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world war II with tom hanks - a new 20 part docuseries, airs 5/25 on history channel

Featured Replies

#4
4 minutes ago, Parliament said:

When will these Nazi's EVER learn you don't mess with Tom Hanks?!

Spoilers alert, he might have come out ahead in Greyhound, but I seem to recall it didn't end too well for him in Saving Private Ryan.

#6

Was it over when Bigfoot bombed Pearl Harbor?

Edited by kevwun

#8
19 minutes ago, billfromlaketravis said:

Y'all make your jokes. Thank God the History Channel is focusing on history again.

Man I haven’t watched it in a long time since it went to reality shit

#9
37 minutes ago, billfromlaketravis said:

Y'all make your jokes. Thank God the History Channel is focusing on history again.

Tony Soprano is pleased.

#10

I would imagine that some of my professors were involved with this since they run parts the WWII museum. If they have any historians talking during this at all I'd hope it would be Robert Citino. Dr. Citino is an incredible fountain of knowledge about the war and his father was a corpsman at Guadalcanal. I believe he has helped Hanks on other projects over the years. If he or any of the other professors I've had are involved it's going to be a great series.

#14
3 hours ago, Zepol87 said:

Man I haven’t watched it in a long time since it went to reality shit

It’s been a long time for me as well. This will hopefully be a way to draw some new viewers in and teach them some of the basics about what transpired in this war. Hanks doing the narration should be pretty cool. I am sure there will be some complaining about whatever they don’t spend as much time on, but whatever. I am just glad a project and series like this has come to fruition in 2026 and I look forward to finding out who contributed to this behind the scenes:

#15

When the History Channel started, it was wall to wall WW2 programming. Its nickname became The Hitler Channel.

It's kind of hard to imagine a new take on WW2, but then I fought the Germans and Japanese (being killed many times) across the lawns of southwest Houston. As great as he is, I've also got Tom Hanks Fatigue.

I've been steered right many times by numerous threads on various versions of movie boards on evolving Longhorn sites. I'll keep an eye on the thread to see what the consensus is around here. The ratings will interest me as well.

I wonder how much people in their 20s and 30s care about it. I'm a boomer, so people my age had parents who lived it and we had endless movies and TV shows with the war as a setting. The audience I'm describing doesn't recall 9/11 or much about the Iraq invasion. They're pretty far removed in time from the event.

Edited by RomaVicta

#16
12 hours ago, PGFrog said:

Spoilers alert, he might have come out ahead in Greyhound, but I seem to recall it didn't end too well for him in Saving Private Ryan.

Sorry? He completed his mission successfully, and then a second one he took on the fly. Closer was blowing up a Panzer. With a .45. He died happy.

I wonder how much people in their 20s and 30s care about it. I'm a boomer, so people my age had parents who lived it and we had endless movies and TV shows with the war as a setting. The audience I'm describing doesn't recall 9/11 or much about the Iraq invasion. They're pretty far removed in time from the event.

Every civilized man takes up an interest in History when he grows up and turns 35.

And where can a civlized man stream this thing?

Edited by Parliament

#17
5 hours ago, RomaVicta said:

but then I fought the Germans and Japanese (being killed many times) across the lawns of southwest Houston.

I was in the same area and I’m assuming you were doing the same thing - beating the shit out of the Japanese kids on the playground. We didn’t have any German kids to beat up.

#18

There has to be some mistake. That says History Channel. Where are the moonshiners and dumpster divers?

#19
6 hours ago, RomaVicta said:

I wonder how much people in their 20s and 30s care about it. I'm a boomer, so people my age had parents who lived it and we had endless movies and TV shows with the war as a setting. The audience I'm describing doesn't recall 9/11 or much about the Iraq invasion. They're pretty far removed in time from the event.

I’m in my 30s and was actually an abnormally big history buff as a kid. Would regularly watch history channel, loved modern marvels, the Civil War miniseries, WWII in color, Band of Brothers, all of it.

