Across five “pacy” episodes, “The American Experiment” (Netflix) “draws you into the grand story of how a British backwater became the most powerful nation in the annals of humanity”, said Ed Power in The Irish Times.
The series, directed by Brian Knappenberger and produced by Tom Hanks, offers a bird’s-eye view of America since the 16th century, and features more than 60 talking heads (including Mike Pence, Ted Cruz, Hillary Clinton and Al Gore), who weigh in on the US’ origins and its “enduring fabulosity”. Yet the series is not entirely “self-congratulatory”; as it gets into the weeds of US politics, it makes it clear that all is not entirely well at the centre of Pax Americana.
The series makes use of an “awful lot” of voices, said Carol Midgley in The Times, but they are “woven tapestry-like to present a compelling, clear narrative that is detail-dense and immersive”. Dramatised re-enactments provide welcome breaks from the expert commentary, and the battle scenes are brilliant. It is a “punchy, spiky but cerebral few hours” that convey that the experiment is evolving – and fragile.
The commentary on American ideals is compelling, said Lucy Mangan in The Guardian, but there is an awful lot to take in. You might start to feel numbed and exhausted by the detail. The series lacks the flair of Ken Burns’ recent series “The American Revolution” (on the BBC), and it is all so carefully balanced that, at times, it starts to feel like “the televisual equivalent of consuming a kale smoothie on a wellness retreat”.
Tom Hanks’ five-part documentary features over 60 talking heads from Hillary Clinton to Ted Cruz
