
Ken Burns
Director · b. 1953 · Brooklyn, New York, USA
Ken Burns (born 1953) is a highly celebrated American documentarian who gradually amassed a considerable reputation and a devoted audience with a series of reassuringly traditional meditations on Americana. Burns' works are treasure troves of archival materials; he skillfully utilizes period music and footage, photographs, periodicals and ordinary people's correspondence, the latter often movingly read by seasoned professional actors in a deliberate attempt to get away from a "Great Man" approach to history. Like most non-fiction filmmakers, Burns wears many hats on his projects, often serving as writer, cinematographer, editor and music director in addition to producing and directing. He achieved his apotheosis with The Civil War (1990), a phenomenally popular 11-hour documentary that won two Emmys and broke all previous ratings records for public TV. The series' companion coffee table book--priced at a hefty $50--sold more than 700,000 copies. The audio version, narrated by Burns, was also a major best-seller. In the final accounting, "The Civil War" became the first documentary to gross over $100 million. Not surprisingly, it has become perennial fund-raising programming for public TV stations around the country. Burns arrived upon the scene with the Oscar-nominated Brooklyn Bridge (1981), a nostalgic chronicle of the construction of the fabled edifice. The film was more widely seen when rebroadcast on PBS the following year. Though Burns has made other nonfiction films for theatrical release, notably an acclaimed and ambiguous portrait of Depression-era Louisiana governor Huey Long (1985), PBS would prove to be his true home. He cast a probing eye on such American subjects as The Statue of Liberty (1985), The Congress (1988) (PBS), painter Thomas Hart Benton (1988) (PBS) and early radio with Empire of the Air: The Men Who Made Radio (1991) (PBS). Burns returned to long-form documentary with his most ambitious project to date, an 18-hour history of Baseball (1994), which aired on PBS in the fall of 1994. He approached the national pastime as a template for understanding changes in modern American society. Ironically, this was the only baseball on the air at the time, as the players and owners were embroiled in a bitter strike.
Series24
TV7.5Talk ShowThe Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson is a talk show hosted by Johnny Carson under The Tonight Show franchise from 1962 to 1992. It originally aired during late-night. For its first ten years, Carson's Tonight Show was based in New York City with occasional trips to Burbank, California; in May 1972, the show moved permanently to Burbank, California. In 2002, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson was ranked #12 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time.
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
1962 · 96 votes
TV6.1ComedyTalk ShowStephen Colbert brings his signature satire and comedy to The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, the #1 show in late night, where he talks with an eclectic mix of guests about what is new and relevant in the worlds of politics, entertainment, business, music, technology, and more. Featuring bandleader Jon Batiste with his band Stay Human, the Emmy Award-nominated show is broadcast from the historic Ed Sullivan Theater.
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
2015 · 364 votes
TV5.8ComedyTalk ShowAfter Jay Leno's second retirement from the program, Jimmy Fallon stepped in as his permanent replacement. After 42 years in Los Angeles the program was brought back to New York.
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
2014 · 389 votes
TV8.0AnimationComedySet in Springfield, the average American town, the show focuses on the antics and everyday adventures of the Simpson family; Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie, as well as a virtual cast of thousands. Since the beginning, the series has been a pop culture icon, attracting hundreds of celebrities to guest star. The show has also made name for itself in its fearless satirical take on politics, media and American life in general.
The Simpsons
1989 · 11K votes
TV6.4Talk ShowComedyDavid Letterman uses mature humor to appeal to his audience in this weeknight series, which gets its music from a house band led by Paul Shaffer. Among the show's most-famous segments are the Top Ten List and Stupid Pet Tricks, the latter of which subsequently led to an additional recurring segment called Stupid Human Tricks.
Late Show with David Letterman
1993 · 173 votes
TV4.3Talk ShowABC Daytime's morning chatfest, currently featuring Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, Sunny Hostin, Sara Haines, Alyssa Farah Griffin, and Ana Navarro discussing the most exciting events of the day. Hot topics in the news, the best experts in their field, celebrity interviews and general entertainment are all part of The View.
The View
1997 · 113 votes
TV6.4NewsComedyThe World's Fakest News Team tackle the biggest stories in news, politics and pop culture.
