Steven Spielberg holds a well-star-studded record of making some of the best entertainment projects ever created.
And to make his projects soar as high as his thoroughly established reputation, the filmmaker tends to go overboard sometimes (or, shall we say, most of the time, considering how his masterpiece Jaws was shot in the first place).
Just like he did with his most recent currently ongoing Drama series for Apple TV+, Masters of the Air as well. Although the show has ostensibly good reviews so far — both critical and general, it has surpassed the average budget for television series to a whole new level. The show crossed the $200 million line for a one-season series that consists of a mere four episodes.
Also Read: Masters of the Air Season 1 Review: A Remarkable Achievement
Steven Spielberg’s Masters of the Air Had A Beyond-Massive Budget
Executively produced by the masterminds Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, and Gary Goetzman, Masters of the Air is the second successor to 2001’s critically acclaimed series Band of Brothers. 2010’s The Pacific was in the middle — all of which were executively produced by the same three geniuses.
While the 2001 series recounted the story of Easy Company, which was the 506th Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division from 1942 until the end of the Second World War, the 2010 one was about 3 Marines from different regiments who struggle to survive during World War II as America fought with the Japanese in the Pacific. As for this most recent and currently ongoing one, it has been defined by Apple TV+ as: “During World War II, airmen risk their lives with the 100th Bomb Group, a brotherhood forged by courage, loss, and triumph.”
However, while all three of them are set in similar backgrounds, the one starring Austin Butler and Callum Turner in the lead was made on a more massive budget as compared to its other two predecessors, which ranged from $250 million to $300 million, as shared by @DiscussingFilm on X:
‘MASTERS OF THE AIR’ had a $250M-$300M budget.
Read our review: https://t.co/eBldMLSjFY pic.twitter.com/mRxzPIfgZM
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) January 26, 2024
According to these stats, the four-episode miniseries had each of its episodes made on a budget of approximately $62.5 million to $75 million respectively, which is incredibly high as it breaks the record of even its predecessors holding the record of being the most expensive TV series of all time.
In comparison, the ten-episode-series Band of Brothers and The Pacific had an average of $12.5 million and $20 million allotted to each episode, made on a total budget of $125 million (as reported by The New York Times) and $200 million respectively (as per THR).
Thus, even though Steven Spielberg‘s Masters of the Air has been critically and generally approved and commended by viewers just like its predecessors, its massive budget which is more than enough to cook your goose makes it a bit too extreme and unjustified for a merely one-season-consisting-of-four-episode TV series.
Fans React To Master of the Air‘s Incredibly High Budget
Though fans admire the way the story has been shown so far in Masters of the Air, they can’t just unsee the fact that it was actually made on a budget even more than that of movies from multi-billionaire universes like MCU’s Captain Marvel ($220 million) and DCEU’s The Flash ($200 million).
This is why they have been taking to X to share their star-struck reactions to this unbelievable revelation. Here’s what they are saying:
There really is no justification for a budget this high
— TheWatcher18 (@musicat2am) January 26, 2024
Did they recreate entire ww2
— zbigi (@zbigi15) January 26, 2024
Must have 2$ for marketing cause I've never heard fo this until now
— perhaps,I can (@Ahitsluke) January 26, 2024
Isn't that too big pic.twitter.com/Kj4TIHUsIq
— INVICTO AI (@INVICTOAI) January 26, 2024
Hopefully it’s good. Cause, they’ll learn the hard way if it’s not
— korem (@Dagreatdey4you) January 26, 2024
Covid delays pushed the budget up but no way this is sustainable.
How does this drive growth in anyway?
— Garreth D. (@GarrethDottin) January 26, 2024
How many streaming hours would be needed to make up for this huge budget?
— Kwisatz Haderach 🏳️🌈 (@TheTrellster) January 26, 2024
That's an insane budget. This is Avengers type of budget.
— Miguel (@mightyMigl) January 26, 2024
Well, Apple most certainly doesn’t seem to care enough about how much it is spending on its TV shows, so that’s that. As for Steven Spielberg? That guy is already gaining massive acclaim for Masters of the Air even with the release of only two episodes, irrespective of the budget!
