''America Undercover'' is a series of

documentaries A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". The American author and media analyst Bill ...

that aired on the

cable television Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with bro ...

network

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

from 1983 through 2006. Within the series are several sub-series, such as ''

Autopsy An autopsy (also referred to as post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of deat ...

'', '' Real Sex'', and ''

Taxicab Confessions ''Taxicab Confessions'' is a television series of hidden camera documentaries that aired on HBO from 1995 through 2006. When passengers enter the cab, they are recorded with several small cameras hidden in the taxi. The producer prompts passen ...

''.

History

The series began in 1983 and, after a brief time being broadcast weekly in 2001, was later broadcast once per month. In 2006, episodes began being rebroadcast on

A&E Network A&E (an initialism of its original name, the Arts & Entertainment Network) is an American cable and satellite television network and the flagship property of A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the Walt Disney Company ...

. Over the years, episodes have covered numerous subjects such as abortion, organized crime, and pedophilia. The show won several awards for the 1998 production of ''Strippers: The Naked Stages''.

Episodes

*''Hooker'' (1983) - Directed by Robert Niemack *''When Women Kill'' (1983) - Directed by

Lee Grant Lee Grant (born Lyova Haskell Rosenthal; October 31, during the mid-1920s) is an American actress, documentarian, and director. In a career spanning over seven decades, she won an Academy Award, two Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Directors Guil ...

*''The Nightmare of Cocaine'' (1984) - Directed by Fleming B. Fuller *''Toxic Time Bomb: The Fight Against Deadly Pollution'' (1984) - Directed by August Cinquegrana *''Acts of Violence'' (1985) - Directed by Imre Horvath *''Soldiers in Hiding'' (1985) - Directed by Malcolm Clarke *''UFO's: What's Going On?'' (1985) - Directed by

Robert Guenette Robert Guenette (January 12, 1935 – October 31, 2003) was an American film producer, screenwriter, film director, television director and television producer, recipient of the Directors Guild of America Award. Guenette is considered one o ...

*''The Gift of Life'' (1986) - Directed by Bill Couturié *'' And the Pursuit of Happiness'' (1986) - Directed by

Louis Malle Louis Marie Malle (; 30 October 1932 – 23 November 1995) was a French film director, screenwriter, and producer who worked in both French cinema and Hollywood. Described as "eclectic" and "a filmmaker difficult to pin down", Malle made document ...

*''Kids in Crisis'' (1986) - Directed by Robert Niemack *''Kids in Sports: The Price of Glory'' (1986) - Directed by Dennis Lofgren *''Surveillance: No Place to Hide '' (1986) - Directed by Joseph Angier *''Drunk & Deadly: A Day on America's Highways'' (1987) - Directed by Robert Niemack *''Murder or Mercy: Five American Families'' (1988) - Directed by Terry Dunn Meurer *''Execution: Fourteen Days in May'' (1988) - Directed by Paul Hamann *''Confessions of an Undercover Cop'' (1988) - Directed by Chris Jeans *''Warning: Medicine May Be Hazardous to Your Health'' (1988) - Directed by Veronica L. Young *''Why Did Johnny Kill?'' (1988) - Directed by Robert Niemack *''Transplant'' (1988) - Directed by Vincent Stafford *''Into Madness'' (1989) - Directed by Susan Raymond *''Battered'' (1989) - Directed by

*'' Crack USA: County Under Siege'' (1989) - Directed by Vince DiPersio and Bill Guttentag *'' One Year in a Life of Crime'' (1989) - Directed by

Jon Alpert Jon Alpert (born c. December 13, 1948) is an American journalist and documentary film, documentary film director, filmmaker, known for his use of a cinéma vérité approach in his films. Life and career A native of Port Chester, New York, Jo ...

*''Convicts on the Street: One Year on Parole'' (1990) - Directed by Robert Niemack *'' Doing Time: Life Inside the Big House'' (1991) - Directed by Alan Raymond *''Rape: Cries from the Heartland'' (1991) - Directed by Maryann DeLeo *''Attempted Murder: Confrontation'' (1991) - Directed by Tom Spain *'' Death on the Job'' (1991) - Directed by Vince DiPersio and Bill Guttentag *''The Iceman Tapes: Conversations with a Killer'' (1992) - Directed by Arthur Ginsberg and Tom Spain *''Suicide Notes'' (1992) - Directed by Robert Niemack *''Asylum'' (1992) - Directed by Joan Churchill *''Abortion: Desperate Choices'' (1992) - Directed by Deborah Dickson, Susan Froemke, and

Albert Maysles Albert Maysles (November 26, 1926 – March 5, 2015) and his brother David Maysles (January 10, 1931 – January 3, 1987; ) were an American documentary filmmaking team known for their work in the Direct Cinema style. Their best-known films in ...

*''My Mother's Murder'' (1992) - Directed by Charles C. Stuart *''Never Say Die: The Search for Eternal Youth'' (1992) - Directed by Antony Thomas *''Women on Trial'' (1992) - Directed by

*'' I Am a Promise: The Children of Stanton Elementary School'' (1993) *'' Gang War: Bangin' In Little Rock'' (1994) *'' High on Crack Street: Lost Lives in Lowell '' (1995) - Directed by

, Maryann DeLeo and

Richard Farrell Richard Farrell (30 December 1926 – 27 May 1958) was a New Zealand classical pianist. Musical career Early life Thomas Richard Farrell was born in Auckland in 1926 to Thomas and Ella Farrell, and spent most of his young years in Wellingto ...

*'' The Celluloid Closet'' (1995) *''

Fetishes A fetish is an object believed to have supernatural powers, or in particular, a human-made object that has power over others. Essentially, fetishism is the attribution of inherent non-material value, or powers, to an object. Talismans and amulets ...

'' (1996) - Directed by

Nick Broomfield Nicholas Broomfield (born 1948) is an English documentary film director. His self-reflective style has been regarded as influential to many later filmmakers. In the early 21st century, he began to use non-actors in scripted works, which he call ...

*''Dragtime'' (1997) - Directed by Patti Kaplan *''Thug Life in DC'' (1999) - Directed by Marc Levin *''Life Afterlife'' (2000) - Directed by Lisa F. Jackson *''Bellevue: Inside Out'' (2001) - Directed by Maryann DeLeo *'' Blue Vinyl'' (2002) *'' My Flesh and Blood'' (2003) *'' Shelter Dogs'' (2003) *'' Middle Sexes: Redefining He and She'' (2005) *'' Dealing Dogs'' (2006)

References

External links

* HBO original programming 1983 American television series debuts 2006 American television series endings 1980s American documentary television series 1990s American documentary television series 2000s American documentary television series American English-language television shows {{US-documentary-tv-prog-stub