The Sixties (miniseries)

The Sixties is a documentary miniseries which premiered on CNN on May 29, 2014. Produced by Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman's studio Playtone, the 10-part series chronicled events and popular culture of the United States during the 1960s.[1]

The Sixties
GenreTelevision documentary
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes10
Production
Executive producersTom Hanks
Gary Goetzman
Mark Herzog
Running time60 minutes
Production companiesCNN
Playtone
Herzog & Company
Release
Original networkCNN
Original releaseMay 29 (2014-05-29) –
August 14, 2014 (2014-08-14)
Related
The Seventies
The Eighties
The Nineties
The 2000s
The Movies
The 2010s

The premiere of The Sixties was a ratings success for CNN; it was seen by 1.39 million total viewers, finishing in between Fox News Channel and MSNBC in total viewership, and beating its rivals in key demographic audience share. CNN has since commissioned follow-ups covering later decades, including The Seventies (2015),[1][2] The Eighties (2016),[3] The Nineties (2017),[4] The 2000s (2018), and The 2010s (2023).[5] In 2018, Playtone, which recounted the events of 1968 as episode 8 in this series, revisited the year in more detail in the four-part series 1968: The Year That Changed America.[6][7]

Episodes
No.TitleOriginal air dateUS viewers
(millions)
1"Television Comes of Age"May 29, 2014 (2014-05-29)0.946[8]
Major events and milestones that lead to the changing landscape of television in the 1960s, including The Twilight Zone, The Fugitive, The Dick Van Dyke Show, and I Dream of Jeannie.
2"The World on the Brink"June 5, 2014 (2014-06-05)0.866[9]
Events of the Cold War in the 1960s, including the Bay of Pigs Invasion and the Cuban Missile Crisis.
3"The Assassination of President Kennedy"June 13, 2014 (2014-06-13)0.765[10]
The events surrounding the assassination of John F. Kennedy, including an examination of the 1964 Warren report and interviews with eyewitnesses.
4"The War in Vietnam"June 19, 2014 (2014-06-19)0.872[11]
The start of the Vietnam War and the role Lyndon B. Johnson played in it.
5"A Long March to Freedom"June 26, 2014 (2014-06-26)0.751[12]
Key moments in the Civil Rights Movement, including the March on Washington, lunch counter sit-ins, Freedom Rides, Freedom Summer, Integration of schools, and the Children's Crusade.
6"The British Invasion"July 10, 2014 (2014-07-10)0.914[13]
British musical groups and recording artists, such as the Beatles, that had an influence in the 1960s on American music.
7"The Space Race"July 24, 2014 (2014-07-24)0.583[14]
The beginning of Space exploration and competition between the United States and the Soviet Union to be the first to land on the moon.
8"1968"July 31, 2014 (2014-07-31)0.797[15]
Dramatic events of 1968, including the Soviet incursion into Czechoslovakia, assassinations, developments in the Southeast Asia wars, the end of the Johnson administration, violence at the 1968 Democratic National Convention and Richard Nixon's election.
9"The Times They Are A-Changin'"August 7, 2014 (2014-08-07)0.903[16]
The changing views people began to have of Feminism, Civil Rights, Environmentalism, Conservatism and Gay Rights in the 1960s.
10"Sex, Drugs, and Rock 'N' Roll"August 14, 2014 (2014-08-14)0.921[17]
Music of the 1960s takes a new form with sex and drugs.

Production

Development

In 2013, CNN president Jeff Zucker came up with the concept of The Sixties from conversations about "the forthcoming anniversary of JFK’s assassination, The Beatles, and the civil rights movement". Inspiration for the series also came to Zucker after being impressed with the National Geographic historical television film Killing Lincoln, which included Mark Herzog as one of the executive producers.[18] Upon the announcement of the series by Variety on September 17, 2013, Vinnie Malhotra, senior vice president of development and acquisition in CNN, stated that they were "looking at [The Sixties] as a major television event." With the inception of the project coming within a year of Zucker's appointment as president of CNN, Zucker also stated to Variety that "Projects like this are emblematic of exactly the type of programming that we need more of, signifying a new direction and expanded sensibility at CNN."[18]

Release

Although The Sixties premiered in May 2014, the third episode, "The Assassination of President Kennedy", was previously released as its own television special on November 14, 2013, to coincide with the 50th anniversary of John F. Kennedy's assassination.[18][19]

References
  1. "Premiere of 'The Sixties' Brings Younger Viewers to CNN". Variety. 30 May 2014. Retrieved 3 April 2016.
  2. "CNN To Follow 'The Sixties' Docu-series With 'The Seventies'". Variety. 20 November 2014. Retrieved 3 April 2016.
  3. "CNN To Launch 'The Eighties' In March". Variety. 25 February 2016. Retrieved 3 April 2016.
  4. Steinberg, Brian (18 May 2016). "CNN Greenlights 'The Nineties' and Series on Comedy, Music". Variety. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
  5. Johnson, Ted (2022-12-13). "CNN Unveils 2023 Original Series And Films Slate: Projects Include 'Giuliani,' Jake Tapper-Hosted 'United States Of Scandal' And 'The 2010s'". Deadline. Retrieved 2022-12-13.
  6. de Moraes, Lisa (17 May 2017). "CNN Adds Series On 1960s & '70s To Slate; HLN Adds 'Unmasking A Killer'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
  7. Petski, Denise (11 April 2018). "CNN Adds Six New Original Series To 2019 Slate; Projects From Sanjay Gupta, Vox Media, More". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
  8. Bibel, Sara (30 May 2014). "Cable News Ratings for Thursday, May 29, 2014". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on 31 May 2014. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  9. Kondolojy, Amanda (6 June 2014). "Cable News Ratings for Thursday, June 5, 2014". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on 11 June 2014. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  10. Bibel, Sara (13 June 2014). "Cable News Ratings for Thursday, June 12, 2014". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on 16 June 2014. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  11. "Thursday Cable Ratings: CNN's Sixties Beats MSNBC's Maddow in Demo and Total". Mediaite. 20 June 2014. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  12. Bibel, Sara (27 June 2014). "Cable News Ratings for Thursday, June 26, 2014". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on 1 July 2014. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  13. Kondolojy, Amanda (11 July 2014). "Cable News Ratings for Thursday, July 10, 2014". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on 16 July 2014. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  14. Bibel, Sara (25 July 2014). "Cable News Ratings for Thursday, July 24, 2014". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on 30 July 2014. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  15. Bibel, Sara (1 August 2014). "Cable News Ratings for Thursday, July 31, 2014". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on 3 August 2014. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  16. "Thursday Cable Ratings: Fox News #1, MSNBC Last in Demo During Obama Iraq Speech". Mediaite. 8 August 2014. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  17. Kondolojy, Amanda (15 August 2014). "Cable News Ratings for Thursday, August 14, 2014". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on 19 August 2014. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  18. Marechal, AJ (17 September 2013). "CNN Lines Up Docuseries 'The Sixties' with Tom Hanks, Gary Goetzman (Exclusive)". Variety. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
  19. The Assassination of President Kennedy. YouTube. 8 November 2013. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
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