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The Making of Band of Brothers (Exclusive)

For Veterans Day

by Phil Pirrello  | Television Academy | November 10, 2023

For Veterans Day, lead writer Erik Jendresen reveals to the Television Academy how he and Tom Hanks helped make TV history.

The road to Band of Brothers started on the set of The Green Mile.

That’s where, in 1999, Band of Brothers’ lead writer and supervising producer Erik Jendresen first met with his soon-to-be-creative partner, Tom Hanks, to discuss adapting Stephen E. Ambrose’s 1992 book into one of HBO’s most prestigious (and enduring) miniseries. Fresh off the recent success of Saving Private Ryan, Hanks and director Steven Spielberg (serving here as executive producer) teamed up with Jendresen to tell the harrowing real-life story of the soldiers of Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division, and the formative struggles they faced on the frontlines of World War II.

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11 Band Of Brothers Scenes That Are Basically Perfect

An Overly Powerful World War II Story

by Lewis Glazebrook  | ScreenRant | August 29, 2023

Band of Brothers is one of the more emotionally affecting, outstandingly produced war stories in modern TV, made up of a handful of essentially perfect scenes. Airing on HBO in 2001, Band of Brothers is based on the non-fiction book of the same name and details the exploits of “Easy” Company of the 101st Airborne Infantry Division during World War II. From the company’s experiences in boot camp and the Normandy landings on D-Day to various military operations in Europe and the end of the war, Band of Brothers outlines the horrors of the war and the camaraderie and bravery of the men and women who fought in it.

It is worth noting that, when concerning perfect scenes in Band of Brothers, it is nigh on impossible to narrow it down to a select number. It is one of the most critically acclaimed TV shows in history, and for good reason based on its incredible production design, outstanding writing, and fantastic performances from Band of Brothers‘ cast of actors. As such, it is incredibly difficult to limit the show to a certain number of impactful scenes. With that said, here are the 11 scenes that stand out across Band of Brothers‘ 10 episodes as essentially perfect, for varying different reasons pertaining to the exploration of World War II.

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HBO War Dramas Band Of Brothers and The Pacific Coming To Netflix US

New Co-Licensing Deal

by Jacob Robinson | What’s On Netflix | July 4, 2023

A new lucrative new co-licensing deal between HBO Max and Netflix will see the incredible war dramas, Band of Brothers and The Pacific, head to Netflix US September 15, 2023 due to the recently signed nonexclusive co-licensing deal between the two platforms.

Based on the book of the same name by historian Stephen Ambrose, Band of Brothers follows the journey of Easy Company of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division, from their training at Camp Toccoa to D-Day, Operation Market Garden, Battle of the Bulge, and the surrender of Germany.

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10 Most Popular HBO Shows Of All Time, According To IMDb

Band of Brothers

by Kallie Atkins | ScreenRant | April 15, 2022

From shows like Game Of Thrones to Euphoria, HBO has a plethora of wildly successful series under its belt. Let’s look at their IMDb ratings!

With plenty of exciting shows set to premiere in 2022, including The Staircase and former Doctor Who showrunner Steven Moffat’s adaptation of The Time Traveler’s Wife, HBO is hoping to continue its trend of successful TV series. From popular series like Sex And The City to Euphoria to Game Of Thrones, HBO already has plenty of impressive series under its belt.

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Band of Brothers Sequel ‘Masters of the Air’ Expectations

Potential Release Date, Cast and Plot

by Harsha | Nilsen Report | February 16, 2022

Are the rumours about Masters Of The Air (Band Of Brothers third sequel) true? Can we expect the third season any time soon? Well, come along, let’s try and figure out what the scenario is like!

Masters Of The Air: When’s it Releasing?
Rumours about Masters Of The Air have been in the air for several years now. However, the production team or the makers of the show haven’t come up with any official announcements or updates as to when the show is going to hit the screens. It is for sure that it will premiere on Apple TV+. But when we do not know. The director asserted in an interview that the show has been in development for many years now. Due to one reason or another, it could not happen. Even as of now, no official affirmation has been provided. Considering how awesome the first two parts of the series were, the third sequel is much awaited! The makers have confirmed that there will be a renewal. So, it’s for certain that Masters Of The Air is happening! Apple TV+ revealed that its filming and production began in March 2021 (with a production cost of around $200 million). If we were to anticipate the release date of Masters Of The Air, it would be either by the end of 2022 or later in 2023. Given the Covid situation, the postponement is inevitable.

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25 of the Most Expensive TV Series of All Time

Band of Brothers

by Angela Underwood | Stacker via MSN | January 5, 2022

TV is a numbers game in more ways than one. Creating intricate sets, using new visual effects, and paying famous actors make television an expensive enterprise. Some of the biggest numbers in show budgets are on actors’ paychecks: In the 1990s, well-known stars like Kelsey Grammer were getting $1.6 million for each episode while Jennifer Aniston and her five “Friends” raked in up to $1 million per episode. In the final season of HBO’s “Game of Thrones,” several of its stars made $500,000 per episode, revealing paying talent top dollar has not changed.

“Band of Brothers” was among the first big-budget shows not on major network television when it began its run on HBO in the late 1990s with an almost unheard of budget of $12 million per episode. Having Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg attached to the project pushed HBO into funding it. The network has since spent even more on making shows like “The Pacific” and “Game of Thrones.”

