Ken Burns Returns to PBS with New Documentary 'The American Revolution'

An era-appropriate melody plays as photographs move slowly across the screen and a voice reads heartfelt letters written generations ago amid a violent conflict. It could only be documentary filmmaker Ken Burns, returning with another thoroughly researched and star-studded retelling of a seminal era in American history.

This time, the director of the 1990 Emmy award-winning series "The Civil War," 2007's "The War" (about World War II) and his 2017 film, "The Vietnam War," is breathing new life into the foundational moments of the United States with a new film, "The American Revolution." The latest addition to his slate of war documentaries is a 12-hour, six-part series that not only tells America's origin story, but also the formation of the U.S. armed forces.

"The American Revolution" was directed by Burns, Sarah Botstein ("Hemingway") and David Schmidt ("The U.S. and the Holocaust") and written by Emmy winner Geoffrey C. Ward ("Baseball"). Eight years in the making, it follows dozens of historical figures from diverse backgrounds of American life in the late 18th century. Viewers will see the Revolutionary War through the eyes of those who lived it, from the enlisted Continental Army soldier and patriot militiaman to the loyalists, Native Americans, slaves and even the mercenary Hessians who were seeing the nascent United States rise for the first time.

"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 statement announcing the new documentary. "It's a surprising and deeply relevant story, one that is hugely important to understanding who we are as a country and a people. The Revolution changed how we think about government -- creating new ideas about liberty, freedom and democracy."

Moreover, "The American Revolution" attempts to capture the true scope of the conflict, which Burns sees as not just a war for independence, but a civil war that became a world war. At the height of the rebellion, Britain was a vast, global empire competing for dominance with rival world powers. The American Revolution, as we know it, was focused on the 13 North American colonies, but the conflict stretched from Canada to the Caribbean and beyond, affecting millions of people around the world.

"The American Revolution has always been surrounded by myth that keeps us from seeing the real picture," Burns said in a statement. "The story of the birth of this country is at once devastating and inspiring. It was a bloody civil war that divided families and communities, displaced native nations, both challenged and protected the institution of slavery, while also proclaiming the noblest aspirations of humankind."

Burns and company's latest is just as well-researched as his other works and features input and interviews from dozens of prominent historians and academics who either provided historical context or actually appear in the documentary. Cinematographer Buddy Squires ("Taylor Mac's 24-Decade History of Popular Music") filmed in some of the country's most historic and beautiful places, from Fort Ticonderoga and Mount Vernon to the South Carolina countryside.

No Ken Burns documentary would be complete without celebrity voices reading documents and letters written in the time period, and "The American Revolution" doesn't let viewers down. Narrated by Peter Coyote ("E.T.," "Deadwood"), the film features the recreated voices of some 200 historical figures. They're read by a cast of actors that includes Morgan Freeman, Paul Giamatti, Laura Linney, David Oyelowo, Jeff Daniels, Wendell Pierce, Liev Schreiber and Meryl Streep.

Burns and his crew announced the release of the new documentary in 2024, but Burns' fans and PBS ThinkTV Passport subscribers will have to wait to see it. "The American Revolution" premieres Friday, Nov. 16, at 8 p.m. Eastern time on PBS. The full series will be available to stream beginning that same day at PBS.org, on the PBS app, PBS Passport and the PBS Documentaries Prime Video channel.

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