In the run-up to the 2016 presidential election, “America Divided,” the EPIX Original limited docu-series executive produced by Norman Lear, Shonda Rhimes and Common, features narratives around inequality in education, housing, healthcare, labor, criminal justice and the political system – all woven into an eight-story, five-part series. The show follows high-profie correspondents as they explore aspects of inequality related to their own biographies.
- “The System” – Policing and Mass Incarceration: Oscar®-winning hip-hop artist Common returns to his hometown of Chicago — ground zero for disparities in the criminal justice system.
- “Something in the Water” – The Flint Water Crisis: Actress Rosario Dawson travels to Flint, Michigan to investigate the man-made disaster behind the city’s water crisis.
- “Out of Reach” – The Lives of Undocumented Immigrants: Emmy®– and Golden Globe®-winning actress America Ferrera travels to Texas, where migrants who have entered the country illegally are the focus of hostility, and where even US-born children are denied basic rights.
- “Democracy For Sale” – Money in Politics & Voting Rights: Actor and comedian Zach Galifinakis investigates the political landscape in his home state of North Carolina and considers how it’s emblematic of the country’s deepening political divide during the 2016 campaign.
- “A House Divided” – The Struggle for Housing in New York City: Legendary TV producer Norman Lear investigates gentrifiation and displacement in a city of people with no homes and homes with no people. He then he goes undercover to expose racial discrimination in housing.
- “Home Economics” – Domestic Workers: Golden Globe®-winning comedic actress and producer Amy Poehler reports on the complex challenges faced by domestic workers who maintain an intimate relationship with the families that employ them while also struggling for better conditions.
- “The Epidemic” – Addiction and Deindustrialization: Actor and activist Peter Sarsgaard explores the addiction crisis ravaging a heartland beset by unemployment and the shuttering of America’s factories.
- “The Class Divide” – The Battle to Fix Inequality in Education: “Grey’s Anatomy” star and former teacher Jesse Williams goes back to the classroom, studies the battle to fi inequality in education and learns of a daunting school-to-prison pipeline.
“America Divided” was created by Solly Granatstein, Lucian Read and Richard Rowley. The United States is now more unequal than it’s been since just before the Great Depression. The imbalance is only growing as all the gains from the recent recovery have gone to the wealthiest part of the population.
An astonishing 204 million Americans see inequality as a rising problem, and 217 million think it’s time for the government to take action. (Pew Research, 2014) Politicians and pundits from across the political spectrum agree that inequality must be confronted.
To take full advantage of this growing awareness, “America Divided” uncovers the growing gulf separating Americans from one another; explores the damage this divide produces; engages with the provocative politics around inequality; and investigates both its long-term causes and real-world attempts at solutions.
Utilizing in-depth reporting, vivid storytelling and intimate personal narratives, “America Divided” cuts through the din of electioneering and political ads. It’s a series about a threat that touches us all…women, men, black, white, left, right, rich, poor, and the vanishing middle class. This isn’t partisan posturing. It’s human stories about the conflcts that separate us, the values that unite us, and our triumphs over adversity.
“America Divided” will make its World Television Premiere Friday, September 30th at 9pm ET/PT, 8c on EPIX.
