As Lexington marks the 250th anniversary of the shots fired and the blood shed on its hometown green, a new six-part documentary series invites viewers to reconsider what they think they know about America’s founding. Directed by Ken Burns, Sarah Botstein and David Schmidt, and written by Geoffrey C. Ward, “THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION” series reexamines the founding era, uncovering the complex and often harrowing human drama beneath the mythology. “I just can’t imagine a subject that would be more important than this one,” says Burns, “because of the centrality of the American Revolution in world history.”
On April 17, 2025, the eve of the milestone anniversary, the filmmakers spoke to a sold-out crowd at Cary Memorial Hall — residents, town officials, visitors and entire high school classes from Lexington and surrounding towns — eager to preview clips from the upcoming series at the special screening. Lexington Observer sat down with the filmmakers after the screening to learn more about the scope and ambition of the project.
Each generation sees its debates on democracy and national identity as uniquely fraught and more pressing than in previous generations, making this series feel both timeless and timely. In crafting the 12-hour documentary series, the filmmakers aimed to create a space where, as Burns explains, “different points of view or different methodologies or different historiographies could coexist in something, and they don’t have to be in conflict for the sake of conflict.”
The filmmakers’ focus was on process and discipline, rather than crafting the series in reaction to a specific political moment — the documentary was in production for over eight years, beginning in 2015 during former President Barack Obama’s second term.
Burns explains, “we know from past experience that as we lift our heads up, as we are finishing a film, that it’s going to rhyme with the present in lots of ways, but we’re disciplined enough to know that we can’t play to that.” The filmmakers were careful not to place the series into the frame of contemporary political divisions, debate on national identity or political discordance. “It’s not about putting a thumb on the scale,” Burns adds. “It’s about trusting the audience with the complexity.”
The film doesn’t shy away from the horrors of war, but co-director Botstein points out that it was also “a revolution of ideas, and upended and changed the world. And we have a unique opportunity in this country to celebrate, think about, and try to understand that origin story,” she says. “It was really braiding the military narrative with the revolution of ideas.”
The filmmakers were mindful of the traditional ‘Great Man’ theory of history, that often oversimplifies the past and marginalizes broader perspectives. Botstein elaborates on inclusive storytelling: “I think an animating principle of the work we do is that America is a great kaleidoscope of people, and you want to understand… ‘Oh, I’m learning a story about this wonderful young soldier, John Greenwood, but I’m also thinking about the Native American populations that live near him and the free and enslaved Black people, and the little girls and the women and young boys who might be inspired to fight the war or afraid to fight the war. What did the loyalists do?’”
The series draws from an expansive archive of art, maps, letters and diaries to move beyond textbook portraits. It centers not only on founding figures, but also the many ordinary people — soldiers, women, enslaved Africans, Indigenous nations, and Loyalists — whose lives shaped the war. Without these stories, “you only scratched the surface of the story because the war is fought by or endured by millions of other people, of all walks of life, most of whom are not represented,” says Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Rick Atkinson, a series contributor. “If you’re trying to be comprehensive, and if you’re trying to discover the emotional timber of the Revolution,” he adds, “you’ve got to plumb all of these characters as best you can. It’s hard because they’re not well represented in the historical record. I wish that there had been 10 Abigail Adams,” Atkinson laments.
Photo credit: Stephanie Berger
The documentary series interweaves battles and ideas, political strategies and personal struggles. Burns likens it to a symphony. “I think music is so central to what we do,” says Botstein, “but we don’t score these films. We find and listen to and bring in music that is historically important.” The music is recorded before editing begins. “We let the music sort of help guide us with how the stories unfold,” she explains. Musicians like Johnny Gandelsman, Rhiannon Giddens and Dave Cieri were integral to the series’ themes and tone.
Burns says that music is the language of their edit room. He quotes jazz musician Wynton Marsalis who called music, “the art of the invisible… it’s the only art form that you don’t have to see anything.” Burns adds, “all other art forms, when they die and go to heaven, aspire to be music.” He describes the film’s introduction as the overture. “I think because it is so powerful, and this is an emotional archaeology that we’ve always pursued — not nostalgic or sentimental — and music is sometimes the quickest way to that.”
For the filmmakers, the depth of the subject became a creative opportunity. Co-director Schmidt believes viewers will be rewarded with untold stories and new perspectives. “As you understand that these are real people, you begin to understand, you begin to put yourself in their shoes and you can feel the weight of their story as you go,” he adds, “the story itself doesn’t need much adornment from us. It’s a horrible experience, but a very inspiring one at the same time.”
Botstein says that “Lexington does a great job remembering its history” and keeping these stories alive, crediting the generations who preserved it, from casting the statues to administering the Minuteman National Park. “You can feel the sacrifice that they made for what they believed in,” she says.
More than a history lesson, the series invites reflection on what we’ve inherited. The filmmakers hope it will challenge viewers to consider the legacy left by those who fought such a brutal war. Botstein reflects: “They were young, interesting, radical, rebellious, very, very brilliant, very, very thoughtful, very, very complicated people — just like we are today.”
Burns is full of enthusiasm for the richness of the material they uncovered. “We say this over and over again. You cannot make this up, right? You don’t need to. It’s too rich!” The war was brutal. But it was also a revolution of ideas and those ideas — about rights, citizenship, and freedom —are still evolving.
“THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION” will premiere at 8 p.m. on Sunday, November 16 on PBS. The full series will be available to stream beginning Sunday, November 16 at PSB.org and PBS App.
Thanks for this illuminating and well written story!