Hosted by Emmy-winning actress Patricia Clarkson, "PBS Previews: The Roosevelts" will provide a sneak peek lead-in to the broadcast premiere of the seven-part, 14-hour documentary that will air for seven consecutive nights beginning on Sunday, September 14, 2014. The preview program will take viewers inside the making of the epic film that weaves the stories of Theodore, Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, three members of one of the most prominent and influential families in American politics.
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In "PBS Previews: The Roosevelts," viewers will be given first-hand access into the grand estates and intimate cottages of the Roosevelts and visit the studio where Ken Burns recorded the voices of the stars who read the diaries, letters and contemporary accounts of this noteworthy family.
THE ROOSEVELTS: AN INTIMATE HISTORY marks the first time the Roosevelts’ individual stories have been woven into a single narrative, following the family’s story for more than a century, from Theodore’s birth in 1858 to Eleanor’s death in 1962. Over the course of those years, Theodore would become the 26th president of the United States and his beloved niece, Eleanor, would marry his fifth cousin, Franklin, who became the 32nd president. Together, they redefined the relationship Americans had with their government and with each other, and redefined, as well, the role of the United States within the wider world.
THE ROOSEVELTS is written by longtime Burns collaborator Geoffrey C. Ward, who is an authority on Franklin Roosevelt. The author of two biographical volumes, "A First-Class Temperament" and "Before the Trumpet," he is also the editor of "Closest Companion," which revealed for the first time Roosevelt’s close friendship with his distant cousin, Daisy Suckley. Ward’s interest in FDR grew in part from the fact that he, like FDR, is a polio survivor.
Funding is provided by Bank of America; Corporation for Public Broadcasting; Mr. Jack C. Taylor; The Arthur Vining Davis Foundations; National Endowment for the Humanities; Rosalind P. Walter; Public Broadcasting Service and members of The Better Angels Society, including Jessica & John Fullerton; The Pfeil Foundation – David, Mindy, Robert & Daniel Pfeil; Joan Wellhouse Newton; Bonnie & Tom McCloskey; and The Golkin Family.
THE ROOSEVELTS: AN INTIMATE HISTORY is a production of Florentine Films and WETA, Washington, DC. Director: Ken Burns. Writer: Geoffrey C. Ward. Producers: Ken Burns, Paul Barnes and Pam Tubridy-Baucom. Editors: Paul Barnes, Tricia Reidy and Erik Ewers. Cinematographers: Buddy Squires and Alan Moore.
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