Official Trailer
Rating: 0/10 | Genre: Documentary | Seasons: 1 | Episodes: 5 | Status: Returning Series
Starring: Tom Hanks
I just finished binging “World War II with Tom Hanks” and I have to be honest: I went in with really high expectations and walked away disappointed. Tom Hanks narrating a WWII doc sounds like a no-brainer, right? The guy literally made “Saving Private Ryan.” But this series feels like it’s trying way too hard to be prestige television when it should just be telling the story straight.
The core issue is that the show can’t decide what it wants to be. Is it a detailed military history? A character study of world leaders? A human interest piece about soldiers and civilians? It tries to do all three at once and ends up doing none of them particularly well. Five episodes isn’t enough time to cover everything from Poland to the atomic bomb anyway, so the pacing feels rushed and scattered.
Season 1
The first episode kicks off with Germany’s invasion of Poland in September 1939. Tom Hanks does his thing with the narration, his voice carrying you through archival footage and interviews. There’s nothing wrong with his performance. The problem is everything else feels generic. We get the basic facts about how the invasion unfolded, but there’s no real insight into why it happened or what made it the turning point everyone says it was. It’s like watching a history textbook come to life, except less interesting because you’re not taking a test on it.
Episode two covers the Blitz and Germany’s invasion of the Netherlands and Belgium. This is where things should get tense, right? Instead it’s more of the same. Hanks narrates while we watch the same stock footage we’ve all seen a hundred times. There are talking heads with historians, but they don’t add much. They basically just confirm what the narration already said. The episode rushes through these campaigns so fast that you barely get a sense of what happened or why it mattered beyond “Germany was winning.”
Episode three is about Operation Barbarossa, which is honestly the most interesting material so far. Hitler invading the Soviet Union is a pivotal moment and the show knows it. But even here, the execution is clunky. We jump between military strategy, Hitler’s decision making, and the brutal reality on the ground without really settling into any of it. You want to understand the scale of what happened, but five episodes for all of WWII means Barbarossa gets maybe 40 minutes of screen time.
I haven’t finished the last two episodes yet, but based on what I’ve seen so far, I’m not expecting much to change. The formula is set. Hanks narrates, historians talk, archival footage plays, and you move on to the next battle. It’s competent but forgettable. Nothing here made me feel like I was learning something new or seeing WWII from a fresh angle.
The biggest missed opportunity is Tom Hanks himself. The guy has deep knowledge of this war. He’s spent years thinking about it, making films about it, producing other shows about it. You’d think he’d bring some of that perspective to the narration. Instead he reads the script with the energy of a Sunday news anchor. There’s no passion behind it. No point of view. Just facts delivered in a pleasant voice.
If you want a quick refresher on WWII basics, this show will do that for you. But there are better documentaries out there that dig deeper or tell the story in a more interesting way. This one feels like it was made because Tom Hanks’ name was available and the studio thought that was enough to carry a series. Spoiler alert: it’s not. Have you seen any WWII documentaries lately that actually stuck with you?
Episode Guide
Season 1 (5 Episodes)
Episode 1: The Beginning
In September 1939, Germany invades Poland, setting the stage for the most destructive war in history.
Episode 2: Blitz
After toppling the Netherlands and Belgium, Nazi Germany pushes further west. The Allies scramble to support France as Churchill is forced to defend Britain from the skies and FDR rushes to mobilize wartime production.
Episode 3: Barbarossa
The story of Operation Barbarossa, Hitler's massive surprise invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, the largest and costliest land offensive in human history.
Episode 4: Pearl Harbor
Exploring WWII from Germany's invasion of Poland through the atomic age and examining pivotal battles, wartime leaders like Churchill and Roosevelt and the human cost of total war.
Episode 5: The War at Sea
Exploring WWII from Germany's invasion of Poland through the atomic age and examining pivotal battles, wartime leaders like Churchill and Roosevelt and the human cost of total war.
Episode 6: Episode 6
Episode 7: Episode 7
Episode 8: Episode 8
Episode 9: Episode 9
Episode 10: Episode 10
Episode 11: Episode 11
Episode 12: Episode 12
Where to Watch
Streaming availability varies by region. Check your favorite streaming platform to see if this title is available in your country.