Season 2020: Episode 8

FRONTLINE begins its 2020 election year coverage with a two-part, four-hour documentary series investigating America’s increasingly bitter, divided and toxic politics.

From veteran FRONTLINE filmmaker Michael Kirk and his team, America’s Great Divide: From Obama to Trump draws on revelatory new interviews with key political and cultural figures, as well as an unparalleled archive of in-depth broadcast reporting across two presidential administrations, to offer crucial context for the current moment.

Part One traces how Barack Obama’s promise of unity collapsed as increasing racial, cultural and political divisions laid the groundwork for the rise of Donald Trump. Part Two examines how Trump’s campaign exploited the country’s divisions, how his presidency has unleashed anger on both sides of the divide, and what America’s polarization could mean for the country’s future.

America’s Great Divide: From Obama to Trump will be available in full on this page and on the PBS Video App beginning Mon., Jan. 13 at 6 p.m. E.S.T. The series premieres on PBS stations Mon., Jan. 13 and Tues, Jan. 14 at a special time: 9 p.m. E.S.T./8 p.m. C.S.T. (check local listings).