Martin Sheen
George Washington
Overview
Life. Liberty. The pursuit of happiness. This sweeping historical documentary series traces how the ideals of America's founders gave rise to a nation.
Seasons
- Status
- Ended
- Seasons
- 1 season
- Episodes
- 5 episodes
- First aired
- Jun 24, 2026
Cast
Reviews
4 min readThe American Experiment, or how we learned to stop worrying and love the mess
I came to The American Experiment expecting a dry civics lesson, the kind of thing you park in the background while folding laundry or waiting at a gate. I expected a museum. I got a mirror aimed at now.
The founding of America is treated as an argument still being had, in school board meetings and in Supreme Court chambers. That choice is why the series works, and why a lot of people want it thrown out.
It opens on Martin Sheen's voice, warm and measured, reading George Washington over a slow pan across a colonial map. The camera stays on the ink stains and the frayed edges of parchment, a reminder that these documents started as ideas scribbled by men who did not know if they would live long enough to see them tested. Sheen already carries presidential weight in the culture.
His Josiah Bartlet on The West Wing sits so large that people forget he is an actor, not a statesman. Here he does not impersonate Washington. He lends the words a gravity that feels worked for rather than put on.
The series will not leave the past in the past. It is built like a pressure cooker, cutting from lavish Revolutionary reenactments to present-day interviews with politicians, historians, and ordinary people. Teachers.
Activists. A former NASA astronaut. All of them reading the founders out loud.
The first time the two timelines smash together, it throws you. In one scene a reenactor playing Gouverneur Morris, the man who wrote the Constitution's Preamble, hobbles on a peg leg. Then a modern historian notes, dryly, that Morris may have lost the leg while fleeing a lover's bedroom, not on a battlefield.
Audience Opinions
Audience 6.8/10
"An informative, patriotic founding-era history lesson that doubles as a political lightning rod due to its contemporary voices and perceived liberal tilt."
Historical coverage is praised as thorough, coherent, and easy to follow, with several viewers calling it a fantastic, even inspiring primer on the American Revolution and the birth of the Constitution. The series is valued as a timely learning aid for the 250th anniversary, with interviews and narration tying events together in a way that makes the era feel newly vivid. latestnetflix.com's take is that at the same time, a noticeable share of the audience is turned off by the inclusion of modern politicians and what they see as left-leaning messaging, and some find the pacing heavy compared with the material’s importance.
What viewers praise
- Coherent historical narrative The show links events and figures in a way that clearly builds toward the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, helping even those who slept through history class grasp the bigger picture.
- Strong educational value Frequently described as a fantastic gift for the 250th anniversary and a beautiful learning aid for viewers not deeply versed in American history.
- Inspirational tone Several reviews describe feeling more optimistic or patriotic afterward, seeing the series as a reminder that the country has always been evolving and resilient.
- Insightful experts and interviews Historians, authors, and contemporary figures are credited with providing multiple perspectives that deepen understanding of the founding period.
- High production quality The series is called solid and compelling, with good production values, effective recreations, and engaging presentation that make dense history watchable.
Common complaints
- Accusations of liberal bias Critics argue that the selection and framing of political voices, including figures like Hillary Clinton, amount to subtle propaganda and a smear of contemporary conservatives.
- Partisan framing complaints Some viewers who say they do not care about left or right still feel political messaging is pushed too hard, wishing for a more strictly fact-based, neutral treatment of the Revolution.
- Slow, heavy pacing A portion of the audience finds the delivery cold, tedious, or sluggish, despite acknowledging the material’s importance.
- Questioned guest choices The presence of certain modern politicians, such as Ted Cruz, is seen by some as distracting or unnecessary for the core historical story.
- Mixed reaction to dramatization The use of actors to voice historical letters and documents is viewed as less successful than the interview segments, occasionally pulling viewers out of the experience.
Recommended for
American Revolution history buffs Civic-education documentary seekers Patriotic holiday viewing Political history enthusiasts Long-form documentary fans
Buzz & Rumors
Public reportsMike Pence clapped for a Netflix history class.
On June 17, 2026, Netflix screened the first episode of The American Experiment at the Burke Theater inside the U.S. Navy Memorial. America250 was on the invite. So were the Smithsonian, the National Archives, and the White House Historical Association. Pence, who appears in the series, showed up in the room. A week later the five-part drop went live, June 24, timed to the country's 250th birthday. Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman's Playtone produced it with Luminant. Brian Knappenberger, the Turning Point director, is also an executive producer, with Sarah Huisenga. That guest list is the gossip. latestnetflix.com's view is that a former Republican vice president sitting through a streamer civics lesson that also books Hillary Clinton, Kamala Harris, Al Gore, Ted Cruz, and Nancy Pelosi.
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Knappenberger told The Guardian the experiment "is clearly ongoing." He wanted politicians in the mix because they still work inside the machine the founders built. Episode 4, "We the People," opens with him reminding Clinton she won the popular vote. "I did," she says. "Yes, I remember that every day." Then the line that will travel. "I personally think the Electoral College is an abomination. For obvious reasons." Nearly three million more people voted for her in 2016. Knappenberger said he framed it as a constitutional leftover from a hot Philadelphia summer, not a therapy session, and that she talked about it in ways she probably has not before. ,
The West Wing president reads Washington for six hours.
Martin Sheen voices George Washington. Knappenberger told Tudum they tossed names around and Sheen stuck, both for the Bartlet baggage and for the activism. The surprise was the homework. Sheen wanted the context behind every line and talked history for six or seven hours. Dolores Huerta reads from the First Amendment among 33 "ordinary extraordinary" Americans who handle the letters and diaries, firefighters and a former inmate mixed with a Pulitzer historian. Production shot reenactments in nine states, including Fort Ticonderoga in Essex County, New York, where the Times Union said scenes covering everything from the Boston Massacre to Princeton and Saratoga were staged on the grounds. Eyeline Studios handled generative battle work Netflix bragged about in the America 250 note. , ,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KM9XnXblZjk
Pence's own on-camera confession is the other clip the campaign cannot bury. "My only purpose was to keep my oath," he says about January 6, after telling the story of watching Al Gore certify 2000 as a freshman congressman. Gore later confirmed Pence had said it to his face. Yuval Levin, in the series, calls the fear of losing the whole project a source of strength. Knappenberger's punchline is drier. England's anthem asks God to save the king. America's is about barely making it through one night. Five episodes. TV-14. A Playtone doc that put Cruz, Pence, and Clinton on the same timeline and then asked whether the thing still holds. The trailer is the one with Sheen's Washington over the battle plates. , ,
Entertainment rumors and trivia aggregated from public reporting. Treat speculation as unverified unless a cited source confirms it.
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