Masters of the Air is one of the most anticipated television series of the year. It starts in a week and has all the qualities to be the event of the year. Why? Here are a few reasons: it is a continuation of the monumental TV productions Band of Brothers and The Pacific, which expanded the scope, ambitions, and budgets of prestige television (and, importantly, opened the era of popular serialized box sets); it is produced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks themselves; it costs around $250 million – while not comparable to the budget of Lord of the Rings, it still far exceeds the budgets of most contemporary TV productions – and it shows on the screen; eagerly awaited since 2012; and stars Austin Butler alongside young generation stars (Barry Keoghan, Callum Turner, Ncuti Gatwa, Bel Powley).
But can Masters of the Air be considered the television event of the year if it is unknown if anyone will watch it at all? The series is available on the Apple TV+ platform, which still remains a mystery wrapped in a beautiful shell of a smartphone designed by Jony Ive.
Does anyone even watch Apple TV+? It is difficult to say with certainty. While other streaming platforms, especially Netflix, begin to share viewership data, Apple still keeps it to themselves: the best we can expect are overall percentages of viewership growth – 42% increase in 2023, 65% increase in Slow Horses viewership between the first and second seasons, etc. This gives an image of pure success, but without knowing the exact number of viewers, whether we are talking about thousands or millions, it is very vague. Independent estimates suggest that the Apple TV+ subscriber base includes tens of millions of people, compared to hundreds of millions for Netflix, Disney+, or Amazon Prime Video.
In the absence of sharp data, we have to rely on buzz surrounding Apple TV+. Do the people you know talk about Apple series? Are they discussed on internet forums among people working remotely in 2024? Well, to some extent, yes. For example, Slow Horses seems to attract a wide audience, as evidenced by numerous posts on social media and threads on Reddit that I noticed during the Christmas break. The Morning Show seems to be more talked about the crazier it gets (it is one of the few Apple series that has made it onto the Nielsen top 10 streaming list). Hijack also caused some excitement after its summer premiere. It is also difficult to underestimate the impact that Ted Lasso had during the pandemic.
However, alongside these hits, there are dozens of other series – many costly productions featuring stars – that have gone unnoticed. Have you or anyone you know watched performances by Tom Hiddleston and Claire Danes in the gothic mystery The Essex Serpent? What about the feminist comedy anthology starring Nicole Kidman, Issa Rae, and Cynthia Erivo, titled Roar? Or the another anthology, Extrapolations, this time devoted to the climate crisis, which had such a long and star-studded cast that I would need the rest of the article space to list it? I suppose most of you haven’t watched them. Apple releases many series on its platform, but it can be noticed that many of them disappear in the streaming void like George Clooney in the movie Gravity.
It’s a shame because in terms of quality, Apple has its strengths and can be considered one of the best sources of content currently. After difficult beginnings, where the platform tried to focus on boring celebrity documentaries, Apple decided to invest in talented and often well-known individuals, giving them free rein to realize their loose visions (similar to Netflix in the days when it focused on ambitious projects). This strategy doesn’t always work, but when it does, the results are spectacular – for example, the series Severance and Pachinko, which may return this year. What is truly impressive is the diversity and openness to risk when it comes to Apple TV+ orders. You can find a great international action film about Godzilla next to the bizarre Lakeith Stanfield in a psychological horror or the longest-running series being an alternate history where Russia wins the space race and America colonizes Mars.
So, you may ask, what is the point of all this if very few people watch Apple TV series? An example could be Mad Men, which did not enjoy great popularity during its airing, but it didn’t harm its legacy. Apple also has strong finances – why not let the billion-dollar company pour a fraction of its wealth into excellent TV productions? However, on the other hand, after five years since its launch, it is still difficult to shake off the thought that Apple TV+ is a whim, a fad, something that will eventually bore the wealthy company. It is not Netflix, where online streaming is their entire business. It is not even Prime Video, which is at least part of the broader Amazon Prime subscription. (You get three months of Apple TV+ when you buy a new iPhone, iPad, TV, or Mac – but after that, you have to pay.) It is still difficult to understand what Apple really expects from Apple TV+: to conquer the streaming market? Strengthen its brand? Build relationships with celebrities and convince them to sell phones? Who knows!
Perhaps Apple TV+’s goal will become clearer by the end of spring. Because these few months seem to be a great opportunity for this platform. In addition to Masters of the Air, there will soon be a biographical series dedicated to Dior, featuring Juliette Binoche, Maisie Williams, and John Malkovich, as well as a gigantic sci-fi film starring Noomi Rapace, a new comedy with Kristen Wiig and Laura Dern, or Noel Fielding as Dick Turpin. And this is just the beginning…
Frequently Asked Questions about Masters of the Air:
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