A miniseries comprising five episodes, Brian Knappenberger’s The American Experiment mostly follows new trends in telling history. It is going to remind its viewers that the settler country in Turtle Island (America) didn’t come from a vacuum. Specifically, that America is a byproduct of the British Empire and its conflicts with their former enemy, France. Thankfully, this isn’t just a rehashing of macro history – it also highlights personal stories of some Founding Fathers. For example, George Washington once journeyed to Ohio, or John Adams once wrote love letters to his wife. Sharing their perspectives on these figures are contemporary ones, the miniseries calling itself bipartisan because of its talking heads. Al Gore, Mike Pence, and more talk about America having to face an Empire, standing for its freedom.

Netflix gave the media access to two episodes of this five part miniseries, a sample of more things to come. Again, this is the brainchild of Brian Knappenberger, whose previous work includes other titles like The Internet’s Own Boy. He always seems to tackle heavy issues yet somehow finds the lighter side of the people he’s capturing on screen. In other words, there’s a good balance in a miniseries where militia shoots civilians – does that sound familiar? Anyway, this is where John Adams comes in, both capable of writing love letters and of righteous indignation. Or, to give this miniseries a ‘two wolves’ character, there’s George Washington, loyal to Britain until he wasn’t. The American Experiment implies in ways that all this happened because Washington didn’t get a promotion.

The American Experiment gives its viewers constant reminders that historical figures are people just like us. And similarly, in reminding us of important people and events, it has the same ethos with its talking heads. Some of these talking heads include politicians from both political parties like Kamala Harris and Mike Pence. Seeing politicians from the Republican Party like Pence, Ted Cruz, and Rand Paul are what the young people nowadays call jump scares. I don’t have the proper nor the professional words for the emotions I have in seeing those people on screen. Adding to those reactions are the fact that they seem like regular humans who can hold regular conversations. But I imagine people on the other side having the same reactions when they see Al Gore or Kamala Harris.

But thankfully, Kamala Harris and Mike Pence aren’t the main subjects of The American Experiment – America is. For now, the miniseries focuses on flawed people John Adams, George Washington, as well as the regular civilians. This is basically Netflix reheating the nachos of both the History Channel and PBS, the results being quite passable. It transitions from the talking heads to the reenactments that reminds its viewers of the brutality of revolution. Fighting the war between the British and their subjects are children of oligarchs or children of natives or slaves. Their descendants, whether they’re Black or white, know American mythology enough to see contradictions. Most Americans believe that their country exists as a manifestation of freedom, and the show backs that belief.

Netflix is the only place to watch and stream The American Experiment.