FRONTLINE Documents Voters’ Views Ahead of the Midterms in ‘American Voices 2026’

American Voices 2026

Watch the documentary starting Oct. 13, 2026, at 10/9c on PBS stations (check local listings) and on FRONTLINE’s YouTube channel, or stream it starting at 7/6c at pbs.org/frontline and in the PBS App. American Voices 2026 will also be available on PBS Documentaries on Prime Video. 

Over the past six years, a team of filmmakers has been following more than a dozen Americans in eight states across the U.S., charting their views about changes in the country and in their own lives.

A month before the midterm elections, how are these Americans — from a doctor to a pastor to a barber to a construction company owner to a retiree — feeling about the direction of the country?

Their diverse views and experiences unfold in American Voices 2026, a 90-minute FRONTLINE documentary that premieres Tues., Oct. 13, on PBS and online — and that offers a meaningful look at both what unites and divides the U.S. electorate as the midterms approach.

From a team led by award-winning filmmaker Mike Shum (Police on Trial, Predator on the Reservation), American Voices 2026 is the latest installment of a unique filmmaking effort begun in 2020. That’s when Shum and FRONTLINE started documenting the lives of voters with differing viewpoints as they navigated a year of extraordinary tumult, from the pandemic to protests to the polls.

Four years later, American Voices 2024 updated the stories of those same Americans, exploring how their perspectives had evolved since 2020 in a nation that remained deeply divided.

Now, American Voices 2026 returns to these voters first filmed six years ago to see how their hopes and fears have evolved amid another polarizing election season, a faltering economy, and a war with Iran that’s now in its eighth month.

Filmed in locations ranging from the Austin, Texas area, to Hayward, California; from Minneapolis, Minnesota, to Beaverdam, Virginia; and from Portland, Oregon, to Sioux City, Iowa, American Voices 2026 is a journey across geography, race and politics that illuminates where our country has been — and where it is headed.

American Voices 2026 will be available to watch starting Oct. 13, 2026, at 10/9c on PBS stations (check local listings) and on FRONTLINE’s YouTube channel, and at 7/6c at pbs.org/frontline and in the PBS App. American Voices 2026 will also be available on PBS Documentaries on Prime Video. Subscribe to FRONTLINE’s newsletter to get updates on events, podcasts and additional reporting related to American Voices 2026.

Credits American Voices 2026 is a FRONTLINE Production with Mike Shum Productions. The director is Mike Shum. The producers are Tarryn Mento and Mike Shum. The writers are Hillary Bachelder & Mike Shum. The senior producers are Callie T. Wiser and Frank Koughan. The managing editor of FRONTLINE is Andrew Metz. The editor-in-chief and executive producer of FRONTLINE is Raney Aronson-Rath.

 

About FRONTLINE FRONTLINE, U.S. television’s longest running investigative documentary series, explores the issues of our times through powerful storytelling. FRONTLINE has won an Academy Award® as well as every major journalism and broadcasting award, including 113 Emmy Awards and 35 Peabody Awards. Visit pbs.org/frontline and follow us on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube to learn more. FRONTLINE is produced at GBH in Boston and is broadcast nationwide on PBS. Funding for FRONTLINE is provided through the support of PBS viewers and by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, with major support from Ford Foundation, and Fialkow Family Foundation. Additional support for FRONTLINE is provided by the Abrams Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Park Foundation, Heising-Simons Foundation, and the FRONTLINE Trust, with major support from Jon and Jo Ann Hagler on behalf of the Jon L. Hagler Foundation, and Corey David Sauer, and additional support from Koo and Patricia Yuen, and Laura DeBonis and Scott Nathan. Support for American Voices 2026 is provided by the Jonathan Logan Family Foundation. Corporate support for FRONTLINE is provided by The Economist.

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