America Divided
America Divided is an American documentary television series, created by Solly Granatstein, Lucian Read, and Richard Rowley, that premiered on September 30, 2016, on Epix.
| America Divided | |
|---|---|
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| Genre | Documentary |
| Created by |
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| Starring | |
| Theme music composer | J. Period |
| Composer | Paul Brill |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 12 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
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| Producers |
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| Running time | 34–59 minutes |
| Production companies |
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| Release | |
| Original network | Epix |
| Original release | September 30, 2016 – May 25, 2018 |
Premise
America Divided in Season One explored "critical societal issues from the criminal justice system and education, to housing and heroin, to threats facing American democracy itself." In Season Two, the series will "again go cross-country to investigate the forces driving us apart and introduce viewers to ordinary people engaged in extraordinary efforts to overcome our country's racial, class, gender, religious and partisan divides."[1]
Production
Development
On January 16, 2016, it was announced that Epix had given the production a series order. The series was created by Solly Granatstein, Lucian Read, and Rick Rowley, all of whom executive produce alongside Norman Lear, Shonda Rhimes, Common, Jon Kamen, Justin Wilkes, Dave O'Connor, Mark S. Greenberg, Jocelyn Diaz, Ross Bernard, and Jill Burkhart. Co-executive producers include Nicole Dow, Derek Dudley, and Brent Miller. Rebecca Teitel and Jesse Williams are senior producers with Abby Ellis and Leah Thomas as producers. Production companies involved with the series include RadicalMedia and Freedom Road Productions.[2]
On July 25, 2017, it was announced at the annual Television Critics Association summer press tour that Epix had renewed the series for a second season consisting of four episodes. Production companies Divided Films, RadicalMedia, and Act III Productions were expected return to produce the second season. Series creators Solly Granatstein, Lucian Read and Richard Rowley will return for Divided Films, as will Jon Kamen and Justin Wilkes for RadicalMedia and Norman Lear and Brent Miller of Act III Productions. At the time it was reported that Lear and Jesse Williams would continue to act as executive producers and correspondents.[1][3]
Casting
Alongside the initial series announcement, it was reported that correspondents for the first season would include Common, America Ferrera, Zach Galifianakis, and Amy Poehler among others.[2]
On February 26, 2018, it was announced that Gretchen Carlson, Diane Guerrero, Nick Offerman, Jussie Smollett, and Martin Sensmeier would serve as correspondents in season two.[4][5]
Release
On September 14, 2016, the Initiative on Business and Public Policy at the Brookings Institution hosted a conversation on housing policy in the Falk Auditorium that featured an early screening of the first season episode A House Divided. Following the screening, IBPP Policy Director Aaron Klein held a one-on-one conversation with Norman Lear who then was joined by a panel that included Lisa Rice of the National Fair Housing Alliance and Mark Calabria of The Cato Institute.[6]
On September 20, 2016, the series held its official premiere at the Hammer Museum's Billy Wilder Theater in Los Angeles, California. Following a screening of the series' first episode, a question-and-answer session was held moderated by Vanity Fair's Krista Smith and featuring Norman Lear and Jesse Williams.[7]
Episodes
| Season | Episodes | Originally aired | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First aired | Last aired | |||
| 1 | 8 | September 30, 2016 | November 18, 2016 | |
| 2 | 4 | May 4, 2018 | May 25, 2018 | |
Season 1 (2016)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Correspondent | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "The System" | Common | September 30, 2016 |
| 2 | 2 | "A House Divided" | Norman Lear | October 7, 2016 |
| 3 | 3 | "Something in the Water" | Rosario Dawson | October 14, 2016 |
| 4 | 4 | "The Class Divide" | Jesse Williams | October 21, 2016 |
| 5 | 5 | "The Epidemic" | Peter Sarsgaard | October 28, 2016 |
| 6 | 6 | "Out of Reach" | America Ferrera | November 4, 2016 |
| 7 | 7 | "Democracy for Sale" | Zach Galifianakis | November 11, 2016 |
| 8 | 8 | "Home Economics" | Amy Poehler | November 18, 2016 |
Season 2 (2018)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Correspondent | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | 1 | "Washington's War on Women" | Gretchen Carlson | May 4, 2018 |
| 10 | 2 | "Who Controls the Land" | Martin Sensmeier | May 11, 2018 |
| 11 | 3 | "There Has to be a Better Way" | Diane Guerrero / Nick Offerman | May 18, 2018 |
| 12 | 4 | "Whose History?" | Jussie Smollett | May 25, 2018 |
Director Lucian Read drew a connection between the alleged assault of actor Jussie Smollett and the episode of America Divided about lynching which he directed; Smollett narrated and appeared in the episode. Epix released a statement in February 2019 saying "with respect to the sensitivities around recent events... Epix is no longer making available the episode of America Divided featuring Jussie Smollett."[8]
References
- Petski, Denise (July 25, 2017). "'America Divided' Renewed For Season 2 By Epix – TCA". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 5, 2018.
- Patten, Dominic (January 19, 2016). "Norman Lear & Shonda Rhimes To EP Epix Docu-Series 'America Divided'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 5, 2018.
- Otterson, Joe (July 25, 2017). "Epix Renews 'America Divided,' Sets Season 2 Premiere Dates for 'Berlin Station,' 'Graves'". Variety. Retrieved May 5, 2018.
- Pedersen, Erik (February 26, 2018). "'America Divided': Epix Sets Gretchen Carlson, Diane Guerrero, Nick Offerman, Jussie Smollett & Martin Sensmeier For Season 2 Of Docuseries". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 5, 2018.
- Barr, Jeremy (February 26, 2018). "Former Fox News Anchor Gretchen Carlson Attached to Epix Series 'America Divided'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 5, 2018.
- "Housing in America: Preview screening of "America Divided" with Norman Lear". Brookings. August 26, 2016. Retrieved May 5, 2018.
- Hennemuth, Britt (September 21, 2016). "Norman Lear and Jesse Williams Talk Hollywood and Activism at America Divided Premiere". Vanity Fair. Retrieved May 5, 2018.
- Thorne, Will (February 23, 2019). "Jussie Smollett recently hosted documentary on lynching, filmmaker talks 'coincidence'". Chicago Tribune. Chicago. Retrieved February 23, 2019.