American Experience

TV's most-watched history series brings to life the compelling stories from our past that inform our understanding of the world today.

Drive Thru History: American History

Join Dave Stotts on an adventure through early American history as he tells the stories of the people, places, and events that shaped the founding of the United States of America. Dave travels to five countries in Europe and most of the original 13 colonies, tell stories of faith and freedom, inspiring families with a renewed appreciation for the heritage of our country.

Chasing the Moon

An unprecedented look at the decade-long odyssey to land a man on the moon. This documentary pulls back the curtain on the familiar narrative of the moonshot, revealing a fascinating stew of scientific innovation, political calculation, media spectacle, visionary impulses and personal drama.

The Titans That Built America

Out of the ashes of World War I, a new generation of titan rises…Pierre Du Pont, Walter Chrysler, J.P. Morgan Jr., Henry Ford, and William Boeing. Their fight to reach the top will transform America as they compete to dominate new industries—from the highways to the skyways. After years of fighting each other, and FDR, these rivals must unite during World War II to defeat a greater enemy and save the world.

The Roosevelts: An Intimate History

Chronicles the lives of Theodore, Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, three members of the most prominent and influential family in American politics. It is the first time in a major documentary television series that their individual stories have been interwoven into a single narrative. This seven-part, fourteen hour film follows the Roosevelts for more than a century, from Theodore’s birth in 1858 to Eleanor’s death in 1962.

Sister Wendy's American Collection

Sister Wendy Beckett, a cloistered nun and Oxford-educated art scholar, takes an art appreciation tour across America, visiting six major art museums in this 6-hours documentary series from PBS.

Terra X - Zeitreise

Il était une fois... les Amériques

"Once upon a time ... the Americas" tells us the story of this vast continent, from the very first inhabitants to the present day, including the Aztecs and the Incas, the conquistadors, the war of independence or the gold Rush. Through our usual sympathetic heroes (Maestro, Pierrot, Petit Gros, le Teigneux, le Nabot, etc.), we travel from time to time, always with the aim of teaching us something.

Brad Meltzer's Lost History

What does the Ground Zero flag from 9/11 have in common with the original Wright Brothers flying machine patent? Both are historically important items for the United States… and both are missing. Best-selling author Brad Meltzer enlists America’s help to find these and other missing treasures.

Quand l'histoire fait dates

Historian Patrick Boucheron revisits the most important dates in history through the prisms of memory and collective imagination.

America in Color

From the 1920s through the 1960s, America transformed from a young country on the rise into a global superpower. Using digital colorization technology, we present these formative decades as few have seen them, revisiting 50 vibrant years of good times and great despair, technological triumphs and natural disasters, and global villains and national heroes.

The 1619 Project

In keeping with the original project, this series seeks to reframe the country's history by placing the consequences of slavery and the contributions of black Americans at the very center of our national narrative.

The American Revolution

Everyone knows the story of Paul Revere and his famous midnight ride to warn colonial forces of the British approach. But history books don't tell of the man who sent Revere on his mission: Joseph Warren, America's least remembered founding father. Uncover the forgotten history of Warren and stories of other unsung heroes in our fight for independence.

Asian Americans

This five-part series traces the story of Asian Americans, spanning 150 years of immigration, racial politics, international relations, and cultural innovation. It is a timely, clear-eyed look at the vital role that Asian Americans have played in defining who we are as a nation. Their stories are a celebration of the grit and resilience of a people that reflects the experience of all Americans.

Founding Brothers

Examines six moments when the collision and collusions of Washington, Franklin, Hamilton, Jefferson, Adams, Madison and Burr left an indelible imprint on the nation.

Prohibition

The history of the rise, rule and fall of the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution and the entire era it encompassed (1920-33). After nearly a century of activism, Prohibition was intended to improve the lives of all citizens by protecting individuals, families and society at large from the devastating effects of alcohol abuse; but paradoxically it made millions of people rethink their definition of morality.

Liberty!

Dramatic documentary about the birth of the American Republic and the struggle of a loosely connected group of states to become a nation.

Mafia Connection

History Detectives

A group of researchers help people to find answers to various historical questions they have, usually centering around a family heirloom, an old house or other historic object or structure. It devotes itself "to exploring the complexities of historical mysteries, searching out the facts, myths and conundrums that connect local folklore, family legends and interesting objects."

American Suburbia

Witness a fascinating account of a nation's efforts to become progressive and prosperous.