Review Critiques Tom Hanks' 5-Episode Netflix History Series as Earnest but Dull
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Jun 24
Review Critiques Tom Hanks' 5-Episode Netflix History Series as Earnest but Dull
3 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Jun 24
Summary
Five hour-plus episodes of The American Experiment draw praise for being thorough and bipartisan, but the review says the Netflix series is so careful and dutiful that it often becomes numbing.
1753 to the Revolutionary War forms the early arc, with director Brian Knappenberger relying on dense expert commentary, actor-voiced letters and battle reenactments to explain the founding of the United States.
Mike Pence, Ted Cruz and Rand Paul appear alongside Hillary Clinton, Al Gore, Nancy Pelosi and Kamala Harris, a lineup the review cites as evidence of the series' deliberate ideological balance.
250th-anniversary timing shapes the project into milestone television that foregrounds facts, ideals and national contradictions, ultimately presenting a respectable civic lesson more than gripping drama.