American Experience is a television program airing on the Public Broadcasting Service Public television stations in the United States. The program airs documentaries, many of which have won awards, about important or interesting events and people in American history. A trademark of the series is its ability to take lesser-known events in history, such as the history of Coney Island or Tupperware, and expand on the topic, showing how that event reflected larger, more important themes in American culture or society. The series premiered on October 4, 1988, and was originally titled The... American Experience, although the "The" was dropped during a later brand and image update. The show has had a presence on the Internet since 1995, and more than 100 American Experience programs are accompanied by their own websites, which have more background information on the subjects covered as well as teachers' guides. The show is produced primarily by WGBH in Boston, Massachusetts, though occasionally in the early seasons of the show, it was co-produced by other PBS stations such as WNET in New York and KCET in Los Angeles.
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