Ric Burns' Acclaimed NEW YORK: A DOCUMENTARY FILM Returns with Two New Films September 21st and 22nd On PBS

Shadows of the Past and The Future of Cities explore decades of challenge, growth and change across the late 20 ^th and early 21 ^st centuries

NEW YORK, Sept. 3, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- New York: A Documentary Film, the acclaimed series produced by Steeplechase Films and directed by Ric Burns and written by Burns and James Sanders, returns with two new films premiering Monday, September 21 and Tuesday, September 22 at 9pm on PBS (check local listings), pbs.org and the PBS App. Presenting a vivid portrait of New York's evolution and transformation over the last half-century, Shadows of the Past and The Future of Cities chronicle the story of America's largest city across more than 50 years of challenge, growth, and change. Shadows of the Past and The Future of Cities are featured as part of The WNET Group's The Story of New York collection exploring the stories and history that built New York City and the extraordinary people who continue to inspire the future of this world hub.

Shadows of the Past, explores the forces that shaped the city in the second half of the 20^th century, as New York plunged into the most threatening period of decline and disorder in its history—only to rise again, thanks to a stunning drop in crime, to regain its place at the vanguard of world cities. The episode concludes in the summer of 2001, with New York, now remarkably safe and secure, unaware that a new threat from beyond its borders would soon threaten to undo all the progress of the previous decade.

The Future of Cities begins just after 9/11 and follows New York's efforts to recover under the new and untested mayoralty of Michael R. Bloomberg. Through rare archival footage and compelling interviews, the episode traces the aftermath of 9/11, the financial crisis of 2008, Superstorm Sandy in 2012 and the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020. Yet defying the doomsayers, the city also rebuilt itself in these years on a dramatic scale—economically, physically, and demographically—thanks to an astonishing influx of newcomers from around the world. The episode ends with the inauguration of Zohran Mamdani as mayor of New York in January of 2026.

Narrated by Tony Award-winning actor Robert Sean Leonard, and featuring an original score by Emmy Award-winning composer Brian Keane, Shadows of the Past and The Future of Cities are presented in high-definition 4K video and sound, and feature a combination of original cinematography, archival footage, still photography and interviews with leaders in government, academia and journalism. Featured interviewees include four former New York City mayors David Dinkins, Michael R. Bloomberg, Bill de Blasio and Eric Adams; New York-Presbyterian President (Emeritus) Dr. Steven Corwin; The New Yorker's Adam Gopnik; Columbia University Professor Kenneth Jackson; The New York Times' Wesley Morris, Michael Kimmelman and Dodai Stewart; New York magazine's Justin Davidson; Fordham University Professor Christina Greer; architect and urbanist Vishaan Chakrabarti; PBS journalist Ray Suarez; New York University Professor Suketu Mehta; and The New York Times columnist and a co-anchor of CNBC's Squawk Box Andrew Ross Sorkin; and Social Activist Claudia Romo Edelman.

"New York City has been the supreme laboratory of modern life for four hundred years now," said Burns. "It's an astonishing vortex of capitalism and democracy, innovation and change, openness and toleration, that more than any other city on earth has made itself home to all the peoples of the world. Its story over the past fifty years has been one of almost constant challenge and self-reinvention—and a testimony to the extraordinary resilience and boundless collective energies that have kept it at the forefront of world culture. We're thrilled to welcome viewers back for these amazing recent chapters in the city's history." 

"It has been a gratifying experience to bring our series up to the present day with these new episodes," said Sanders, the Emmy Award-winning co-writer and co-producer of the new films. "Not only are there so many compelling stories to tell about the city's last half-century—some surprisingly little-known—but many of the greatest themes of the original eight episodes—immigration, globalization, the city's astonishing capacity for economic and physical reinvention—have powerfully reasserted themselves in recent decades—often at a scale and with a force never before seen, even in the city's long history."   

The original eight-part, 17½-hour series—tracing the history of the city across four hundred years, since its founding by the Dutch in 1624—was the recipient of two Emmy Awards, four additional Emmy nominations, the CINE Golden Eagle, and the Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University award, and became one of the most-watched presentations in public television history. A revised edition of the series' bestselling companion volume, New York: An Illustrated History, published by Alfred A. Knopf, features two new chapters corresponding to the new episodes, along with contributions by Adam Gopnik, Ester Fuchs, and Suketu Mehta, all of whom appear in these new films. 

A production of Steeplechase Films, Inc. in association with The WNET Group for PBS, in association with Lismore Road and Artemis Rising Foundation, New York: A Documentary Film – Shadows of the Past and The Future of Cities are directed by Ric Burns, written by James Sanders and Ric Burns, and produced by Leigh Howell, Bonnie Lafave and James Sanders. Executive Producers are John Moore, Margaret Munzer Loeb, Geralyn White Dreyfous, Jana Edelbaum and Regina K. Scully. The films are narrated by Robert Sean Leonard, edited by Parker Dixon (with Chih Hsuan Liang, Omry Maoz, Margaret Metzger, Tom Patterson, Joshua Woltermann, Michael Craft and Li-Shin Yu), with cinematography by Buddy Squires ASC and music by Brian Keane. For The WNET Group, Stephen Segaller is executive in charge and Benjamin Phelps is senior producer. The films are part of the New York: A Documentary Film series originally developed with American Experience/GBH.

Corporate funding for New York: A Documentary Film – Shadows of the Past and The Future of Cities was provided by Hudson River Trading. Major funding was provided by the American Express Foundation, Simons Foundation, The Rosalind P. Walter Foundation, Google.org through the Tides Foundation, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the Estate of Roland Karlen, Elaine and W. Weldon Wilson, and The Rockefeller Foundation. Support was also provided by Angela and Robert Kissane, the Ford Foundation / JustFilms, Roger and Susan Hertog, the Henry Luce Foundation, the Carson Family Charitable Trust, The Overbrook Foundation, Arthur G. Altshul, Jr. and Rula Jebreal, and by the following individuals and institutions: Fiona and Eric Rudin, Agnes Gund, Howard Morgan, The Burton P. & Judith B. Resnick Foundation, Anheuser-Busch InBev, Mr. & Mrs. Peter L. Malkin, Leon and Toby Cooperman, The Schwartz Family Foundation, Jessica & Jerry Seinfeld, the May and Samuel Rudin Family Foundation, The Walentas Family Foundation, the Gorman Family, Richard K. DeScherer, Nathalie Kaplan & David Einhorn, Marcie Pantzer, Susie Lopez, Ellin & Ron Delsener, Amy Cappellazzo & Joanne Rosen, Wendy Chaikin, Jonathan Haidt & Jayne Riew, and by public television viewers.

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SOURCE The WNET Group