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Ken Burns' 'The American Revolution' Debuts Sunday on PBS

Critics call it an exhaustive, inclusive retelling poised to shape the 250th‑anniversary conversation.

The 1851 painting by Emanuel Leutze titled “Washington Crossing the Delaware.” Ken Burns is back with “The American Revolution,” a six-part, roughly 12-hour documentary that debuts Sunday, Nov. 16, on PBS.
Ethan Hawke and Maya Hawke in April 2024.
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Overview

  • The six-part, 12-hour series rolls out over six consecutive nights beginning Nov. 16 on PBS and also streams on PBS.org and the PBS app.
  • Directed by Burns with Sarah Botstein and David P. Schmidt and written by Geoffrey C. Ward, the project pairs historians’ insights with first-person documents.
  • A battle-by-battle approach uses historical and 3D maps to trace strategy and troop movements across the war.
  • Experiences of enslaved Black Americans, Indigenous peoples and women are integrated to show how the era’s liberties were unevenly realized.
  • About 50 actors read more than 400 passages—including Tom Hanks, Meryl Streep, Samuel L. Jackson and Paul Giamatti—with reviewers advising deliberate viewing ahead of the nation’s 250th year.