This May, as a pivotal presidential election approaches, WTCI presents AMERICAN EXPERIENCE: THE PRESIDENTS, seven 20th century biographies that offer an intimate and compelling look at the men who have defined and re-defined the modern presidency, and who led the country through some of the most turbulent and consequential moments in our history. THE PRESIDENTS is designed to reach millions of potential voters and to promote civic engagement with issues and ideas central to our history and our democracy.

Ranging from the unlikely story of the patrician New York governor who led the nation during the twin crises of the Great Depression and World War II, to the Hollywood leading man who became the icon of modern conservatism, the series begins in with the premiere of a profile of George H.W. Bush, and features subsequent programs on Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter, and Ronald Reagan.

Focusing on the intersection of public and private, character and history, the presidential biographies have captivated viewers, delighted teachers, impressed critics and won virtually every documentary award worth winning. Most satisfying of all, they have educated a generation of Americans about their leaders and their history, and provoked many American voters to think about what they should expect from the person they elect president of the United States.

The Presidents: George H.W. Bush

Monday and Tuesday, May 5-6, 2008 at 9 p.m.

From Emmy award-winning producer Austin Hoyt comes the latest in our series presidential portraits, a two-part biography that examines the life and career of our 41st president, from his service in World War II and his early career in Texas to his days in the Oval Office, first as vice president to Ronald Reagan, then as the leader who presided over the first Gulf War. Drawing upon Bush’s personal diaries and interviews with his closest advisors and most prominent critics, the film will also explore Bush’s role as the patriarch of a political family whose influence is unequaled in modern American life. Interviewees include Barbara Bush, Condoleeza Rice, Colin Powell, Mikhail Gorbachev, and more.

The Presidents: FDR

Monday, May 12, 2008 at 10 p.m. & Monday, May 19, 2008 at 9 p.m.

Radio broadcasts beamed his voice into living rooms around the country; his picture hung on the wall. His wife was the most admired woman in the country. “FDR” goes beyond the familiar words and images to offer an incisive, often startling portrait of one of the most extraordinary personalities ever elected to the presidency. One of the nation’s most popular presidents, Franklin Delano Roosevelt served three terms—longer than anyone before or since—and led the country through two great crises of this century: the Great Depression and World War II.

The Presidents: Truman

Sunday, May 25 at 10 p.m. and Monday, 26, 2008 at 9 p.m.

He was a farmer, a haberdasher gone bankrupt, an unknown politician from Missouri who suddenly found himself president. Of all the men who had held office, he was the least prepared. Yet Harry S. Truman would have to end the war with Germany and Japan, decide whether to use the most terrible weapon ever devised, confront the Soviet Union, and wage war in Korea.

The Presidents: LBJ

Fall 2008 on PBS

The arc of Lyndon Baines Johnson’s life is a version of the American dream: the poor boy from the backwaters of the Texas hill country who ascended to the very pinnacle of power—only to see his presidency undermined by the conflict in Vietnam, a war he supported and expanded but never understood. One of the most perplexing, astute and larger-than-life politicians in modern American history, LBJ set out to “out-Kennedy the Kennedys” by pushing through historic social legislation on a scale that rivaled FDR. Big, brash, intimidating and driven by an all-consuming ambition, Johnson dominated people and institutions.

The Presidents: Nixon

Fall 2008 on PBS

One of the most controversial and enduring figures on the American political landscape, Richard Nixon was at the center of American politics for 25 years. “Nixon” explores the fateful combination of strengths and weaknesses that propelled him to the presidency, then brought him down. From his boyhood in Yorba Linda, California, his days as a young anti-Communist crusader, his foreign policy initiatives in China and the Soviet Union, to his resignation from the presidency in the face of likely impeachment in 1974, Nixon was distinguished by his ability to come back from defeat

The Presidents: Jimmy Carter

Fall 2008 on PBS

Jimmy Carter traces the ascent of an ambitious country boy from a peanut farm in Plains, Georgia, to the Oval Office; it examines the failings of Carter’s political leadership in the context of the turbulent 1970s; and explores the role religion played in his career. Jimmy Carter rode into power on the post-Watergate disaffection with Washington politics. But his inexperience resulted in an ineffectual and fractured administration. The crowning achievement of his one-term in office, the Camp David Accords, which established a framework for peace in the Middle East, was the inspiration for his life after the White House. In the years since, Carter has recast himself as a giant of moral leadership, winning the Nobel Peace Prize in the process. He has struggled to bring peace to war-torn countries; fought for the eradication of life-threatening diseases; and dedicated himself to housing America's poorest citizens.

The Presidents: Reagan

Fall 2008 on PBS

When he left the White House in 1988, Ronald Reagan was one of the most popular presidents of the century – and one of the most controversial. A failed actor, Reagan became a passionate ideologue who preached a simple gospel of lower taxes, less government, and anti-communism. One by one, his opponents underestimated him; one by one, Reagan surprised them, rising to become a president who always preferred to see America as a "shining city on a hill."

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