The Great American Read - Season 1

The Great American Read - Season 1

Season 1

The Great American Read is an eight-part series that explores and celebrates the power of reading, told through the prism of America's 100 best-loved novels (as chosen in a national survey)*. It investigates how and why writers create their fictional worlds, how we as readers are affected by these stories, and what these 100 different books have to say about our diverse nation and our shared human experience.

The television series features entertaining and informative documentary segments, with compelling testimonials from celebrities, authors, notable Americans and book lovers across the country. It is comprised of a two-hour launch episode in which the list of 100 books is revealed, five one-hour theme episodes that examine concepts common to groups of books on the list, and a finale, in which the results are announced of a nationwide vote to choose America's best-loved book.

The series is the centerpiece of an ambitious multi-platform digital, educational and community outreach campaign, designed to get the country reading and passionately talking about books.

Network
Episodes8
Datesmai 22, 2018 - oct. 23, 2018

Episodes

Launch Special
Season 1Episode 1120 min

Launch Special

The country's 100 favorite novels are announced in a two-hour celebration of reading, hosted by Meredith Vieira. Celebrities, authors, and book lovers reveal the novels that have affected their lives. The national vote gets under way, to decide America's Best-Loved Novel.

mai 22, 2018
Fall Kick-off
Season 1Episode 260 min

Fall Kick-off

Meredith Vieira returns as the Great American Read hits high gear. You spent the summer reading and voting for your favorite novels, now tune in to see which books celebrities, authors, and other readers across the country are rooting for.

sept. 11, 2018
Who Am I?
Season 1Episode 360 min

Who Am I?

How do the books we love answer the question "Who am I?" We explore first-person narratives and other ways authors tell stories of characters on personal journeys. From navigating the teen years through discovering our "chosen families", these novels can help us find ourselves at any age.

sept. 18, 2018
Heroes
Season 1Episode 460 min

Heroes

We examine books on America's list that feature heroic characters. Celebrities, literary experts, authors and everyday book lovers discuss why our favorite heroes are complex and relatable, from the everyday hero to the tragic and unlikely or anti-hero.

sept. 25, 2018
Villains and Monsters
Season 1Episode 560 min

Villains and Monsters

How do novels featuring our favorite villains and monsters help us understand why people behave badly? We examine the evil characters in our favorite novels, to find out why we go to the dark side. We also meet authors who have created some of our best-loved villains.

oct. 2, 2018
What We Do For Love
Season 1Episode 660 min

What We Do For Love

How do our favorite novels reflect what we do for love? From classic romance to family dramas, from unrequited passion to unforgettable first love, we take a look at our best-loved books that feature the most important emotion in our lives. And we examine why we are drawn to these stories.

oct. 9, 2018
Other Worlds
Season 1Episode 760 min

Other Worlds

Take a magical journey to another world through some of America's best-loved novels. From Middle Earth to Lilliput, the trials and tribulations of these alternate universes help us to better understand our own world.
oct. 16, 2018
Grand Finale
Season 1Episode 860 min

Grand Finale

And the winner is... after millions of votes, find out which of the 100 nominated books is crowned America's best-loved novel.
oct. 23, 2018

Recently Updated Shows

Recently updated shows that might be of your interest.
Hudson & Rex
Running

Hudson & Rex

Detective Charlie Hudson, a cunning Major Crimes detective for the St. John's Police Department, teams up with an unusual partner – Rex, a former-K9 German Shepherd, whose heightened senses keep Charlie hot on the trail of his suspects. Together, they investigate puzzling crimes, from a kidnapping which reveals a much larger conspiracy at play to an art theft murder which runs deep into the world of high society. With Charlie's deft detective work and Rex's keen canine senses, this crime-fighting pair is unstoppable.

Task
Running

Task

Task is set in the working class suburbs outside of Philadelphia and follows an FBI agent as he heads a Task Force to put an end to a string of drug-house robberies led by an unsuspecting family man.

GenreDrama, Crime
FROM
Running

FROM

FROM unravels the mystery of a nightmarish town that traps all those who enter. As the unwilling residents fight to keep a sense of normalcy and search for a way out, they must also survive the threats of the surrounding forest – including the terrifying creatures that come out when the sun goes down. In season two, hidden truths about the nature and terrifying origins of the town begin to emerge, even as life for its residents is plunged into chaos by the arrival of mysterious newcomers.

Dark Matter
Running

Dark Matter

Hailed as one of the best sci-fi novels of the decade, Dark Matter is a story about the road not taken. The series follows Jason Dessen, a physicist, professor, and family man who – one night while walking home on the streets of Chicago – is abducted into an alternate version of his life. Wonder quickly turns to nightmare when he tries to return to his reality amid the multiverse of lives he could have lived. In this labyrinth of mind-bending realities, he embarks on a harrowing journey to get back to his true family and save them from the most terrifying, unbeatable foe imaginable: himself.

NCIS: Origins
Running

NCIS: Origins

In NCIS: Origins, young Leroy Jethro Gibbs starts his career as a newly minted special agent at the fledgling NCIS Camp Pendleton office where he forges his place on a gritty, ragtag team led by NCIS legend Mike Franks.