# Prohibition (2011)

> A three-part Ken Burns and Lynn Novick docuseries tracing the rise, rule and fall of Prohibition and the morally tangled America it produced.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/36677

## Facts

- Seasons: 1
- Episodes: 3
- Episode runtime: 110 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: documentary, history
- Created by: Ken Burns, Lynn Novick
- Network: PBS
- Cast: Peter Coyote, Daniel Okrent, Pete Hamill, Noah Feldman, Adam Arkin, Philip Bosco, Patricia Clarkson, Kevin Conway
- TMDB rating: 8.2/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1950799/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: measured
- Intensity: moderate
- Complexity: layered
- Violence: moderate
- Tone: sober, measured, reflective, wry

## What critics say

Acclaimed by audiences for its rich archival footage, measured historical storytelling and vivid portrait of the Prohibition era.

## Synopsis

Prohibition (2011) is a PBS documentary miniseries created by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick, a three-episode American history docuseries running roughly 110 minutes per part. Rather than following a single protagonist, it is anchored by a narrator, Peter Coyote, and a circle of historians and commentators, including author Daniel Okrent, historian Pete Hamill and legal scholar Noah Feldman, who guide viewers through the story. Period voices are performed by a cast of readers including Paul Giamatti, who voices bootlegger George Remus, and Patricia Clarkson, who voices temperance crusader Carrie Nation. The engine of the series is the central paradox of the 1920s: a national campaign to protect families from the ravages of alcohol abuse produces an underground economy of speakeasies, bootleggers and organized crime. Archival photographs, newsreel footage and period writings build a portrait of New York City and Chicago during the 1920s and early 1930s. The tone is sober, measured and reflective, with a wry undercurrent that treats moral reform as a grand experiment gone awry. Shape and scale: a single limited run of three episodes that covers the full arc of the amendment from its origins through its repeal. Fans of The War, The Civil War and Vietnam War will find resonance in its patient, interview driven approach to American history.

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