''The Sixties'' is a documentary miniseries which premiered on

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...

on May 29, 2014. Produced by

Tom Hanks Thomas Jeffrey Hanks (born July 9, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. Known for both his comedic and dramatic roles, he is one of the most popular and recognizable film stars worldwide, and is regarded as an American cultural icon. Ha ...

and

Gary Goetzman Gary Michael Goetzman (born November 6, 1952) is an American film and television producer and actor, and co-founder of the production company Playtone with actor Tom Hanks. Life and career Born in Los Angeles, Goetzman began his career as a chi ...

's studio

Playtone Playtone (stylized on-screen as PLAY•TONE; a.k.a. The Playtone Company) is an American film and television production company established in 1998 by actor Tom Hanks and producer Gary Goetzman. It was named after the fictional record compan ...

, the 10-part series chronicled events and

popular culture Popular culture (also called mass culture or pop culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as, popular art or mass art) and objects that are dominant or prevalent in a ...

of the United States during the 1960s. 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 MSNBC (originally the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company) is an American news-based pay television cable channel. It is owned by NBCUniversala subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered in New York City, it provides news coverage and politi ...

in total viewership, and beating its rivals in

key demographic The key demographic or target demographic is a term in commercial broadcasting that refers to the most desirable demographic group to a given advertiser. Key demographics vary by outlet, time of day, and programming type, but they are generally co ...

audience share. CNN has since commissioned follow-ups covering later decades, including '' The Seventies'' (2015), '' The Eighties'' (2016), '' The Nineties'' (2017), '' The 2000s'' (2018), and ''The 2010s'' (2023). 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''.

Episodes

Production

Development

In 2013,

president Jeff Zucker came up with the concept of ''The Sixties'' from conversations about "the forthcoming anniversary of JFK’s assassination,

The Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...

, and the

civil rights movement The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional racial segregation, discrimination, and disenfranchisement throughout the Unite ...

". 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. Upon the announcement of the series by ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' 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."

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 John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...

's assassination.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sixties, The (TV series) Television series set in the 1960s 2010s American documentary television series 2014 American television series debuts 2014 American television series endings CNN original programming Documentary television series about the Cold War Television series about the history of the United States Television series by Playtone