I have zero interest in watching this or anything else related to WWII. There’s no new or interesting information or perspectives that can come from it, it’s all been told to death over and over again. Csnt imagine anyone else in my demographic or younger caring about this either. This is just a Hanks cash grab.

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#20
35 minutes ago, Helobious said:

I’m in my 30s and was actually an abnormally big history buff as a kid. Would regularly watch history channel, loved modern marvels, the Civil War miniseries, WWII in color, Band of Brothers, all of it.

I have zero interest in watching this or anything else related to WWII. There’s no new or interesting information or perspectives that can come from it, it’s all been told to death over and over again. Csnt imagine anyone else in my demographic or younger caring about this either. This is just a Hanks cash grab.

yes, a 70 year old two-time oscar winner with more money than he could ever spend decides to bust his ass for 2-3 years on a top-secret project, involving dozens of agencies, orgs, and museums, to tell a sweeping 20-part account of the war, which will air on history channel, because, you know, that's where the money is.

this is the definition of a passion project, and the polar opposite of a cash grab. but what do i know, you're the expert.

#21
5 hours ago, Helobious said:

I have zero interest in watching this or anything else related to WWII. There’s no new or interesting information or perspectives that can come from it, it’s all been told to death over and over again. Csnt imagine anyone else in my demographic or younger caring about this either. This is just a Hanks cash grab.

@henrygandorf covered it, but yeah, opposite of a cash grab. If he somehow needed cash, he could have shopped an 8-part WWII series to Apple for twice as much as what the History Channel is providing for 20.

There's not much left for me to look at in terms of WWII - there are numerous YouTube channels that dive into the absolute minutiae that interests me, that the big series don't cover.

But, and I never looked into it, I heard rumblings from a friend who would be "in the know" that they really did some deep dives on looking for unique footage - it's not a repackaging of the various 50s and 60s documentaries that the Brits pumped out. When the war ended, because they were downsizing so rapidly and everybody was wanting to move on, there was a shitload of footage that was never even looked at, just stored away in vaults.

He implied that they did some serious restoration, and either worked with Peter Jackson's people (Wingnuts) or talked to them about what they did with his WWI documentary 'They Shall Not Grow Old' (and the technology is even better, and WWII footage is far better than stuff from 1916/1917).

#22

We needs one of these that covers the 2nd half of the 40's. Lotsa cool shit went down and they never talk about it.

#23
1 hour ago, atomheartbevo said:

@henrygandorf covered it, but yeah, opposite of a cash grab. If he somehow needed cash, he could have shopped an 8-part WWII series to Apple for twice as much as what the History Channel is providing for 20.

There's not much left for me to look at in terms of WWII - there are numerous YouTube channels that dive into the absolute minutiae that interests me, that the big series don't cover.

But, and I never looked into it, I heard rumblings from a friend who would be "in the know" that they really did some deep dives on looking for unique footage - it's not a repackaging of the various 50s and 60s documentaries that the Brits pumped out. When the war ended, because they were downsizing so rapidly and everybody was wanting to move on, there was a shitload of footage that was never even looked at, just stored away in vaults.

He implied that they did some serious restoration, and either worked with Peter Jackson's people (Wingnuts) or talked to them about what they did with his WWI documentary 'They Shall Not Grow Old' (and the technology is even better, and WWII footage is far better than stuff from 1916/1917).

First Hanks has access to our museum. Our WWII museum is on the new side, but they have put together a tremendous amount of material and gotten quite a collection of footage, documents, personal histories etc.

Anyone who also feels that there is nothing new to learn about that war should know something I have learned in the last year and a half or so. You know maybe, MAYBE, 1 percent of all there is to know about this war. Probably less honestly speaking. That’s also being generous. I include myself in that as well. When you listen to professional war historians talk about the war you quickly understand how little you actually know about it. Being able to recite easily remembered big moments is not hard. Being able to recite entire battles and campaigns from distant battles that took place in the CBI Theatre or small villages on the Eastern Front that were completely obliterated are a different level of knowledge.

