American Experience
Documenting American history through key events and people.
American Experience is a documentary series on PBS that examines key events and people in American history. It premiered on October 4, 1988, originally titled The American Experience, and has won 30 Emmy Awards. The series is primarily produced by WGBH-TV in Boston, Massachusetts, with occasional early co-productions by other PBS stations such as WNET in New York City. Since 1995, the show has maintained an internet presence, with over 100 episodes accompanied by websites offering background information and educational materials. Some programs, such as Vietnam: A Television History (1983) and Eyes on the Prize: America's Civil Rights Years (1986), were produced before the series formally began. In July 2025, WGBH announced that new production would cease after an abbreviated 37th season due to federal funding cuts.
Quick Facts
- Genre
- Television documentary
- Creator
- Peter McGhee
- Theme music
- Charles Kuskin (1988–2000)
- Mark Adler (2000–2008)
- The Chambers Brothers (2009–2010)
- Joel Goodman (2011–present)
- Country
- United States
- Language
- English (United States)
- Seasons
- 36
- Episodes
- 380
- Runtime
- Between 55 minutes and two hours
Facts from the source article.
Background
The series premiered on October 4, 1988, and was originally titled The American Experience. It is produced primarily by WGBH-TV in Boston, Massachusetts, though occasionally in the early seasons it was co-produced by other PBS stations such as WNET (Channel 13) in New York City. Some American Experience programs were produced prior to the formal creation of the series. Vietnam: A Television History was one of them, airing originally in 1983 after six years in development.
Also, in 2006, American Experience rebroadcast Eyes on the Prize: America's Civil Rights Years, the first half of the 1986 documentary series about the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s. In July 2025, WGBH announced that American Experience would end new production and switch exclusively to rereleasing past episodes after airing an abbreviated 37th season that fall and that the series' staff was being laid off. WGBH CEO Susan Goldberg attributed the decision to 'severe cuts in federal funding for public media.'
Work had been halted in May on six films, and no new documentaries will be produced until further notice since this is the 'most expensive show funded by PBS' on a per hour basis.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who created American Experience?
American Experience was created by Peter McGhee.
How many episodes of American Experience are there?
American Experience has 380 episodes across 36 seasons.
More in 1990s American Documentary Television Series
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