America, The Story of Us Hits Record High for History Channel

The premiere of America, The Story of Us, set record highs for the History channel last night. The first night was watched by 5.7 million total viewers and drew a 4.0 household rating.  Last night 8-11pm will go down as HISTORY’s best night ever across the board.

AMERICA, THE STORY OF US – 9-11PM

HH Rating:  4.0

Total Viewers:  5.7 million

A18-49:  2.6 million

A25-54:  2.7 million

M18-49:  1.6 million

M25-54:  1.6 million

“We’re thrilled by the launch of AMERICA THE STORY OF US,” said Nancy Dubuc.  “The success personifies the hunger for information and the desire to re-connect with our past. Ultimately there’s no story more dramatic and gripping than the story of America itself. We’ve tried to present this incredibly diverse narrative in a way that is engaging for people today.  We’re very pleased with the response and look forward to sharing the upcoming episodes with the American public.”

AMERICA THE STORY OF US is an epic six-night television event – new episodes premiere on HISTORY™ this Sunday, 5/2 at 9pm ET and with new episodes premiering Sundays at 9pm and culminating on Memorial Day 9pm ET.

This Sunday, May 2, 9-11pm ET, AMERICA THE STORY OF US follows westward expansion in WESTWARD (9pm Eastern) and as America experiences rapid change in trade, transport and manufacturing, quickly turning America into one of the wealthiest nations on Earth there is increasing animosity between North and South in DIVISION (10pm Eastern).

In conjunction with the broadcast, HISTORY has launched its largest ever educational outreach initiative and is for the first time offering a DVD of the entire 12-hour series to every single school and accredited college in America – free of charge. The series is being presented by Bank of America® and narrated by Liev Schreiber.

AMERICA THE STORY OF US tells the extraordinary story of how America was invented, looking at the moments where Americans harnessed technology to advance human progress— from the rigors of linking the continent by transcontinental railroad, the internet of its day, to triumphing over vertical space through construction of steel structured buildings. The series is also a story of conflict – with Native American peoples, slavery, the revolutionary war that birthed the nation, the Civil War that divided it and the great world war that shaped its future.  This is a look at the forces that have shaped our nation – the people, places and things that created this most astounding country. It’s a tough and thrilling adventure.

AMERICA THE STORY OF US is produced for HISTORY by Nutopia, a new production company started by Jane Root, former President of Discovery Channel. Prior to that Jane ran BBC2, and was a founder of the production company Wall to Wall Television. Jane Root is Executive Producer, Michael Jackson is co-Executive Producer and Ben Goold is Series Showrunner. For HISTORY, Nancy Dubuc, David McKillop and Julian P. Hobbs are Executive Producers.

I watched this show last night with my children and they were riveted. They have learned about our history in their classes, but having it brought to life for them like this made it so much more interesting. Indeed, they were awed. Asking questions and making comments, even shouting “hooray!” when the American rebels won the day at Concord. This was better than reading about it in their books!

I have always loved history, whether it was American or European (thank you, Sister Vivian!), though I was never able to retain exact dates in my head. I still loved the stories of heroics, adventure, mystery and honor. America did a truly impressive job of bringing my favorite time in our own history to life. It didn’t pretend anything. There were no shots of big, brave soldiers facing off against an enemy. Instead we got a good dose of the reality of frightened young boys and old men in their farm clothes raising unsteady rifles at row upon row of hardened, experienced, British military. Thousands of them against their mere hundreds who turned and ran at the first few shots fired.

There was nothing romantic or nice in the birth of our nation. It was hard and deadly. What I liked about last night’s premiere was how it showed our spirit. A spirit that made the impossible possible, and a spirit that still lives today. I was glad my kids were watching this with me. We had a lot to talk about after it ended. I hope those 5.7 million viewers are talking about it too.

“Rebels“, the first part of this six-part series, will repeat Wednesday night at 8/7 central on the History channel.