One thing I will often comment to people is that our entire modern world came out of that war. For better or worse we’re all a product of the men and women who fought on the front lines thousands and thousands of miles apart. I could spend the next 50 years reading about that war and never put more than a dent in the overall knowledge we have at our fingertips about it. You cannot understand why we are where we are now as a world if you don’t understand what happened between 1931-45.

#24

@atomheartbevo the last message wasn’t directed at you or anyone in particular. It was something just kinda hit me during a lecture not too long ago. The lecture goes into something where the professor is giving some really, really good knowledge about a topic, but he does stop to remind us that it is outside of what he focus is on the war so he couldn’t be as detailed about it as someone who is an expert on the topic. It made me stop and realize just how much there is that most of us just do not know about the war when someone who has made the war his life’s work will even stop to say something is beyond his knowledge. I respect folks like that who aren’t know-it-alls.

#25

I’d say I’m pretty well versed in WWII, but I’ll admit to a couole blind sports. The Japanese occupation of China, and the Russian operations against Japan in Korea. Hopefully I can learn a thing or two.

Edited by billfromlaketravis

#26
3 hours ago, atomheartbevo said:

@henrygandorf covered it, but yeah, opposite of a cash grab. If he somehow needed cash, he could have shopped an 8-part WWII series to Apple for twice as much as what the History Channel is providing for 20.

There's not much left for me to look at in terms of WWII - there are numerous YouTube channels that dive into the absolute minutiae that interests me, that the big series don't cover.

But, and I never looked into it, I heard rumblings from a friend who would be "in the know" that they really did some deep dives on looking for unique footage - it's not a repackaging of the various 50s and 60s documentaries that the Brits pumped out. When the war ended, because they were downsizing so rapidly and everybody was wanting to move on, there was a shitload of footage that was never even looked at, just stored away in vaults.

He implied that they did some serious restoration, and either worked with Peter Jackson's people (Wingnuts) or talked to them about what they did with his WWI documentary 'They Shall Not Grow Old' (and the technology is even better, and WWII footage is far better than stuff from 1916/1917).

I saw They Shall Not Grow Old in the theater and my wife and I were the youngest people there by probably 30 years. It was amazing.

#27
8 hours ago, henrygandorf said:

yes, a 70 year old two-time oscar winner with more money than he could ever spend decides to bust his ass for 2-3 years on a top-secret project, involving dozens of agencies, orgs, and museums, to tell a sweeping 20-part account of the war, which will air on history channel, because, you know, that's where the money is.

this is the definition of a passion project, and the polar opposite of a cash grab. but what do i know, you're the expert.

Helobious’d

#29
34 minutes ago, Bevo&Pevo said:

America's Greatest Generation deserves all the recognition they can get.

We do, but they will never give it to us because they all hate Gen Xers.

the interview GIF by hero0fwar

#32
On 3/7/2026 at 9:10 AM, Parliament said:

And where can a civlized man stream this thing?

Maybe....

History Vault®

But it may have to air on broadcast first and then take a bit to hit that service.

Looks like if you want it as the episodes drop, you will have to pony up for one of the packages (Pluto, Fubo, etc.) if you are not subscribed to a cable TV provider.

#33
On 3/7/2026 at 2:19 PM, henrygandorf said:

yes, a 70 year old two-time oscar winner with more money than he could ever spend decides to bust his ass for 2-3 years on a top-secret project, involving dozens of agencies, orgs, and museums, to tell a sweeping 20-part account of the war, which will air on history channel, because, you know, that's where the money is.

this is the definition of a passion project, and the polar opposite of a cash grab. but what do i know, you're the expert.

First time you've read a Helobious post?

#35
7 hours ago, Parliament said:

Gen X is the only generation not yet 25 to never fight a war since like 1910. Hardly the greatest.

We knew what we were doing. They wouldn't dare send a group as apathetic as us to war. Although we did kick the shit out of some Russians in Czechoslovakia one time.

