Tom Hanks is bringing his deep knowledge of World War II history to a massive new documentary project. The 20-episode series titled World War II with Tom Hanks will give viewers the complete story of the deadliest war in human history.
The series starts on Monday, May 25 at 8pm ET/PT on The History Channel in the United States. The network will release three episodes back-to-back on opening night. This marks one of the biggest documentary events The History Channel has ever done.
Unlike Hanks’ previous World War II projects like Band of Brothers or Masters of the Air, this docuseries does not focus on just one group of soldiers or a single battle. It tells the full story from beginning to end.
What Time Period Does the Series Cover?
The documentary starts before the war officially began. It shows how fascism and military power grew in Germany, Italy, and Japan during the 1920s and 1930s. This background helps viewers understand why the war started.
From there, the series moves through Germany’s invasion of Poland in 1939, which started the war in Europe. The production team uses rarely seen archival material and insights from leading historians to bring these events to life.
The series covers major events including:
- The attack on Pearl Harbor
- Major battles across the Pacific theater
- D-Day and the Normandy invasion
- The fall of Berlin
- The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
The show does not stop when the fighting ended. It also explores what happened after 1945, showing how World War II changed politics, countries, and everyday life around the world.
What Battles and Locations Are Featured?
The series captures fighting on land, sea, and air across multiple regions. Viewers will see stories from Stalingrad and Normandy to the Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea, and the jungles and islands of the Pacific.
Hanks serves as the narrator and executive producer. In a clip shared with the Press Association, he spoke about how people living through the war had no idea when it would end.
“If you were not there, if you were actually alive during those years, from 1939 and really, from 1936 until 1946 they had no idea when the war was going to end. In fact, many of them just assumed it would go on for the next 10 or 15 years, which was a real possibility.” – Tom Hanks
The series also covers the human cost of total war. This includes the Holocaust, civilian resistance movements, and life on the home fronts. It reveals the hidden wars of espionage, codebreaking, and industrial production that helped decide the outcome.
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Who Else Is Behind the Series?
Gary Goetzman joins Hanks as an executive producer. Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Jon Meacham also serves as an executive producer, making sure the historical information is accurate.
The production comes from Nutopia and A+E Factual Studios Group in association with Motion Entertainment. The National WWII Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana also contributed to the production.
The series will reach nearly 400 million households across 200 territories and will be available in 40 languages. For viewers in the United Kingdom, the show starts on Sky History on May 26. German-speaking audiences can watch on The History Channel starting May 26 at 8:15 pm, with German voice actor Joachim Tennstedt providing Hanks’ German voice.
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