World War II with Tom Hanks: how many seasons are there?

What the series is This is a documentary, not a drama. Narrated and executive produced by Hanks, it retells the entire arc of the war — from Germany's invasion of Poland in September 1939 through Pearl Harbor, Stalingrad, D-Day, and the atomic bombings, all the way to the uneasy peace that followed. Each hour-long episode takes one milestone or theme: the fall of France, the Battle of the Atlantic, Guadalcanal, the Holocaust, the codebreakers of Bletchley Park, the Pacific island campaigns, and more. It was developed in collaboration with the National WWII Museum in New Orleans, which contributed research, archival footage, and on-camera veteran interviews. The vital statsSeasons — one. Episodes — 20, each about an hour. Roughly 20 hours in total. Premiere — May 25, 2026, on The HISTORY Channel, with a worldwide rollout across 200 territories and 40 languages. The blueprint — critics keep comparing it to The World at War, the landmark 1973 British docuseries narrated by Laurence Olivier. This is the 21st-century version of that idea. Why Hanks? Few people in Hollywood have spent more screen time on this war: Saving Private Ryan as an actor, then Band of Brothers, The Pacific, Masters of the Air, and Greyhound as a producer and star. Speaking to TIME in May 2026, he explained the pull of the subject by calling the war "an example of probably 600,000 of the greatest stories ever told." Reviews have been solid rather than rapturous — The Guardian gave the series three stars out of five, judging it a good grounding in the basics while arguing that even 20 hours can't contain a conflict this size.

World War II with Tom Hanks: how many seasons are there?

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