The Daily Show
1996 · 660 votes
TV7.0NewsComedyThe Colbert Report is an American satirical late night television program. It stars political humorist Stephen Colbert, a former correspondent for The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. The Colbert Report is a spin-off from and counterpart to The Daily Show that comments on politics and the media in a similar way. The show focuses on a fictional anchorman character named Stephen Colbert, played by his real-life namesake. The character, described by Colbert as a "well-intentioned, poorly informed, high-status idiot", is a caricature of televised political pundits.
The Colbert Report
2005 · 313 votes
TV7.3ComedyTalk ShowStepping into the late-late slot vacated by David Letterman, Conan O'Brien stars in a show that far outdoes its competition in sheer strangeness. Along with the celebrity interviews and musical numbers typical of late-night talk shows, this program make frequent use of odd walk-on characters and frequent "visits" from celebrity guests.
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
1993 · 166 votes
TV5.6NewsTalk ShowToday is a daily American morning television show that airs on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It was the first of its genre on American television and in the world, and is the fifth-longest running American television series. Originally a two-hour program on weekdays, it expanded to Sundays in 1987 and Saturdays in 1992. The weekday broadcast expanded to three hours in 2000, and to four hours in 2007. Today's dominance was virtually unchallenged by the other networks until the late 1980s, when it was overtaken by ABC's Good Morning America. Today retook the Nielsen ratings lead the week of December 11, 1995, and held onto that position for 852 consecutive weeks until the week of April 9, 2012, when it was beaten by Good Morning America yet again. In 2002, Today was ranked #17 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest Television Shows of All Time.
Today
1952 · 32 votes
TV6.3ComedyObstetrician/gynecologist Mindy Lahiri tries to balance her personal and professional life, surrounded by quirky co-workers in a small medical practice in New York City.
The Mindy Project
2012 · 192 votes
TV6.5NewsAmerica's popular television News magazine in which an ever changing team of CBS News correspondents contribute segments ranging from hard news coverage to politics to lifestyle and pop culture.
60 Minutes
1968 · 85 votes
- TV6.4Talk Show
The Tony Danza Show was a daytime variety talk show that premiered on September 13, 2004 in syndication and was distributed by Buena Vista Television.
The Tony Danza Show
2004 · 8 votes
TV6.5DocumentaryNoted Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr. has been helping people discover long-lost relatives hidden for generations within the branches of their family trees. Professor Gates utilizes a team of genealogists to reconstruct the paper trail left behind by our ancestors and the world’s leading geneticists to decode our DNA and help us travel thousands of years into the past to discover the origins of our earliest forebears.
Finding Your Roots
2012 · 20 votes
TV8.5NewsTalk ShowFace The Nation with Margaret Brennan is an American Sunday morning political interview show, which premiered on the CBS television network. It is one of the longest-running news programs in television history, having debuted in 1954.
Face the Nation
1954 · 2 votes
TV8.0Talk ShowWar & PoliticsJoin author, activist and commentator Margaret Hoover for a public affairs talk show that delivers a civil and engaging contest of ideas among the brightest minds and voices from across the ideological spectrum.
Firing Line with Margaret Hoover
2018 · 3 votes
TV6.3ComedyLife is really tough for Julie Kessler and Billy Epstein, two thirty-something aspiring comics living and working in New York City. While their friends and acquaintances move on to find success and love, they continue to struggle with careers and relationships, getting more bitter by the day.
Difficult People
2015 · 47 votes
TV9.0NewsWar & PoliticsABC's Sunday morning political affairs program, currently hosted by George Stephanopoulos.
This Week
1981 · 2 votes
TV7.2ComedyTalk ShowIt's easy to feel overwhelmed by the world's problems. It's harder to pinpoint the systems responsible for creating them. In this series, Jon Stewart brings together people impacted by different parts of a problem to discuss how we come up with change.
The Problem with Jon Stewart
2021 · 33 votes
TV6.7DocumentaryIn hour-long, in-depth explorations, CNN hosts examine extraordinary individuals, unexpected events and controversial subjects through interviews, stories, images and videos.
