Beloved History Channel Series Returns With First New Episodes in 4 Years
For the first time in four years, one of The History Channel's signature documentary franchises is back.
Modern Marvels, the network's longest-running original series, returns on Monday, July 27, with a new three-part event titled Modern Marvels: WWII. The limited series marks the franchise's first new episodes since 2022 and continues a television legacy that stretches back more than 30 years.
Premiering at 10 p.m. ET on July 27, the new installment examines World War II through the lens of engineering and technological innovation, exploring how the race to build bigger, faster and more powerful machines reshaped both the war and the modern world.
First launched in 1993 before becoming a History Channel staple in 1995, Modern Marvels has produced more than 650 episodes covering everything from engineering and architecture to manufacturing, transportation and everyday technology. Along the way, it became the network's longest-running original series and one of its defining nonfiction brands.
Although the show was revived in 2021 after several years off the air, its most recent original episodes debuted in 2022, making Modern Marvels: WWII the franchise's first new installment in four years.
What to Expect From 'Modern Marvels: WWII'
The three-part event focuses on the technological breakthroughs that helped shape World War II.
The premiere, "Super Weapons," explores innovations including Britain's Bouncing Bomb and Grand Slam bomb, America's B-29 Superfortress and Germany's enormous Gustav Gun.
On Aug. 3, viewers will get two new episodes back-to-back. "Mega Builds" examines massive wartime engineering projects, including the Pentagon, the Maginot Line and some of the conflict's largest infrastructure efforts. The final installment, "Gears and Gadgets," looks at inventions ranging from the bazooka and cavity magnetron radar to the Enigma code machine and early night-vision technology.
According to History, the series examines how wartime urgency accelerated scientific breakthroughs that continue to influence military technology, engineering and everyday life decades later.
New episodes will also become available to stream the day after they air through the History Channel app, History.com and participating TV providers' on-demand platforms.