America In Primetime

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The new Golden Age of television is now. In the expansive world of modern television, more groundbreaking shows are being created today than ever before. America in Primetime is a 4-part television series for PBS which showcases this iconic American art form.

America in Primetime, which aired in October 2011, is structured around the most compelling shows on television today, weaving between past and present and back again. Each episode focuses on one character archetype that has remained a staple of primetime through the generations – the Independent Woman, the Man of the House, the Misfit, and the Crusader – capturing both the continuity of the character, and the evolution. The finest television today has as its foundation the best television of yesterday.

America in Primetime is a collaboration with the com­munity that creates primetime television. At the heart of the series are more than a hundred in-depth interviews with the top talent in primetime – the creators, writers, actors who give life to characters we have come to know, love and live with. The series presents an extraordinary opportunity to experience the creative process from the inside out.

INDEPENDENT WOMAN Far removed from the model housewife of yesterday, women today on TV care less about pleasing others and more about being true to themselves.

THE MISFIT Whether they are oddballs, losers or just plain weird, misfits have grown beyond comic stereotypes and are taking center stage with a vengeance, refusing to apologize for who they are.

THE CRUSADER Heroes today are complex. Their stories are told with increasing humanity, depicting characters who confront almost impossible choices as they fight evil in a world where the line between right and wrong is often blurred.
 

America in Primetime was first broadcast in October 2011 on PBS.

 

• Press
• Photos
• Credits
• Interviewees

• J.M. Suarez reports on AIP for Pop Matters
  An analysis of the character archetypes in America in Primetime

  America in Primetime: Watch Online
  Watch the entire America in Primetime series online at PBS.org

  The Making of America in Primetime
  Diane Clehan, blogger for Media Bistro, interviews Tom Yellin about America in Primetime.

  Podcast of Interview with Del Criscenzo
  Del Criscenzo, host of Bread and Roses, talks with Tom Yellin about the role of women in American television.

  America in Primetime on Nightline
  Watch Nightline’s “Spotlight on Primetime TV Roles” featuring highlights from America in Primetime.

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  America in Primetime
  

  

  Dick Van Dyke
  

  

  Larry David
  

  
  

  

  Alec Baldwin
  

  

  Bryan Cranston
  

  

  Danny DeVito
  

  
  

  

  Felicity Huffman
  

  

  Hugh Laurie
  

  

  Michael C Hall
  

  
  

  

  Roseanne Barr
  

  

  Sandra Oh
  

  
  



• Director, Lloyd Kramer

  Executive Producer,
  Tom Yellin
  Lloyd Kramer

  Producer,
  Linda Hirsch
  Susan Schaefer

  Associate Producer,
  Mark Kachelries
  Joanna Cohen

  Editor,
  Scott Chestnut
  Jon Vesey
  Igor Kovalik

  Director of photography, Logan Schneider

  Music, Peter Nashel

  Co-Producer, Scott Chestnut

  Senior Producer,
  Kayce Freed Jennings
  Richard Robbins

  Supervising Producer, Heidi Christenson

  Licensing Director, Libby Kreutz

  Talent Producer , Courtney Balaker

  Production Associate and Researcher , Brian Taylor

  Associate Editor, Tyler Anderson

  Post Production Supervisor, Marc Tidalgo



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  Alan Alda
  Jason Alexander
  Gillian Anderson
  Judd Apatow
  John Astin
  Alec Baldwin
  Alan Ball
  Candice Bergen
  Steven Bochco
  Liz Brixius
  James L. Brooks
  Marcy Carsey
  Chris Carter
  David Chase
  Bob Cochran
  Diablo Cody
  Sara Colleton
  Bryan Cranston
  Greg Daniels
  Larry David
  Danny Devito
  Julia Louis-Dreyfus
  Diane English
  Edie Falco
  Paul Feig
  Jessie Tyler Ferguson
  Tom Fontana
  Dennis Franz
  Vince Gilligan
  Patricia Heaton
  Marshall Herskovitz
  Mitchell Hurwitz
  Al Jean
  Michelle King
  Robert King
  Jenji Kohan
  Hugh Laurie
  Norman Lear
  Steve Levitan
  Warren Littlefield
  Christopher Lloyd
  David Lynch
  James Manos Jr.
  Jerry Mathers
  Steve McPherson
  Laurie Metcalf
  George A. Meyer
  David Milch
  Mary Tyler Moore
  Elizabeth Moss
  Sue Naegle
  Sandra Oh
  Mark V. Olsen
  Mary-Louise Parker
  Sarah Jessica Parker
  Bill Paxton
  Clyde Phillips
  Kevin Reilly
  Carl Reiner
  Rob Reiner
  Shonda Rhimes
  Phil Rosenthal
  Mike Royce
  Shawn Ryan
  Will Scheffer
  David Shore
  David Simon
  Darren Star
  Joel Surnow
  Linda Wallem
  Matt Weiner
  Tom Werner
  Larry Wilmore
  Rainn Wilson
  Dick Van Dyke
  Ed Zwick