Historian Lucy Worsley Explores One of History’s Most Explosive Breakups and How the British Empire Lost the War for America’s Independence Against a Ragtag Band of Rebels
New Two-Part Series, Filmed on Both Sides of the Atlantic, Premieres Tuesdays, April 7-14, 2026, on PBS, PBS.org and the PBS App
ARLINGTON VA; February 18, 2026 – On the eve of America’s 250th anniversary, fashionable British historian Lucy Worsley investigates the sabotage, espionage, and unrest that led to the delivery of a brand new nation. In 1776, 13 American colonies declared independence from probably the most highly effective empires on this planet, igniting a bloody eight-year battle that claimed 1000’s of lives and led to Britain’s humiliating defeat. But how did this historic rupture come to go, and will it have been averted? Over two episodes, Lucy delves deeper into the American Revolution by analyzing it from the British perspective, discovering the human drama, radical concepts, and political missteps behind this seismic break up, and revealing how dropping America modified Britain eternally. Part of the PBS America @ 250 particular programming lineup, LUCY WORSLEY INVESTIGATES: THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION premieres Tuesday, April 7 and 14, 2026, at 9:00 p.m. ET (check local listings) on PBS,PBS.org and the PBS app.
“Digging into the past is a true joy for me. So often history gets written by the winners: lots of people know the US side of the American Revolution, but much fewer the British one,” stated Worsley. “Interrogating amazing sources and meeting people who can shine a light on this hidden history, I can’t wait to share the forgotten and surprising story of how losing America affected Britain and beyond.”
“Lucy is a PBS treasure, beloved by our audiences for bringing her signature wit and contemporary perspective to history,” stated Zara Frankel, Senior Director, Programming and Development at PBS. “As America approaches its Semiquincentennial, I can’t think of anyone better to guide us through this story from a British point of view. By stepping outside the familiar narrative, the series invites viewers to see how the Revolution not only forged a new nation, but also fundamentally altered Britain and sent shockwaves across the globe.”
Episode descriptions are offered beneath:
Episode One (April 7, 2026) takes Lucy to New York’s City Hall Park, the place George Washington’s troops heard the Declaration of Independence learn aloud — a rallying cry that impressed rebels to destroy a statue of King George III and soften it into musket balls. At the New York Historical, Lucy examines a relic of this defiance and asks whether or not the rupture was inevitable. She then travels residence to England to uncover the British perspective, learning King George’s maps and visiting Benjamin Franklin’s London residence. She traces British and American tensions rising from Britain’s punitive taxes and the Stamp Act of 1765. In Boston, Lucy explores how the Boston Massacre and Boston Tea Party have been flashpoints that pushed Americans towards battle. Finally, Lucy reveals the novel voices — John Wilkes and Thomas Paine — whose phrases crystallized America’s imaginative and prescient of liberty and independence.
Episode Two (April 14, 2026) uncovers how the battle reverberated in Britain itself. At Portsmouth Royal Dockyard, Lucy investigates James Aitken’s surprising arson plot to cripple the Royal Navy. She traces Franklin’s secret mission to Paris to safe French help, whereas British spy Edward Bancroft fed intelligence again to London. Lucy explores Britain’s rising fears as France — and later Spain — joined the battle, and the way Irish Volunteers compelled Britain to carry commerce restrictions between Ireland and America. Back in London, riots erupted, and George III agonized over the opportunity of dropping the empire. By 1781, Britain’s marketing campaign collapsed at Yorktown, and two years later, Britain formally acknowledged American independence. Concluding her investigation at Grosvenor Square, the location of America’s first embassy in London, Lucy displays on a revolution that created an impartial America and reshaped Britain eternally.
LUCY WORSLEY INVESTIGATES: THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION will stream concurrently with broadcast and be accessible on all station-branded PBS platforms, together with PBS.org and the PBS app, which is out there on iOS, Android, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Samsung Smart TV, Chromecast and VIZIO.
LUCY WORSLEY INVESTIGATES: THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION, a 2×60’ for BBC Two and iPlayer, is made by BBC Studios Specialist Factual Productions. It was commissioned by Simon Young, Head of History for the BBC and Zara Frankel is the Executive In Charge for PBS. The Executive Producer is Amanda Lyon and the Series Producer is Linda Sands. BBC Studios is dealing with Global Sales.
LUCY WORSLEY INVESTIGATES: THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION is a part of a slate of recent programming for PBS America @ 250, a multiyear celebration of U.S. historical past, tradition, and youngsters’s programming that pays homage to America’s Semiquincentennial in 2026. As a part of the biggest nationwide and native engagement effort in its historical past, PBS member stations are activating occasions in additional than 75 markets nationwide. In addition to tentpole programming like THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION from Florentine Films, PBS KIDS, PBS LearningMedia, PBS Digital Studios, and PBS member stations are exploring these matters at a nationwide and native stage. PBS America @ 250 programming will span throughout History, Music and Culture, plus programming from PBS KIDS. Visit the PBS America @ 250 Explore Page at www.pbs.org/explore/pbs-america-at-250 for extra program info and PBS LearningMedia assets.
About Lucy Worsley
For over 20 years, Lucy Worsley OBE served because the Chief Curator at Historic Royal Palaces within the U.Ok. She’s the creator of fashionable books about Jane Austen and Queen Victoria in addition to the Sunday Times no. 1 bestselling biography of Agatha Christie. She is the host of dozens of PBS specials and sequence together with LUCY WORSLEY INVESTIGATES, LUCY WORSLEY’S HOLMES VS. DOYLE, AGATHA CHRISTIE: LUCY WORSLEY ON THE MYSTERY QUEEN, LUCY WORSLEY’S ROYAL MYTHS AND SECRETS, A VERY BRITISH ROMANCE WITH LUCY WORSLEY, 12 DAYS OF TUDOR CHRISTMAS, VICTORIA & ALBERT: THE WEDDING, TALES FROM THE ROYAL BEDCHAMBER, and extra. She additionally hosts the hit BBC Radio 4 podcasts LADY KILLERS and LADY SWINDLERS WITH LUCY WORSLEY, which examine the crimes of Victorian girls from a recent, feminist perspective.
About PBS
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