Factual
HistoryTV18 to premiere Tom Hanks-led 20-part World War II documentary
World War II With Tom Hanks revisits the global conflict through rare archives and untold stories
MUMBAI: History is getting a star-studded retelling. HistoryTV18 is set to premiere World War II With Tom Hanks, a 20-part documentary series presented by two-time Academy Award-winning actor Tom Hanks, on September 1 at 9 PM.
The premiere coincides with the anniversary of the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939. Following its debut, new episodes of the History Original will air every Monday and Tuesday at 9 PM.
Across 20 one-hour episodes, the series revisits the conflict through rarely seen archival footage, historical accounts and stories centred on the people who experienced the war. It examines how the conflict reshaped politics, societies and the modern world.
The documentary traces the war from Germany’s invasion of Poland through the rise and fall of the Axis powers. It covers major theatres of the conflict across Europe, the Atlantic, the Mediterranean and the Pacific, including battles such as Stalingrad and Normandy.
Beyond the battlefield, the series explores the Holocaust, civilian resistance, life on the home front, espionage, code-breaking and the industrial effort that helped determine the outcome of the war.
The narrative also examines the decisions and actions of wartime leaders including Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Erwin Rommel, Joseph Stalin, Hideki Tojo and Adolf Hitler, alongside the experiences of soldiers and civilians across continents.
The series culminates with the dawn of the atomic age and the aftermath of the war, including the tensions that eventually transformed former wartime allies into Cold War adversaries.
Hanks serves as an executive producer alongside Gary Goetzman and Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Jon Meacham. The production combines archival material with cinematic storytelling and historical analysis to offer a human-focused account of the conflict.
World War II With Tom Hanks will premiere on Tuesday, September 1 at 9 PM, with new episodes airing every Monday and Tuesday at 9 PM, exclusively on HistoryTV18.
