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Season 1 – Benjamin Franklin

Play trailer 0:30 Poster for Season 1 – Benjamin Franklin Apr 2022 Documentary Biography Play Trailer Watchlist
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80% Tomatometer 10 Reviews 86% Popcornmeter Fewer than 50 Ratings
The life and work of scientist, inventor and writer Benjamin Franklin.
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Benjamin Franklin — Season 1

Critics Reviews

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Brian Lowry CNN.com 04/06/2022
Benjamin Franklin might not be as showy as some of Burns' other works, but like all of them, it's still a keeper. Go to Full Review Dorothy Rabinowitz Wall Street Journal 04/01/2022
In addition to the usual appeal of chronicles of this kind steeped in the tone and feel of imminent war, the film can be credited for the immediacy of its images of a world long past. Go to Full Review Daniel Fienberg The Hollywood Reporter 04/01/2022
It’s impossible to watch four hours of Benjamin Franklin without respecting his autodidactic scientific brilliance, his cleverness and the unmissable stamp he put on the wet concrete of America. Go to Full Review Danielle Solzman Solzy at the Movies Jul 4
5/5
What Burns and company are able to do isn’t just look at the Founding Father, but break through the myths that have grown larger in the past 249 years. Go to Full Review Kyle Smith National Review 06/28/2022
At times it has all the visual sizzle of an audiobook. But Burns must work with what is available, which means we are left with a sleepy series of talking-head historians, plus actors in voiceover reading contemporaneous accounts. Go to Full Review Linda Maleh TV Insider 04/25/2022
How did such a staunch monarchist become a leader of the American Revolution? This question is the driving force in Ken Burns’ latest documentary... The four-hour event is most engaging whenever it’s endeavoring to solve that puzzle. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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bruce h 04/28/2022 I thought both episodes were excellent. The pace is slow in places, but the viewer is learning all through the production. I know quite a bit about Franklin and I still learned several things that were new to me. I can think of nothing that they overlooked. In these divided times, it would be a very good thing if every adult watched this program and considered their political views and choices in its light. See more Ed M 04/08/2022 Another fascinating doc by Ken Burns. Guy has an incredible batting average. See more Read all reviews
Benjamin Franklin — Season 1

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Cast & Crew

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Peter Coyote

Narrator

Mandy Patinkin

Benjamin Franklin

Carolyn McCormick

Deborah Franklin

Josh Lucas

William Franklin

Paul Giamatti

John Adams

Liam Neeson

Alexander Wedderburn

Episodes

Episode 1 Aired Apr 4, 2022 Join or Die (1706-1774) Following his success as a printer in Philadelphia, Benjamin Franklin earns worldwide fame from electricity experiments and then turns to politics. Details Episode 2 Aired Apr 5, 2022 An American (1775-1790) Benjamin Franklin helps Thomas Jefferson craft the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia; in Paris, Franklin wins French support for the American Revolution; Franklin works on the U.S. Constitution. Details

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Benjamin Franklin — Season 1

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Benjamin Franklin — Season 1

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Season Info

Director
Ken Burns
Screenwriter
Dayton Duncan
Network
PBS
Rating
TV-PG
Genre
Documentary, Biography
Original Language
English
Release Date
Apr 4, 2022