JANUARY 25 • 2024 | 51
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ROSIE AND THE RIVETERS,
FARGO & A ‘WHODUNIT’
Masters of the Air is a major Apple+
limited series (9 episodes) that begins
streaming on Friday, Jan. 26. New
episodes are released on successive
Fridays.
The series is based on an
acclaimed 2006 historical
study Masters of the Air: America’s
Bomber Boys Who Fought the Air
War Against Nazi Germany. It was
written by Donald L. Miller, a Lafayette
University history professor.

Steven Spielberg, 77, and Tom
Hanks are the main producers
of Masters. I guess they have great
confidence in Masters. It cost more
than $250 millon to make.
There are more than 70 members in
the cast list. Almost all of them have
very few credits. Clearly, the creators
wanted “newbies,” not famous faces.
Two “name” British actors are in the
series — Austin Butler, who played
Elvis in the bio-musical Elvis (2022),
plays an important British officer
and Bel Powley, 31, (King of Staten
Island) has a guest role.
I’ve read Miller’s book, and I can tell
you that U.S. Army Air Force bomber
pilot Robert “Rosie” Rosenthal (1917-
2007) is prominent in the book and is
a star character in the Apple series.
Rosenthal entered the service as a

lieutenant and left as a lieutenant col-
onel. He became a squadron leader
and his men proudly called themselves
“Rosie’s Riveters.”

“Rosie” won every U.S. medal for
heroism that can be awarded, other
than the Medal of Honor, and many of
his heroic acts were so extraordinary
that they make great drama. No doubt,
some of these heroic acts will be in the
series.
I could stop right here and leave it
to you to read more about Rosenthal
online. Or you might choose to be
surprised as you watch the series. But
I want to entice everyone to subscribe
to Apple+ just to see Rosenthal scenes.
So, here’s part of why Rosenthal is
so special: Born in Brooklyn, he was a
“newly minted” lawyer when he enlist-
ed right after Pearl Harbor (December
1941). He flew the standard 25 missions
and then volunteered to fly another 27
missions.
In 1943, 13 planes took off to bomb
the Nazis. Rosenthal, on just his third
mission, piloted his shot-up plane and
brought it back to England. His plane
was the only one to return.
In early 1944, he bailed out over
France and made his way back to
England with French partisan help.
In February 1945, Rosenthal led a
mission that bombed Berlin (a bomb
his plane dropped happened to kill the
most notorious Nazi judge). After the
bomb-drop, he flew his shot-up plane to
nearby Russian lines and he supervised
his crew as they parachuted down, one-
by-one. He got out seconds before his

plane blew up.
After the war, Rosenthal was a
Nuremburg trials prosecutor. His tasks
included interrogating Herman Goering
in advance of Goering’s trial.
Nate Mann, who plays Rosenthal, is
far from famous. He’s 24, has been in
one Broadway play (2020) and has had
two small film roles. That’s pretty much
his whole online biography.
I’m pretty sure Mann is Jewish, but I
can’t confirm that now. I suspect a lot of
information about the cast will come out
when they do interviews this week and
next month.
Fargo is a Hulu anthology series that
is inspired by the Coen brothers’ 1996
hit movie of the same name. Each sea-
son runs 10 episodes but has a different
premise and its own cast. The first sea-
son and the just-concluded fifth season
got the best reviews.

Juno Temple is just marvelous as
the lead character, Dorothy, in the fifth
season. Watch the first episode of the
fifth season, and just 10 minutes into
the second episode, and you’ll see
how surprising and interesting Dorothy
is. Jennifer Jason Leigh, 61, is great
as Dorothy’s very rich and very nasty
mother-in-law.
Also on Hulu is the original
series Death and Other Details (began
on Jan. 16 ). This 10-episode series is
an old-fashioned “whodunit” mystery. A
murdered person is found in a locked
luxury ocean liner room. The main sus-
pect is Imogene Scott, a known thief.
On the ship is famous detective Rufus
Cotesworth (Mandy Patinkin, 71). Of
course, he is drawn into solving the
murder. (Reviews of the first episodes
are mostly good, but not great).

CELEBRITY NEWS

NATE BLOOM COLUMNIST

ARTS&LIFE

Steven Spielberg

MARTIN KRAFT VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Lt. Col. Robert Rosenthal

U.S. AIR FORCE

Jennifer Jason Leigh

GAGE SKIDMORE VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS