Tom Hardy and Stephen Graham are perhaps two of the most popular British actors today, each with an illustrious career across the big and small screens. They both starred in the BBC's hit drama Peaky Blinders, with Graham recently reprising his role as Hayden Stagg in the movie, but fans may have forgotten about the pair's earlier series Band of Brothers, an epic television event which first aired back in 2001.
Created by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks (yes, really), the HBO mini-series premiered in September of that year and was based on the 1992 book of the same name, written by historian and author Stephen E Ambrose. Band of Brothers was set during World War II, dramatising the history of the US Army's 'Easy' Company.
Is Band of Brothers worth watching, and what did the critics say?
The historical drama has been widely praised by audiences, sitting with a 9.4 user rating on IMDb and with enthused fans branding it 'one of the best mini-series ever created'.
Critics were just as impressed, with Band of Brothers boasting a very respectable 94% score on Rotten Tomatoes. It also happens to be Tom Hardy's highest-rated TV drama, according to the review site, beating the likes of Peaky Blinders and Taboo.
Screen Rant called it "HBO at its very best", and The Guardian's review hailed Band of Brothers as "one of the best shows ever to grace the small screen."
"After watching the 10-hour 'Band of Brothers,' I'm so drained by the intensity of what I have just beheld that I'm ready to declare this World War II miniseries the finest piece of work ever produced for television," read New York Post's review.
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"A profoundly intense experience that outshines any other World War II epic ever seen on television – or, for that matter, in any Hollywood feature film," said CNN at the time of its release, while IGN added: "There's a reason why Band of Brothers earned so many awards and so much acclaim."
Speaking of which, Band of Brothers scooped the Emmy Award for Outstanding Miniseries, with a nod also given for Outstanding Casting. The hit HBO series was also awarded the Golden Globe for Best Miniseries or Television Film, and the American Film Institute Award for TV Movie or Miniseries of the Year.
Who is in the cast for Band of Brothers?
In addition to providing early supporting roles for Tom Hardy and Stephen Graham, Band of Brothers has a number of recognisable faces among its large ensemble cast. Some of those include:
• Damian Lewis (Homeland, Wolf Hall)
• Ron Livingston (Sex and the City, Boardwalk Empire)
• Kirk Acevedo (Law & Order, 24)
• Scott Grimes (ER)
• Dexter Fletcher (Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels)
• Colin Hanks (Fargo)
• David Schwimmer (Friends)
• Matthew Settle (Gossip Girl)
• Michael Fassbender (The Agency)
• Ben Caplan (Call the Midwife)
• James McAvoy (His Dark Materials)
• Simon Pegg (The Boys)
• Andrew Scott (Fleabag, All of Us Strangers)
• Michael Cudlitz (The Walking Dead)
How to watch Band of Brothers in the UK
Band of Brothers is available to stream in the UK on the newly-launched HBO Max, which is available as part of Sky's ultimate TV package.
The award-winning series is also available to purchase on Prime Video.
If you like Band of Brothers, here are some other dramas to stream now
The obvious choice would be Apple TV's Masters of the Air, which first premiered in 2024. As the title suggests, this World War II drama centred on a group of pilots as they embarked on dangerous air missions.
With its own all-star ensemble cast, Masters of the Air featured a number of rising actors that had a lot of buzz around them, including Austin Butler, Callum Turner, Barry Keoghan, and Ncuti Gatwa.
The Pacific – another HBO war drama (now also streaming on HBO Max and Sky) also produced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks – focused on the United States Marine Corps, with big-name actors such as Jon Bernthal (The Bear), Rami Malek (Mr Robot), and Anna Torv (Mindhunter, The Last of Us), to name a few.
If you're a Tom Hardy fan and are looking for more of his catalogue to watch, there's always his Netflix thriller Havoc. As for Stephen Graham, his brilliant but tense British film Boiling Point – from the same director as Adolescence – is streaming for free right now on Channel 4.
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TV Editor, Digital Spy Laura has been watching television for over 30 years and professionally writing about entertainment for almost 10 of those. Previously at LOOK and now heading up the TV desk at the UK's biggest TV and movies site Digital Spy, Laura has helped steer conversations around some of the most popular shows on the box. Laura has appeared on Channel 5 News and radio to talk viewing habits and TV recommendations. As well as putting her nerd-level Buffy knowledge to good use during an IRL meet with Sarah Michelle Gellar, Laura also once had afternoon tea with One Direction, has sat around the fire pit of the Love Island villa, spoken to Sir David Attenborough about the world's oceans and even interviewed Rylan from inside the Big Brother house (housemate status, forever pending).
