Plot Synopsis

Directed and produced by Ken Burns, THE ROOSEVELTS: AN INTIMATE HISTORY is a seven-part, fourteen-hour series that chronicles the lives of Theodore, Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, three members of the most prominent and influential family in American politics. This documentary follows the Roosevelts for more than a century, from Theodore's birth in 1858 to Eleanor's death in 1962. Over the course of those years, Theodore would become the 26th President of the United States and his beloved niece, Eleanor, would marry his fifth cousin, Franklin, who became the 32nd President of the United States. Together, these three individuals not only redefined the relationship Americans had with their government and with each other, but also redefined the role of the United States within the wider world. The series encompasses the history the Roosevelts helped to shape: the creation of National Parks, the digging of the Panama Canal, the passage of innovative New Deal programs, the defeat of Hitler, and the postwar struggles for civil rights at home and human rights abroad. Three months before the series premiered -- on Tuesday, June 17, 2014 at 8pm ET/PT -- PBS presented a 30-minute special, "PBS Previews The Roosevelts," hosted by Patricia Clarkson, which provided a sneak peek at the series and took viewer inside the making of THE ROOSEVELTS. One day after the series premiere, PBS made the entire seven-part series available for viewers to binge watch via member stations, starting Monday, September 15, 2014.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On Saturday, September 20, 2014 at 8pm ET/PT, PBS premiered the finale of THE ROOSEVELTS. In the series ender, "A Strong and Active Faith (1944-1962)," FDR wins re-election and begins planning for a peaceful postwar world, but a cerebral hemorrhage kills him at 63. After her husband's death, Eleanor Roosevelt proves herself a shrewd politician and a skilled negotiator, as well as a champion of civil rights, civil liberties and the United Nations. When she dies in 1962, she is mourned everywhere as the First Lady of the World.