Masters of the Air is an old-fashioned TV masterpiece
It’s one of the best shows since Better Call Saul ended
“The greatest show of the “new” TV era is probably Better Call Saul. It’s introspective and cynical and novelistic — and even the “good guys” aren’t good guys; they’re just flawed rather than evil. Among those who’ve sold their souls, and others who never had them, our charming lead, Jimmy McGill is working to get his back, having pawned it off. It’s the best storytelling and characterization that the current style of TV can produce, and a triumph for the medium.
Masters of the Air is a very different beast. It has the young rising talent of today — notably, Austin Butler and his Elvis voice, alongside Saltburn’s Barry Keoghan and the always excellent Callum Turner — and a bloated 2020s TV budget. Its nine episodes cost almost $300 million, so thank goodness its debut was the highest ever for Apple TV+; and, to be fair, it looks fantastic. But in every other way, Masters of the Air feels very old fashioned. It’s a little quaint or hokey or sentimental — choose your preferred adjective — and its characters don’t cast long shadows; but it’s also one of the best shows I’ve seen since Better Call Saul ended. In the pre-streaming era, Masters of the Air would have been the show everyone was talking about.
Out now in The Spectator: my review of the fantastic, underappreciated Masters of the Air. Read it now!