Tom Hanks' American Experiment: Bipartisan US History
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- The American Experiment is a five-episode, hour-plus-per-episode Netflix documentary about the founding of the United States, timed to the country's 250th anniversary, with Tom Hanks as executive producer and Brian Knappenberger directing.
- The series opens in 1753 with 13 British colonies on the Eastern Seaboard and traces the origins of the Revolutionary War through the Battles of Lexington and Concord, featuring protest and battle re-enactments and commentary from a mass of hyperarticulate historians.
- Tom Hanks executive produced what the reviewer calls "self-consciously milestone TV," a "carefully bipartisan" project pairing Republican voices Mike Pence, Ted Cruz, and Rand Paul with Democratic voices Hillary Clinton, Al Gore, Nancy Pelosi, and Kamala Harris — four Democrats to three Republicans.
- The reviewer says Ken Burns fans "can probably sit this one out," arguing the series trades flair and idiosyncrasy for balance and educational thoroughness.
- Martin Sheen is among the actors voicing historical figures' letters in the series, though the reviewer jokes it's unclear whether Sheen has been given "the honour of being George Washington or the other way round."
- The review characterizes the five-plus hours as earnest but numbing — "like consuming a kale smoothie on a wellness retreat" — singling out Kamala Harris's contribution ("There is freedom to, and freedom from") as an unintentionally awkward moment.
- The reviewer notes the show mostly avoids hard engagement with current political divisions, closing with the observation that America's moral arc has bent toward justice for most of 250 years but acknowledging "bit of a kink in it now."
Why it matters: Netflix is staking a high-profile, star-powered prestige documentary on a milestone US anniversary — but the reviewer's verdict is that scrupulous bipartisan balance produces civics-class thoroughness rather than compelling television, with Ken Burns-style flair conspicuously absent.
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