"The archival gold standard that launched a decade-spanning documentary movement."
The Sixties, executive produced by Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman, redefined the historical docuseries for a modern cable audience. Premiering on CNN, the ten-part event utilized rare archival footage and insightful interviews to explore a decade defined by radical change. From the Cold War tensions and the Space Race to the British Invasion and the Civil Rights Movement, the program provided a comprehensive look at the forces that shaped contemporary America. Its success proved that high-production historical storytelling could command prime-time ratings, leading to several sequels covering subsequent decades. By blending pop culture with political upheaval, the series offered a balanced perspective on a turbulent era, ensuring that the lessons of the past remained accessible to new generations of viewers.
| Watched? | # | Air Date | Episode Name |
|---|---|---|---|
| E1 | May 29, 2014 | Television Comes of Age | |
| E2 | Jun 05, 2014 | The World on the Brink | |
| E3 | Jun 12, 2014 | The Assassination of President Kennedy | |
| E4 | Jun 19, 2014 | The War in Vietnam | |
| E5 | Jun 26, 2014 | A Long March to Freedom | |
| E6 | Jul 10, 2014 | The British Invasion | |
| E7 | Jul 24, 2014 | The Space Race | |
| E8 | Jul 31, 2014 | 1968 | |
| E9 | Aug 07, 2014 | The Times, They Are a-Changin’ | |
| E10 | Aug 14, 2014 | Sex, Drugs, and Rock 'n’ Roll |
Production Type: Limited Series
The Sixties is a standalone Limited Series designed as a completed, finite historical narrative. Produced by Tom Hanks, Gary Goetzman, and Mark Herzog, the production utilized a vast archive of news footage and expert interviews to encapsulate the cultural and political shifts of the decade. The project was conceived as a comprehensive retrospective, aiming to document specific milestones like the Space Race and the Civil Rights Movement within a fixed ten-episode structure.
The series served as the inaugural installment of CNN's decade-themed documentary franchise, establishing a template for subsequent deep dives into historical eras. Because the narrative scope was strictly confined to the chronological boundaries of 1960 through 1969, the production reached its natural conclusion upon covering the moon landing and the end of the decade. This finite approach ensured that the series remained a definitive historical record rather than an ongoing news program.