National Geographic celebrates the too-often overlooked contributions of Allied soldiers of color in World War 2 with the specials Erased: WW2’s Heroes of Color and The Real Red Tails, and Screen Rant has new info about both specials. Erased: WW2’s Heroes of Color is a four-part series executive produced and narrated by Idris Elba (Beasts of No Nation, Sonic the Hedgehog 2), and The Real Red Tails is a one-hour special narrated by Abbott Elementary’s Sheryl Lee Ralph.
Screen Rant is excited to present the trailer for Erased: WW2’s Heroes of Color and reveal the release date for The Real Red Tails. Both specials will debut on National Geographic on June 3, allowing viewers to look deeper than even the most historically accurate World War 2 movies and understand the sacrifices made by so many soldiers of color. Check out the trailer for Erased: WW2’s Heroes of Color below and read on for more about both specials.
More About Erased: WW2’s Heroes Of Color & The Real Red Tails
As seen in the trailer above Erased: WW2’s Heroes of Color offers a unique blend of historical dramatizations and archival footage that come together to uncover the legacies of soldiers of color who fought in the world’s largest war to date. Each episode explores a different major World War II battle—Pearl Harbor, D-Day, Dunkirk, and the Battle of the Bulge—focusing on at least three heroes of color who were present. Viewers can expect to learn about the only all-Black combat unit to fight on the Normandy beaches, an Indian regiment of mule handlers at Dunkirk, and more.
Erased: WW2’s Heroes of Color is produced by October Films and Idris Elba’s 22Summers—Elba, also serving as narrator, has a personal connection to the matter, as his grandfather fought in the war. The series’ story extends beyond that monumental conflict, however, even exploring the American Civil Rights Movement through the lens of soldiers who returned home after fighting for their country to find it unconcerned with their heroism. It’s important context that can reshape viewers’ perceptions of even the best World War II TV shows.
Airing right before Erased: WW2’s Heroes of Color, The Real Red Tails tells a new story about the Tuskegee Airmen, whose exploits have been fictionalized in Masters of the Air and the George Lucas-produced film Red Tails. The Real Red Tails centers on the discovery of a P-39 airplane in Lake Huron, Michigan—a plane that nosedived into the lake during a training mission and took the life of 22-year-old pilot Second Lieutenant Frank Moody. The one-hour special explores what happened with the plane and even shows the retrieval of its parts.
