The Hollywood Reporter has brought word that Apple has officially launched their first in-house studio entitled Masters and that their first project will be a follow-up to the HBO war miniseries Band of Brothers and The Pacific from Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg.
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The series, entitled Masters of the Air and penned by Brothers vet John Orloff, was originally ordered by HBO in 2013 following the critical acclaim the two previous series attained. The outlet’s sources report that the premium cable network decided to pass on the project due to the hefty $250 million budget that was attached to it and that the majority of their financial success came from home media sales, now a struggling market thanks to streaming.
The follow-up, based primarily on Donald L. Miller’s nonfiction novel “Masters of the Air: America’s Bomber Boys Who Fought the Air War Against Nazi Germany,” will tell the story of the aerial wars in WWII through the eyes of men of the Eighth Air Force, also known as the Mighty Eighth, who brought the war to Hitler’s doorstep. Hanks and Spielberg will executive produce the series alongside Gary Goetzman for Hanks and Goetzman’s Playtone and Spielberg’s Amblin Television.
Also attached to the project are Orloff, who will co-executive produce with Justified‘s Graham Yost, Amblin TV’s Daryl Frank and Justin Falvey and Playtone’s Steven Shareshian.
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Band of Brothers aired in 2001 and was nominated for 20 Primetime Emmy Awards, winning seven including Outstanding Miniseries, while also winning the Golden Globe for Best Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television. The Pacific aired in 2010 and was nominated for 24 Primetime Emmy Awards and winning eight including Outstanding Miniseries.
