‘Band of Brothers,’ Named Among the ‘Best TV Shows of the 21st Century,’ Was Developed by Tom Hanks

Sun, September 27, 2026 at 12:59 AM UTC

If there’s one thing Americans love, it’s a good old-fashioned war drama. There’s certainly an abundance of the genre on the film and TV fronts, especially in the last 25 years. One war drama, in particular, was recently recognized for being a cut above the rest (and you’ll probably find yourself agreeing emphatically with this one’s designation).

‘Band of Brothers’ Ranked Among the ‘Best TV Shows of the 21st Century’

The New York Timesreleased its highly anticipated list of “The 100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century.” Sitting pretty at No. 28 is HBO’s Band of Brothers, a war miniseries with incredible production values for its time (thanks to a hefty budget). The publication hailed the “absorbing, enveloping” drama for sticking the landing and the talents of its “large and stellar cast.”

In 1998, A-list star Tom Hanks and famed filmmaker Steven Spielberg collaborated on Saving Private Ryan. They decided to join forces again to develop Band of Brothers, serving as show creators and executive producers. The dynamic duo based the war drama on Stephen E. Ambrose‘s 1992 non-fiction book of the same name. (Hanks and Spielberg would later executive produce two more war series: 2010’s The Pacificand 2024’s Masters of the Air.)

While they took some liberties with historical events for the sake of the on-screen narrative, the characters are based on real people in the E “Easy” Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division. However, Hanks, Spielberg, and Ambrose showed the series’ scripts to the real-life Easy Company soldiers to get their stamp of approval.

It’s All in the Cast

Band of Brothersboasts a massive cast, including actors whose careers skyrocketed in the aftermath. The impressive roster features (but is not limited to) Scott Grimes as Donald G. Malarkey, Damian Lewis as Richard D. Winters,Ron Livingston as Lewis Nixon, Donnie Wahlberg as C. Carwood Lipton, Michael Cudlitz as Denver “Bull” Randleman, Rick Gomez as George Luz, Neal McDonough as Lynn D. “Buck” Compton, Michael Fassbender as Burton P. “Pat” Christenson, and David Schwimmer as Herbert M. Sobel.

Hanks’ son, Colin Hanks, also appears in two episodes, and the 10-episode miniseries serves as Tom Hardy‘s first screen credit.

Band of Brotherspremiered on Sept. 9, 2001, and concluded on Nov. 4. It received universal acclaim from critics and viewers alike. Currently, it has 94% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer and 97% on the Popcornmeter. If you’ve got a hankering for a compelling, gritty war drama, you can watch this beloved miniseries on HBO Max.

This story was originally published byMen’s Journalon Sep 27, 2026, where it first appeared in theNewssection. Add Men’s Journal as aPreferred