Director Ken Burns, a man arguably responsible for making historical documentaries a mainstream pop culture event, is once again focusing his lens on the past with the two part miniseries Benjamin Franklin — but just which TV network and/or streaming platform subscription do you need to watch it?
The polymath and American founding father is explored over the span of four hours, beginning with part one, an episode called “Join or Die.”
If you watch TV the traditional way — via cable or a DTV antenna — then tuning into the first episode of the series is a matter of simply changing the channel to your local PBS affiliate station in the U.S. on Monday April 4 at 8 pm ET / 7pm CT. The second episode, called “An American,” is slated to air on Tuesday, April 5 at 8 pm ET / 7pm CT.
If you’re like many of us and choose to watch TV via the now-popular streaming method — over an internet connection — you may stream both parts, one and two, beginning that same date and time as when the first episode premieres. If you’re on a computer, simply head on over to pbs.org/benfranklin to watch the show, beginning Monday April 4 at 8 pm ET. However, if you want to use an alternative streaming device, you can also find the show on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Android or iOS devices, or Samsung Smart TV using the PBS Video app, according to PBS’ website.
In addition to interviews with historians, biographers, and writers, the show will also feature actors, such as Liam Neeson, Josh Lucas, and Paul Giamatti. Mandy Patinkin will provide the voice of Franklin when the documentary highlights some of the revolutionary’s writings, according to IMDB.