The American Experiment

How the past is brought to the screen

Martin Sheen voices George Washington in the historical sequences. Other voices come from firefighters, paramedics, police officers, military personnel, historians and civil servants. Netflix describes filming reconstructions across several states and combining them with visual-effects work for battles, towns and aerial perspectives.

Eyeline Studios worked with the production on generative imagery, volumetric capture and combined VFX methods. These sequences are designed recreations of the historical world, presented alongside interviews and documentary argument. Their use is an explicit part of the series’ cinematic approach to events for which no filmed record exists.

A Luminant and Playtone history project

The series comes from Luminant and Playtone, with executive producers including Tom Hanks, Gary Goetzman, Sarah Huisenga and Knappenberger. Released in June 2026 ahead of the 250th anniversary, it treats the founding as a process of decisions and compromises whose consequences remain part of the national story.