To find out the 25 most expensive TV series of all time, Stacker conducted independent research via news reports and entertainment outlets and ranked the shows by budget. Ties were not broken when shows shared the same budget. Read on to discover which shows cross the $10 million-per-episode budget threshold—and which takes the cake, with a budget of a whopping $21.7 million per episode.

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Our Top 5 Bing-Worthy Shows

A Bit of Wartime

by Pat Fitzpatrick | Irish Examiner | December 17, 2021

Christmas TV isn’t what it used to be. There’s still some good stuff lined up for the run into 2022, I’ll get into that next week.

But this week it’s Top 5 Binge-Worthy shows, in case you feel the need to escape from Paul O’Grady: For the Love of Dogs at Christmas.

5: Band of Brothers, Sky and Now TV

If your partner makes you sit through all of Downton guys, she owes you a bit of wartime. And there is no better binging than this 10-part World War II gem which first introduced Damian Lewis to the world.

Read the rest of the original article at Irish Examiner

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Band of Brothers Showrunner Erik Jendresen Reflects on Series 20 Years On

“There are two lines I would change.”

by Paul Tanter | RadioTimes | December 10, 2021

Twenty years on from Band of Brothers landing on our screens, Erik Jendresen talks to Paul Tanter about the legacy of the ground-breaking miniseries.

Few TV series are justly acclaimed as a masterpiece. Even fewer retain that accolade 20 years later. HBO’s Band of Brothers’ recent 20th anniversary reminds us that it is still one of the crowning achievements of televisual storytelling.

The miniseries portrayed the real stories of the soldiers of Easy Company, part of the 101st Airborne Regiment that parachuted into France on D-Day and spent the war fighting not only for their lives but to liberate Europe and defeat the horrors of the Third Reich. It cost a then record-breaking $125 million dollars for just 10 episodes, ushering in an era of prestige TV that is now taken for granted amongst giant streamers with deep pockets.

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Categories Band of Brothers Podcast Print Media

Roger Bennett Talks About Band of Brothers Podcast and Interviewing Damian Lewis

Roger Bennett Talks His New Podcast Band Of Brothers on HBO Max

by Rashad Grove | Forbes | September 16, 2021

20 years ago, HBO debuted Band of Brothers which would become one of the most acclaimed miniseries in television history. Created by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks, the Emmy and Golden Globe winning series “honors an America which saved the world with selflessness, courage and everyday heroism” during World War II.

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the series, HBO Max premiered a 12-part podcast hosted by noted journalist Roger Bennett which explores themes of the series with highly-researched interviews with cast members who give insight about the series that have never been heard before.

I caught up with Roger and we spoke about the cultural impact of the show, why chronicling the stories of World War II veterans is an important task, and connecting with members of the cast.

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Band of Brothers Podcast Episodes Here

Podcast Episodes

by HBO Max | YouTube | September 10, 2021

Hosted by Roger Bennett, HBO’s Official Band of Brothers 12-part Podcast retraces Easy Company’s journey from Normandy to the Eagle’s Nest, episode by episode, with insight from its biggest stars, including Tom Hanks, Damian Lewis, Ron Livingston, and Donnie Wahlberg. The podcast celebrates the 20th anniversary of one of the most iconic miniseries in television history.  Listen to the Band of Brothers podcast here, which is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and other major platforms. Or, listen to the episodes here. We will post each episode as it is released. Here is the prologue and episode 1 so far:

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Real Band of Brothers 20 Years On

Rare Footage of Easy Company Veterans: European Reunion Tour 2005

by Normandy Institute & Genesis Publications | YouTube | September 9, 2021

20 years ago today, September 9, 2001, the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers aired its first two episodes. Presented by the Normandy Institute and Genesis Publications, a short film of the 2005 Easy Company European Reunion Tour was released on September 9, 2021 on the Normandy Institute YouTube channel:

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“They Cried Themselves to Sleep”: How Spielberg Put Band of Brothers Cast Through Hell

The Cast Thought They’d Struck Gold Until They Realized Spielberg Wanted Them to Go Full ‘Method’

by Tom Nicholson | The Telegraph | September 9, 2021

Damian Lewis takes aim in the award-winning series, Band of Brothers. CREDIT: Alamy

Damian Lewis shrieked into a pillow and sobbed. It was 8am. Thinking he’d nailed his final audition with Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks for Band of Brothers’ hero Major Dick Winters, the actor had gone out to celebrate and collapsed into bed at 5am. Now it turned out that Spielberg and Hanks wanted another chat – and he was in no shape to face them.

“The biggest meeting of my life, and I’ve blown it,” he wrote in a diary soon after (an excerpt of which he published on his website in 2018). “I’ve had three hours’ sleep and I’m still drunk. By midday, I’ve had three cold showers, five coffees and stubbed my toe a lot. I walk into the office sweating heavily and shaking.”

Fortunately, Spielberg had seen Lewis in Hamlet on Broadway, playing Laertes. The actor clung to this scrap until Spielberg and Hanks began to peel away. “Steven’s off to watch his kid play soccer,” Lewis later wrote. “I want to tell him it’s called ‘football’. Probably not the best time, though. Tom has to go to buy a Christmas tree with his daughter. They leave.”

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