philadelphia the great experiment documentary

Nathaniel Popkin

Nathaniel Popkin is the principal writer of the film documentary “Philadelphia: The Great Experiment,” a 13-part television series that explores the city’s unexpected history over 500 years.

Winner of 5 Emmy Awards for documentary film writing

Praise and reviews.

“Philadelphia: The Great Experiment is a monumental achievement—a chronologically and thematically comprehensive portrait of the city. The wonder of it is how it manages to be smart, complex, and subtle while at same time vivid, accessible, and fun to watch.” —Peter Siskind, Executive Director, Urban History Association

“For anyone interested in how the postwar years reshaped American cities, for anyone interested in the rise of the civil rights movement, in the women’s movement, in the movement away from the urban core to the suburbs—in so many ways that affect not just this city but cities across the country—[the] documentary proves essential.” —Steven Rea, film critic, Philadelphia Inquirer

“Lively production values, blending re-created scenes and art and maps of the period with… talking heads to tell a compelling story that turns out to be about much more than history.” —Ellen Gray, television critic, Philadelphia Daily News

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Philadelphia: The Great Experiment

Watch the 6abc broadcast of Episode VI: 1600- 1680 Thursday May 22, 7:30PM

Philadelphia: The Great Experiment is a multi-format historical documentary television film and Internet project that presents the story of Philadelphia, the single most compelling stage for the unfurling and testing of American ideals. William Penn's city was the first in the world to codify freedom of religion, individual rights, trial by jury, and a democratic assembly as the pillars of a constitution amendable by the people.

For more on this documentary series, and to watch previous episodes, click here .

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Currently available on 1 streaming service.

Philadelphia: The Great Experiment - Season 1 (2012)

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15 Episodes

S1 e1 - episode 1, s1 e2 - episode 2, s1 e3 - episode 3, s1 e4 - episode 4, s1 e5 - episode 5, s1 e6 - episode 6, s1 e7 - episode 7, s1 e8 - the floodgates open, s1 e9 - episode 9, s1 e10 - episode 10, s1 e11 - episode 11, s1 e12 - episode 12, s1 e13 - episode 13, s1 e15 - episode 15, streaming, rent, or buy philadelphia: the great experiment – season 1:.

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When the Sky Was the Limit: A Flashback to Philly’s First World’s Fair

The Centennial Exposition (aka the biggest party you can imagine), the rise of John Wanamaker, the building of City Hall, and more, all in the latest episode of “Philadelphia: The Great Experiment.”

Get our weekly picks of what to do this weekend and the latest on Philly's arts and entertainment scene.

A screenshot from “World Stage,” the latest installment of Sam Katz’s Philadelphia: The Great Experiment series.

The first episode of Sam Katz ’s documentary series, Philadelphia: The Great Experiment , aired in April 2011 — seven years ago!

On Thursday night, you can catch the 12th episode of the 13-part historical series, which will air on 6ABC at 7:30 p.m. This segment, titled “World Stage,” covers the years between 1872 and 1889. It’s particularly exciting because it focuses on the Centennial Exposition of 1876, the first official World’s Fair in the U.S., held right here in Fairmount Park.

Think of the Centennial Exposition (also known as the World’s Fair) as, essentially, the biggest party you can imagine — an impressive exhibition of arts, manufacturers, exciting cuisine and the newest technological inventions. Nearly 10 million people, or almost a fifth of the U.S. population, attended the celebration between May and November. Katz said that more than 246 buildings were erected on 249 acres ahead of the Centennial Exposition, and some — like the Please Touch Museum and the Ohio House on States Drive — are still standing.

As the episode explores, the fair came at “a moment in Philadelphia’s history when the sky was the limit,” Katz said.

“It showcased all of the industrial prowess of Philadelphia,” he added. “If there is an overriding message here, it’s that there has been a moment in our history where we thought very grandly of ourselves.”

