New Ken Burns’ FilmPremieres November 16
After months of promotions and years of production, the long-awaited The American Revolution premieres this month on CET AND ThinkTV16, the station livestreams and the PBS App. The six-part, 12-hour documentary series airs for six consecutive nights, with a new episode premiering Sunday through Friday at 8pm and encore presentations airing each night at 10pm. Watch a preview: https://watch.cetconnect.org/video/the-american-revolution-the-revolution-that-changed-the-world-bj1hwy/.
The American Revolution examines how America’s founding turned the world upside-down, offering an expansive look at the virtues and contradictions of the war and the birth of our country. Thirteen British colonies on the Atlantic Coast rose in rebellion, won their independence, and established a new form of government that radically reshaped the continent and inspired centuries of movements across the world.
The much-anticipated film, which has been in production for eight years, was directed and produced by Ken Burns, Sarah Botstein and David Schmidt and written by Burn’s long-time collaborator Geoffrey C. Ward. The 2025 premiere marks the 250th anniversary of the start of the war, which began in the spring of 1775, more than a year before the Declaration of Independence.
“The American Revolution is one of the most important events in human history,” Burns said in a press release. “We went from being subjects to inventing a new concept, citizens, and set in motion democratic revolutions around the globe. “As we prepare to celebrate the 250th anniversary of our founding, I’m hopeful that people throughout the country will come together to discuss the importance of this history and to appreciate even more what our ancestors did to secure our liberty and freedoms.”
Community engagement for The American Revolution marked the largest outreach effort in PBS history. The filmmakers held screenings and conversations in more than 25 markets across the country, including right here in Southwest Ohio. Your local PBS stations, CET and ThinkTV, hosted two free screening events this fall at the Cincinnati Museum Center and Miami University Middletown, each spotlighting a 30-minute video compilation of the film followed by a panel discussion with local experts.
“Our film tells the remarkable history of the people who lived through the American Revolution, their everyday concerns, and their hopes, fears and failings,” Botstein said in a press release. “It’s a surprising and deeply relevant story, one that is hugely important to understanding who we are as a country and a people.”
Narrated by Peter Coyote, the film includes the first-person voices of nearly 200 individual historic figures, read by a cast of actors, starring Morgan Freeman, Tom Hanks, Samuel L. Jackson and Meryl Streep, among others. Viewers will experience the war through the memories of the wide variety of men and women who experienced it, from the Patriot leaders, American Loyalists and international allies to the Native soldiers, enslaved African Americans and civilians living in North America, many made refugees by the war. The Revolution began a movement for people around the world to imagine new and better futures for themselves, their nations and for humanity.
The goal of The American Revolution is to make this riveting history resonate with today’s youth, connecting past events to current realities. Digital resources and professional learning opportunities for educators and students are available through PBS Learning Media. Designed for grades 3-12, these classroom resources include teaching tips, discussion questions, activity suggestions and more that delve into the themes of the film. Learn more at https://cet.pbslearningmedia.org/collection/kenburnsclassroom/film/the-american-revolution/.
With dozens of scholars and writers that appear on screen or advised the production, The American Revolution features a wide variety of content that is both from the period and newly composed for the film, from composition to cartography. Over a thousand images of archival materials like paintings, letters and lithographs are included from museums, galleries and libraries throughout the United States and abroad. Original footage, shot in every season over the course of several years, highlights the beauty and diversity within and beyond the original 13 colonies, from Colonial Williamsburg to overseas in the English countryside.
For a behind-the-scenes look at the production, watch The American Revolution: An Inside Look. This special takes viewers through the shooting locations, historical re-enactments and exclusive video clips, to meet the master storytellers who brought the story of the Revolution to life. Watch it now on the PBS App: https://watch.cetconnect.org/video/the-american-revolution-an-inside-look-3c0uhp/.
Learn more about The American Revolution and explore other educational content about the Revolutionary War, including primary sources and founding documents like the Declaration of Independence, on the official website at https://www.pbs.org/kenburns/the-american-revolution/.
