American Experience poster

TV series

American Experience

1988TV-PG37 seasons6.5 / 10

TV's most-watched history series brings to life the compelling stories from our past that inform our understanding of the world today.

Streaming, rental and purchase options

Where to watch in United States

Checked Jul 22, 2026

American Experience is available to stream on DirecTV On Demand, Hoopla, and YouTube TV in United States. You can also rent or buy it from Google Play, Amazon, Apple TV, and Fandango at Home. Use the direct links below to open the provider.

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Synopsis

TV's most-watched history series brings to life the compelling stories from our past that inform our understanding of the world today.

Season 36 episodes

Choose an episode, then use the watch options above for the show.

← Season 35

Episode 1

Nazi Town, USA

53m2.8 / 10

The story of the German American Bund, a pro-Nazi group which in the 1930s had scores of chapters across the country, representing what many believe was a real threat of fascist subversion in the United States. They held joint rallies with the KKK and ran summer camps for children centered around Nazi ideology and imagery, melding patriotic values with virulent anti-Semitism.

Episode credits

Directed by Peter YostWritten by Peter YostGuest stars Beverly Gage, William Hitchcock, Sarah Churchwell, Bradley Hart, Steven Ross, Charles Coughlin, Leah Wright Rigeur, Fritz Kuhn

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Episode 2

Fly With Me

1h 53m2.0 / 10

The story of the pioneering women who changed the world while flying it. Maligned as feminist sellouts, “stewardesses,” as they were called, were on the frontlines of a battle to assert gender equality and transform the workplace.

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Episode 3

The Cancer Detectives

53m2.0 / 10

The untold story of the first-ever war on cancer and the coalition of people who fought tirelessly to save women from cervical cancer: a Greek immigrant, Dr. George Papanicolaou; his intrepid wife, Mary; Japanese-born artist Hashime Murayama; Dr. Helen Dickens, an African American OBGYN in Philadelphia; and an entirely new class of female scientists.

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Episode 4

Poisoned Ground: The Tragedy at Love Canal

2.1 / 10

The dramatic and inspiring story of the ordinary women who fought against overwhelming odds for the health and safety of their families. In the late 1970s, residents of Love Canal, a working-class neighborhood in Niagara Falls, New York, discovered that their homes, schools and playgrounds were built on top of a former chemical waste dump, which was now leaking toxic substances and wreaking havoc on their health. Through interviews with many of the extraordinary housewives turned activists, the film shows how they effectively challenged those in power, forced America to reckon with the human cost of unregulated industry, and created a grassroots movement that galvanized the landmark Superfund Bill.

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Episode 5

The Riot Report

1h 53m2.0 / 10

When Black neighborhoods across America erupted in violence during the summer of 1967, President Johnson appointed a commission to determine what happened, why it happened, and what could be done to keep it from happening again. The bi-partisan commission’s final report offered a shockingly unvarnished assessment of American race relations that would doom its finding to political oblivion.

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Episode 6

The American Vice President

53m2.0 / 10

The American Vice President explores the little-known story of the second-highest office in the land, tracing its evolution from a constitutional afterthought to a position of political consequence. Focusing on the fraught period between 1963 and 1974, when a grief-stricken and then scandal-plagued America was forced to clarify the role of the vice president, the film examines the passage and first uses of the 25th Amendment and offers a fresh and surprising perspective on succession in the executive branch.

Episode credits

Guest stars Robin Miles, James Hite, Jared Cohen, Lyndon B. Johnson, Walter Cronkite, Dan Rather, Kate Andersen Brower, Ramesh Ponnuru

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Episode 7

American Coup: Wilmington 1898

1h 52m2.0 / 10

American Coup: Wilmington 1898 tells the little-known story of a deadly race massacre and carefully orchestrated insurrection in North Carolina’s largest city — the only successful coup d’état in the history of the US. Stoking fears of “Negro Rule,” self-described white supremacists used intimidation and violence to destroy Black political and economic power and overthrow Wilmington’s democratically-elected, multi-racial government. Many Black residents were murdered, and thousands were banished. The story of what happened in Wilmington was suppressed for decades until descendants and scholars began to investigate. Today, many of those descendants — Black and white — are seeking the truth behind this intentionally buried history.

Episode credits

Directed by Brad Lichtenstein, Yoruba RichenWritten by Brad Lichtenstein, Yoruba Richen, Peter MillerGuest stars Hilary Brown, Carole Jerome, Stephen Kinzer, James Q. Roberts, Barbara Rosen, Barry Rosen, Gary Sick, Alan Campbell

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Episode information updated Jul 24, 2026

More about American Experience

Cast

Liev SchreiberNarrator (voice)
Linda HuntSelf - Narrator (voice)
Jason RobardsNarrator (voice)
Peter CoyoteNarrator (voice)
Alfre WoodardNarrator (voice)
Dion GrahamSelf - Narrator (voice)
Joe MortonNarrator (voice)
René AuberjonoisWoodrow Wilson (voice)

Production details

Status
Returning Series
Series type
Documentary
Episodes
396
Original language
English

Networks & production

  • PBSUnited States
  • GBHUnited States

Themes

biographycurrent affairsmedia coverageusa history