“World Stage” also delves into the legacy of department store magnate  John Wanamaker (one of the centennial’s biggest advocates), the shiny new building at Broad and Market Streets (aka City Hall), and Caroline Le Count , Philadelphia’s first African American school principal and the wife of civil rights leader Octavius V. Catto (who was murdered in 1871). Plus, the episode highlights suffragettes  Elizabeth Duane Gillespie and Elizabeth Cady Stanton , who famously interrupted the 100-year anniversary reading of the Declaration of Independence (at the World’s Fair, of course) to protest for women’s rights .

The episode examines one of the most eventful eras in the city’s history. Watch the broadcast or stream it on  historyofphilly.com , starting on Friday.

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• Cast & crew

A Lost World (1600-1680)

• Episode aired May 22, 2014

For centuries, the land that will become Philadelphia is home to the Lenni Lenape people. The rich soil and rivers support a peaceful civilization, but in the 1600's Dutch settlers assert th... Read all For centuries, the land that will become Philadelphia is home to the Lenni Lenape people. The rich soil and rivers support a peaceful civilization, but in the 1600's Dutch settlers assert their rights to the territory, and a bloody confrontation erupts. Swedish farmers arrive nex... Read all For centuries, the land that will become Philadelphia is home to the Lenni Lenape people. The rich soil and rivers support a peaceful civilization, but in the 1600's Dutch settlers assert their rights to the territory, and a bloody confrontation erupts. Swedish farmers arrive next, but their colony is torn apart by the tyrannical rule of Governor Johan Printz. By the ... Read all

• Andrew Ferrett
• Devon McReynolds
• Nathaniel Popkin
• Michael Boatman
• Tom Bradley
• Davon Clark

Top cast 27

• Old Peter Rambo
• Anthony Swartz
• Young William Penn
• Peter Minuit

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• Brita Rambo

• (as Sharon Ann Holt)
• Young Peter Rambo
• Johan Printz
• Armagot Printz
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• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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• May 22, 2014 (United States)
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Philadelphia: The Great Experiment Trailer

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SIMILAR ITEMS (based on metadata)

Founded in 2008 by Sam Katz and Phil Katz, History Making Productions is an award-winning full-service documentary film company based in Philadelphia. The company’s studios are in a former envelope factory overlooking Philadelphia’s new Viaduct Rail Park.

The company is known for crisp editing, sumptuous cinematography, dynamic reenactment, and original art, animation, and music. HMP takes an inclusionary approach to public history. Hundreds of scholars in history, the social sciences, and hard sciences have participated in over 400 interviews on various aspects of Philadelphia history, architecture, culture, economy, and religion. Many of these interviews are available on the company’s Digital History Archive   or on YouTube .   

HMP has developed several legacy public history film and media projects that the company distributes through its {Digital History Archive}, available on this website and embedded on the websites of 500 Philadelphia cultural institutions. These include Philadelphia: The Great Experiment, a 13-episode comprehensive film history of America’s first world city; Urban Trinity: The Story of Catholic Philadelphia; and Cecil’s People , on Civil Rights activism of the 1960s. Many of these legacy films broadcast originally on Philadelphia’s ABC affiliate, WPVI-TV.

Several other legacy public history film projects are in production. These include Sisters In Freedom, on pioneering African American and white abolitionists of the 19th century; Speed of Light, on the invention of the motion picture; Symphonic Revolution: China and the Future of Classical Music; and Tapestry: The Story of Jewish Philadelphia.

HMP has developed comprehensive curricular materials for these legacy projects. These are available on this website under the Classroom tab.

HMP also produces independent documentary film and film and video projects for newspapers, magazines, and heritage and cultural institutions. The most prominent of these films is Pope Francis Visits Philadelphia , a 55-minute documentary made for the World Meeting of Families.

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Philadelphia: The Great Experiment – Fever

Philadelphia: The Great Experiment is a multi-format historical documentary television film and Internet project produced by History Making Productions that presents the story of Philadelphia, the single most compelling stage for the unfurling and testing of American ideals. William Penn’s city was the first in the world to codify freedom of religion, individual rights, trial by jury, and a democratic assembly as the pillars of a constitution amendable by the people.

In this episode, Philadelphia’s population is decimated by an outbreak of yellow fever in 1793. As the city’s physicians and civic leaders are fight back, they define our modern conception of public health, and establish some of the city’s fundamental institutions that still operate today.

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