Television Q&A: Is Tom Hanks producing new WWII show?
You have questions. I have some answers. Q: I thought Tom Hanks was producing a World War II series about the Allied air forces, similar to “Band...
www.post-gazette.comTom Hanks is releasing a new World War II docu-series on History Channel titled World War II with Tom Hanks, with a planned 20-episode run set to debut around Memorial Day 2026. It’s described as a sweeping, definitive retelling of WWII and marks Hanks’s continued expansion of Band of Brothers–style storytelling for a global audience. [cite ][cite ]
Key details to know now:
- Release window: Memorial Day 2026 (May 25, 2026) on History Channel, with global rollout in 200 territories and 40 languages. [cite ][cite ]
- Format: 20 episodes, documentary-style retelling of WWII, covering major theaters, leaders, and decision points, including the Holocaust and espionage elements. Narration and production led by Tom Hanks, with research partnerships (e.g., The National WWII Museum). [cite ][cite ]
- Related context: Hanks has previously led or produced Band of Brothers, The Pacific, and Masters of the Air, reinforcing a broader WW2 documentary universe. A second WWII project (Greyhound 2) is also in development, though release timing is unclear. [cite ][cite ]
Illustration (what to expect on screen):
- A chronological, global panorama of WWII, interleaving soldier/civilian experiences with high-level leadership decisions, wartime home fronts, and covert operations, culminating in the postwar era and early Cold War shifts. [cite ][cite ]
If you’d like, I can pull the latest official trailers, platform availability by region, or a quick one-page summary of Episode 1’s focus once it airs. Would you like me to do that? [cite ]