CNN Special Report
1980 · 3 votes
TVDocumentaryExplore the vitality, history and significance of the craft movement in the United States and its impact on our nation's rich cultural heritage. Capturing the beauty, creativity and originality of craftsmanship, the show highlights artists and explores the inter-relationship of what they do, how they do it and why they have chosen a life of creating art.
Craft in America
2007
TV6.5ComedyAnimationLauren Caspian is public radio's third most popular host. He's a well-meaning, hypocritical nimrod, just like you and me. He's also a stop motion puppet. Each episode follows the making of an episode of Lauren's show In the Know, in which Lauren conducts in-depth interviews with real world human guests. Lauren collaborates with a diverse crew of NPR staff. They are also puppets and nimrods.
In the Know
2024 · 15 votes
TVDocumentaryBaseball's Seasons is a documentary series on MLB Network. Each episode takes a look at a season in the history of Major League Baseball. It first aired January 7, 2009 in the first week of the network's existence. Like a lot of the network's other original programming, Baseball's Seasons airs during baseball's offseason.
TV6.0Talk ShowIn-depth interviews with the biggest names in sports, entertainment, and popular culture, and discussions led by Bob Costas that addresses the most topical issues in sports.
Back on the Record with Bob Costas
2021 · 4 votes
Movies10
Movie7.1DocumentaryThis biography, shown on American television as part of the PBS "Great Performances" series, examines the life works of one of Hollywood's most celebrated animators, Chuck (Charles M.) Jones. He is best known for Warner Brothers cartoons featuring Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Elmer Fudd, Porky Pig, Road Runner, Wile E. Coyote, and Pepe LePew. Included are plenty of behind-the-scenes descriptions of how an animated film is made, and (best of all) many clips from Chuck's cartoons.
Movie6.3DocumentaryThe first documentary portrait of fashion icon Ralph Lauren, reveals the man behind the icon and the creation of one of the most successful brands in fashion history.
Very Ralph
2019 · 13 votes
- MovieDocumentary
Actor Courtney B. Vance hosts this special celebrating Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr.'s work with focus on his five quintessential documentary series about American, African and African American history for PBS.
Movie7.7Plimpton! tells the story of writer, editor, amateur sportsman and friend to many, George Plimpton. Using Plimpton’s own narration – along with thoughts and stories from friends, family and contemporaries – the film is a joyful celebration of a life lived fully, richly, strangely, and, at times, a life that is hard to believe was actually lived by just one man.
Plimpton! Starring George Plimpton as Himself
2012 · 6 votes
Movie7.0DocumentaryFrom the masters who create the mind-bending diversions to the tense competition at the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament, Patrick Creadon's documentary reveals a fascinating look at a decidedly addictive pastime. Creadon captures New York Times editor Will Shortz at work, talks to celebrity solvers -- including Bill Clinton and Ken Burns -- and presents an intimate look at the national tournament and its competitors.
Wordplay
2006 · 48 votes
MovieDocumentaryA history of the origin of National Baseball Hall of Fame and its first induction ceremony in 1939.
MovieDocumentaryHistoryExplore the acclaimed filmmaker's more recent work in new interviews with Burns and his colleagues. Featuring excerpts from Country Music, Muhammad Ali, Benjamin Franklin, The U.S. and the Holocaust, The American Buffalo, The Vietnam War and others.
Movie8.0DocumentaryIn THE UNMAKING OF A COLLEGE, students at Hampshire College confront a new president's underhanded attempt to shut down their school and discover that a powerful institution is bullying an inexperienced administration into giving up the independence of one of the most experimenting colleges in the United States. A raucous ode to democracy in action, this film evokes the courage required to stand up to power at a time when many liberal arts colleges are failing.
The Unmaking of a College
2022 · 1 votes
MovieDocumentaryTV MovieExplore the filmmaker’s life and career in interviews with colleagues, friends and Burns himself. The importance of place emerges as a theme as he reflects on his own geographic touchstones, from the Brooklyn Bridge to small-town New Hampshire.
MovieDocumentaryHere For A Good Time tells the story of Hampshire College, a tiny liberal arts school in Western Mass with a reputation for really knowing how to party.