The Eighties (miniseries)

The Eighties
GenreTelevision documentary
Theme music composerBlake Neely
ComposerNathaniel Blume
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes7
Production
Executive producersTom Hanks
Gary Goetzman
Mark Herzog
ProducersSimon Brown
Katie A. King
P.G. Morgan
CinematographyJack Kney
EditorInbal B. Lessner
Running time60 minutes
Production companiesCNN
Playtone
Herzog & Company
Original release
NetworkCNN
ReleaseMarch 31 (2016-03-31) –
June 30, 2016 (2016-06-30)
Related
The Sixties
The Seventies
The Nineties
The 2000s
The Movies
The 2010s

The Eighties is a documentary miniseries which premiered on CNN on March 31, 2016.[1] Produced by Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman's studio Playtone, it serves as a follow-up to the predecessors The Sixties and The Seventies[1] with a 7-part series chronicling events and popular culture of the United States during the 1980s. In May 2016, CNN greenlit an 8-part follow-up titled The Nineties, which premiered in 2017.[2]

Episodes

The series encountered numerous interruptions during subsequent broadcasts due to CNN's coverage of news events including the death of Prince and the political campaign of Donald Trump,[3] which caused some episodes to be shown out of order from the original plan.

Episode Title Scheduled Air Date Actual Air Date US viewers
(millions)
1"Raised on Television"March 31, 2016 (2016-03-31)March 31, 20161.415[4]
Television advancements in the '80s, including the increasing diversity, the rise of celebrity- and tabloid-oriented series, and the launches of CNN, Fox, and MTV.
2"The Reagan Revolution"April 7, 2016 (2016-04-07)April 7, 2016TBD
The presidency of Ronald Reagan.
3"The Fight Against AIDS"April 14, 2016 (2016-04-14)June 9, 2016TBD
A mysterious virus that led to a pandemic with enormous political and cultural consequences in the '80s.
4"Tear Down This Wall"April 21, 2016 (2016-04-21)April 28, 2016TBD
The events that led to the end of the Cold War.
5"Technology Gets Personal"April 28, 2016 (2016-04-28)June 30, 2016TBD
Technological developments and advancements during the '80s, including PCs, VCRs, and video games, as well as technology that didn't take off.
6"Greed Is Good"May 5, 2016 (2016-05-05)May 12, 2016TBD
Wall Street corruption, Reaganomics, junk bonds, and bailouts that led to greed and wild excess in the '80s.
7"Video Killed the Radio Star"May 12, 2016 (2016-05-12)May 26, 2016TBD
The evolution of music and notable musicians in the '80s, including the advent of music videos, CDs, and the Second British Invasion.

Production

CNN announced the production of The Eighties on May 13, 2015, before the premiere of their preceding miniseries The Seventies on June 11.[5]

References

  1. ^ a b "CNN's 'The Eighties' Examines TV's Most Influential Decade". Variety. 29 March 2016. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
  2. ^ Steinberg, Brian (18 May 2016). "CNN Greenlights 'The Nineties' and Series on Comedy, Music". Variety. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
  3. ^ "CNN Keeps Pre-empting 'The Eighties' And Viewers Are Getting Totally Fed Up". International Business Times. 20 May 2016. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
  4. ^ Kissell, Rick (April 1, 2016). "CNN's Premiere of Series 'The Eighties' Wins in Demo Among News Networks". Variety. Retrieved May 19, 2016.
  5. ^ de Moraes, Lisa (13 May 2018). "CNN Tackles American Covert Ops For 'Declassified', Gets Tubular With 'The Eighties'". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Business Media, LLC. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
Preceded by The Eighties Next:
The Nineties