American Masters

History

American Masters is a PBS series that creates biographical documentaries about influential American writers, musicians, performers, dramatists, filmmakers, and other figures who have made a lasting impact on the nation’s culture. Produced by WNET in New York City, it first aired on PBS in 1986. The series has covered a wide range of subjects, including the Actors Studio, the Algonquin Round Table, the Group Theatre, Sweet Honey in the Rock, the Women of Tin Pan Alley, the Negro Ensemble Company, the Juilliard School, the Beat Generation, 1970s singer-songwriters, Sun Records, vaudeville, and Warner Bros.

The show was originally set to debut in September 1985 but was pushed to summer 1986 due to scheduling issues. However, a special episode titled Aaron Copland: A Self-Portrait aired on October 16, 1985. The first episode of the 15-episode first season was Private Conversations, a cinema-verite documentary by Christian Blackwood about the television adaptation of Death of a Salesman, directed by Volker Schlöndorff. It aired on June 23, 1986, and was one of two episodes not specifically made for that season.

Susan Lacy created the series and served as its first executive producer. She chose each subject, paired them with filmmakers, and managed a first-season budget of $8 million. Before American Masters, Lacy was a senior programmer for Great Performances and helped create American Playhouse, writing its original proposal. When the series premiered, she was also the East Coast head of the Sundance Institute.

Michael Kantor took over as executive producer in 2014. He had previously directed one American Masters episode, Quincy Jones: In the Pocket, and produced and directed the Emmy-winning series Broadway: The American Musical and Make 'Em Laugh: The Funny Business of America with WNET. Under Kantor, the series launched a podcast in 2016 and a theatrical imprint called American Masters Pictures in 2016, which brought ten films to the Sundance Film Festival over five years.

After its first two seasons, American Masters began producing most of its own episodes. In these cases, it hires directors, secures funding, manages budgets, and oversees editing, keeping the right to make the final cut on every film it produces. The production company sometimes takes a smaller role, co-producing episodes such as the 2005 Bob Dylan documentary No Direction Home and the 2010 film The Doors, When You're Strange.