Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman have had an unbeatable streak at the Emmy Awards so far, with all five of their limited series and made-for-TV-movies being victorious in the top category. Now they re-team again with Steven Spielberg for the third time for their Apple TV+ limited series “Masters of the Air,” in association with their production company Playtone and Spielberg’s Amblin Television. The program, comprised of nine episodes, centers around the members of the 100th Bomb Group during World War II in England, and stars Austin Butler, Callum Turner, Anthony Boyle and Barry Keoghan in an ensemble cast, serving as a companion piece to their Emmy-winning war miniseries “Band of Brothers” and “The Pacific.” With their HBO programs amassing a whopping total of 92 nominations and 41 wins, let’s look back at the duo’s Emmys history to determine possible category nominations for “Masters of the Air.”
“Band of Brothers” (2001)
Their first World War II retelling with Spielberg was the 2001 dramatization of the soldiers of “Easy” Company, “Band of Brothers,” based on the Stephen E. Ambrose book, and also featuring a large ensemble cast led by Damian Lewis and Ron Livingston. The 10-episode miniseries took home seven Emmy Awards amongst 20 nominations, receiving mentions in every technical and main category in the miniseries/television movie genre during the 2002 Emmys except acting; winning Best Miniseries, Directing, Casting, Editing, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing and a newly created honorary category Best Interactive Television Programming.
“John Adams” (2008)
Six years later, the duo adapted the 2001 David McCullough book “John Adams” into a seven-part biography series about the second President of the United States and his role as a Founding Father. With well-known stars like Paul Giamatti, Laura Linney and Tom Wilkinson headlining the cast, the miniseries was much more successful in the acting categories with all three nabbing Emmy trophies in their respective races, while it also succeeded in Best Miniseries, Writing, Art Direction, Casting, Cinematography, Costumes, Prosthetic Makeup, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing and Special Visual Effects, totaling 13 wins amongst their leading 23 nominations.
“The Pacific” (2010)
Shifting back to World War II and exploring the Pacific Theater of Operations in the Pacific War, “The Pacific” is adapted from two memoirs from Eugene Sledge and Robert Leckie. The 2010 series made of 10 hour-long chapters – executive produced once again with Spielberg alongside Hanks and Goetzman – performed exceedingly well and similarly to “Band of Brothers” at the Emmys, leading the ceremony with 24 nominations and winning a third of their haul with Best Miniseries, Art Direction, Casting, Prosthetic Makeup, Non-Prosthetic Makeup, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing and Special Visual Effects.
“Game Change” (2012)
Going forward into modern government, “Game Change” is the only television movie that the producing pair made, depicting the 2008 presidential election campaign of John McCain, revolving around his running mate Sarah Palin. 2012 was the first of two years where the Emmys combined movies and miniseries in the same top category, but that did not stop the political drama from having it be one of its five triumphs of the night from its 12 bids, along with Best Writing, Directing, Casting and Lead Actress for Julianne Moore as the Alaskan governor.
“Olive Kitteridge” (2014)
2015 was an altering year for the Emmy Awards which administered numerous changes, including renaming the program category from Best Miniseries to Best Limited Series and expanding the voting body, making “Olive Kitteridge” the most successful show produced by Hanks and Goetzman, sweeping all but one category at the main telecast and ultimately nabbing eight of its 13 nominations. The four-episode installment based on the 2008 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Elizabeth Strout won Best Limited Series, Lead Actress for Frances McDormand, Lead Actor for Richard Jenkins, Supporting Actor for Bill Murray, Writing, Directing, Casting and Editing.
So what does this tell us about “Masters of the Air?” Given the historical war genre and Hanks and Goetzman’s collaboration with Spielberg, it is probably more accurate to look at “Band of Brothers” and “The Pacific” for reference, both of which dominated the Creative Arts Emmys. Thus, it is almost a certainty that this series will get recognized (and be in contention to win) in categories like sound, cinematography, editing, casting, costumes, makeup, hairstyling, art direction, music, main title design, special visual effects and/or stunts.
However, despite their overwhelming tally, both previous war dramas failed to get any acting notices. That could change with “Masters of the Air” as as it has a more noticeable, recognizable cast with recent Oscar nominees Butler and Keoghan and Tony nominee Boyle — such notoriety has been effective for Hanks and Goetzman’s other three programs. In addition, the large ensemble cast can work to the show’s benefit in the casting category for a nomination, which has a large correlation to determining Best Limited Series, as well as writing and directing (bids that both companion pieces received), the latter of which is helmed by Emmy favorites Cary Joji Fukunaga, Tim Van Patten, Dee Rees and the directing pair of Anna Boden & Ryan Fleck.
As it stands in the combined Gold Derby odds for Best Limited Series, “Masters of the Air” just squeezes into the category, currently in fifth place at 10/1 odds with 613 users predicting Hanks and Goetzman will continue their nomination streak. But a win would be more challenging given the large number of contenders in the genre, with only 29 forecasting they will continue to be undefeated. Yet one thing that needs to be remembered in the popular voting era of the television academy is that if the voters love the show, they will check it down the line and that could prove to be the case for “Masters of the Air” with the attachment of major established talents. It would be out of the ordinary for the Emmys to ignore a project executive produced by Hanks and Goetzman along with the addition of Spielberg, so “Masters of the Air” is definitely one to watch out for.
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