Ken Burns Series ‘The American Revolution’ Headed For London TV Screenings With PBS Distribution

EXCLUSIVE: Ken Burns‘ latest American history series is headed for the London TV Screenings.

PBS Distribution has taken global distribution rights and is bringing The American Revolution to the event, which is held in the UK capital at the end of the month.

Veteran filmmaker Burns directed and produced the epic factual series about the formation of the U.S. along with Sarah Botstein and David Schmidt and written by long-term collaborator Geoffrey C. Ward (The Vietnam War).

Show is billed as “an expansive look at the virtues and contradictions of the war and the birth of the United States of America,” following “dozens of figures from a wide variety of backgrounds,” including rank-and-file Continental soldiers and American militiamen, Patriot political and military leaders, British Army officers, American Loyalists, Native soldiers and civilians, enslaved and free African Americans, German soldiers in the British service, French and Spanish allies, and civilians living in North America.

The sales arm of American public broadcaster PBS will present a first look at the series at its screening on Wednesday, February 26 at 3pm local time. PBS and Burns have had long history together that has spawned The Civil War, Baseball, Jazz, The Vietnam War and last year’s Leonardo da Vinci, and numerous Emmys.

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Their latest co-effort, The American Revolution, examines “how America’s creation turned the world upside-down,” according to producers. It will look at how “thirteen British colonies on the Atlantic Coast rose in rebellion, won their independence, and established a new form of government that radically reshaped the North American continent and inspired centuries of democratic movements around the globe.”

“The American Revolution has always been surrounded by myth that keeps us from seeing the real picture,” said Burns. “The story of the birth of the United States 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.”

The series is narrated by Peter Coyote and features dozens of scholars and writers who appear in the film or advised production. It includes newly commissioned maps, archive materials, and includes first-person voices of nearly 200 historic characters read by a cast of actors including Kenneth Branagh, Josh Brolin, Claire Danes, Jeff Daniels, Alden Ehrenreich, Craig Ferguson, Morgan Freeman, Paul Giamatti, Domhnall Gleeson, Jonathan Groff, Tom Hanks, Ethan Hawke, Maya Hawke, Josh Hutcherson, Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Keaton, Joe Keery, Joel Kinnaman, Damian Lewis, Laura Linney, Edward Norton, David Oyelowo, Mandy Patinkin, Wendell Pierce, Matthew Rhys, Liev Schreiber, Dan Stevens and Meryl Streep among others.

Schmidt added that, “The United States that emerged from the war was a nation few could have imagined before the shooting began in April 1775. The Revolution began a movement for people around the world to imagine new and better futures for themselves, their nations, and for humanity, opening the door to advance civil liberties and human rights.”

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