Thirteen British colonies on the Atlantic Coast rose in rebellion, won their independence, and established a new form of government that radically reshaped the continent and inspired centuries of democratic movements around the globe.

THE MAKING OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION goes behind the scenes with the filmmaking team to learn more about the production, which took nearly a decade to complete. The program includes clips from the series, follows Ken and his colleagues at some of the stops on their expansive cross-country tour in advance of the series premiere, features the insights of many of the historians who served as advisors to the production, and provides an exclusive, behind-the-scenes look at the producers, composers, cinematographers, editors, researchers and more who came together to make the landmark series.

For Ken Burns and his team at Florentine Films, making The American Revolution posed a number of distinct challenges — namely, how to tell the story in the absence of any photographs, film footage, or living witnesses. THE MAKING OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION provides an inside look at how the team rose to the challenge by using re- enactors to recreate pivotal battle scenes, the first-person accounts of over 100 characters brought to life by dozens of our finest actors, artworks and portraits from over 300 archives across the globe, and cutting-edge drone photography and 3D mapping animation. A team of editors wove together the story from over 200 hours of footage, shot in over 165 locations. Most importantly, a team of two dozen historical advisors, with different specialties, was instrumental in making sure the series was not only accurate but complete and inclusive of the voices of the millions of women, African Americans and Native Americans who played a part in the revolution.