Masters of the Air is the best series launch Apple TV Plus has ever had and it hasn’t even finished airing yet — Steven Spielberg-produced war drama is a hit

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Off to a flying start.

Masters of the Air
(Image credit: Apple)

Despite launching only a few weeks ago, Masters of the Air is already Apple TV Plus’ biggest show ever and it’s not even close. 

As reported by Variety, Masters of the Air received more viewers in the opening weekend than any other show on Apple TV Plus has received in their entire first season. This places it above hits like Ted Lasso, Slow Horses, Severance, Invasion, and Hijack. Also in that report, it was revealed that “viewership across all of Apple TV Plus climbed by 65% worldwide when compared to the previous seven-day period”. This means Masters of the Air isn’t just doing well, it is also making Apple TV Plus do better as a result, which might help shine a light on some of the shows it has surpassed in viewer figures. 

Critical reception ended up very strong with it currently sitting at 87% on Rotten Tomatoes and 73 on Metacritic. The former score signifies overwhelming praise, with the latter suggesting generally favorable reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes, Masters of the Air also has a generally favorable audience score, sitting at 68%. 

What is Masters of the Air?

Masters of the Air is a miniseries set to be nine parts long when it finishes airing, telling the story of an American bomber group in World War II. Opening in 1943, it tells the lives of the men in that squad through their bombing runs above Germany and time in the latter half of World War II. It is likened to Band of Brothers, a 2001 miniseries set in World War II that was also produced by Steven Spielberg, Gary Goetzman, and Tom Hanks. As well as working with many of the same producers, this comparison to Band of Brothers is partially related to the very intimate way Masters of the Air captures the lives and relationships between the main cast. 

Masters of the Air is set to finish airing on March 15 and, if early reviews and viewer figures are anything to go by, it may just be one of the best shows on Apple TV Plus.

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James Bentley
James Bentley

James is a staff writer and general Jack of all trades at iMore. With news, features, reviews, and guides under his belt, he has always liked Apple for its unique branding and distinctive style. Originally buying a Macbook for music and video production, he has since gone on to join the Apple ecosystem with as many devices as he can fit on his person. 

With a degree in Law and Media and being a little too young to move onto the next step of his law career, James started writing from his bedroom about games, movies, tech, and anything else he could think of. Within months, this turned into a fully-fledged career as a freelance journalist. Before joining iMore, he was a staff writer at Gfinity and saw himself published at sites like TechRadar, NME, and Eurogamer. 

As his extensive portfolio implies, James was predominantly a games journalist before joining iMore and brings with him a unique perspective on Apple itself. When not working, he is trying to catch up with the movies and albums of the year, as well as finally finishing the Yakuza series. If you like Midwest emo music or pretentious indie games that will make you cry, he’ll talk your ear off.