steven Spielberg will exec produce for Hanks and Goetzman's Playtone and the latter's Amblin Television, respectively. Amblin TV's Darryl Frank and Justin Falvey will co-exec produce alongside Playtnoe's Steven Shareshian. Band of Brothers grad John Orloff will pen the script and also co-EP the series alongside Graham Yost (Justified). The latter also worked on both previous shows in the franchise. The third miniseries in the WWII saga had been in talks for months after The Pacific's success. The third show was officially put in development back in January 2013 at HBO.