  • 2 weeks later...
#36
On 3/7/2026 at 1:33 AM, UpperWestside said:

I’m done with war stuff after 1945.

Most people tend to keep reminiscing about the last win they had

#37

Im a WWII nut and looking forward to it.

For me the gold standard is still The World at War. Done early 70s on BBC. Narrated by Laurence Olivier. Interviews with many of the players. Can be found on YouTube. It’s awesome

#38
3 hours ago, Hermanator said:

Most people tend to keep reminiscing about the last win they had

No, I just do not have any reason to want to study wars after that. It’s not the focus of what I am doing. Vietnam is interesting, but not my focus. The Pacific War is my focus and that includes Japan’s decade of war with China before Pearl Harbor.

#39
3 hours ago, bullzak said:

Im a WWII nut and looking forward to it.

For me the gold standard is still The World at War. Done early 70s on BBC. Narrated by Laurence Olivier. Interviews with many of the players. Can be found on YouTube. It’s awesome

I learned so much from this documentary. When I saw this Hanks one was 20 parts, I hoped it would be like that one.

World at War was particularly interesting to me because, being British-made, it went in depth on how incompetent Britain was during most of that war. And how much more prepared France was than the Brits. They just didn't have a channel separating them.

Between the failure to stop Hitler early on, Dunkirk, Norway, Northern Africa, Singapore, Crete, night time useless bombings, Operation Market Garden, etc. they were pretty horrible at war.

  • Author
#40
27 minutes ago, fellside said:

I learned so much from this documentary. When I saw this Hanks one was 20 parts, I hoped it would be like that one.

World at War was particularly interesting to me because, being British-made, it went in depth on how incompetent Britain was during most of that war. And how much more prepared France was than the Brits. They just didn't have a channel separating them.

Between the failure to stop Hitler early on, Dunkirk, Norway, Northern Africa, Singapore, Crete, night time useless bombings, Operation Market Garden, etc. they were pretty horrible at war.

wasn't the guns of august all about war preparedness - or lack thereof? they were never properly prepared for war because they based method and strategy on the most recent war, which was outdated and terrible? i read it a long time ago.

#41
2 hours ago, henrygandorf said:

wasn't the guns of august all about war preparedness - or lack thereof? they were never properly prepared for war because they based method and strategy on the most recent war, which was outdated and terrible? i read it a long time ago.

My point isn't that France was up to the task.

However, France had 5 to 6 million troops mobilized compared to the UK's 200k.

#43
19 minutes ago, fellside said:

My point isn't that France was up to the task.

However, France had 5 to 6 million troops mobilized compared to the UK's 200k.

How did the work out for them?

#46
2 hours ago, billfromlaketravis said:

Too early for episode summaries?

Things go very well for the Axis at the start, but spoiler alert, the Allies rally for the wins.

#48
On 3/7/2026 at 11:04 PM, billfromlaketravis said:

I’d say I’m pretty well versed in WWII, but I’ll admit to a couole blind sports. The Japanese occupation of China, and the Russian operations against Japan in Korea. Hopefully I can learn a thing or two.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBuMDG2TvcY

Edited by MagicSoccerSpray

#49
3 minutes ago, atomheartbevo said:

Angry What The Hell GIF by ABC Network

It was a tie game until 5:00 minutes left in 2nd quarter. Then the Axis QB went all CJ Stroud and committed 3 turnovers with two of those being pick sixes. By the middle of the 3rd, the lack of bench depth started to show. The Allies left their starters in until the end and were still throwing bombs until the final whistle.

#50
On 3/7/2026 at 12:23 AM, UpperWestside said:

I would imagine that some of my professors were involved with this since they run parts the WWII museum. If they have any historians talking during this at all I'd hope it would be Robert Citino. Dr. Citino is an incredible fountain of knowledge about the war and his father was a corpsman at Guadalcanal. I believe he has helped Hanks on other projects over the years. If he or any of the other professors I've had are involved it's going to be a great series.

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