'A Great Awakening' And 8 Other Movies & Shows About America's Founding Fathers
The American Revolution has long been the fodder for a certain level of mythologizing within the psyche of the nation. Figures like George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and Alexander Hamilton were all complex people in their own right. Yet, stories often sanitize and gloss over their worst elements, such as their statuses as slave owners. Even most movies and TV series fail to reckon with the realities of that situation fully.
However, some adaptations of the American Revolution go beyond the basic historical facts and seek to find something deeper. Sometimes it’s through a clever genre tweak that allows a more thorough depiction of history, like a spy thriller or a broad musical. Other times, it’s through a more grounded dramatic route. Alongside The Great Awakening (2026), these are some of the best movies and TV shows about the Founding Fathers that you can watch right now on Prime Video, HBO Max, and more.
The latest film to depict the Founding Fathers of the United States, The Great Awakening, fuses faith with history. The film tells the story of the friendship between Benjamin Franklin and George Whitefield, who is considered one of the founders of the evangelical movement, with a greater emphasis on the religious side of figures like Benjamin Franklin than most portrayals across media.
While audiences looking for more complex portrayals of Franklin might want to look elsewhere, there’s an earnest heart and sincere presentation to A Great Awakening that helps it appeal to anyone wanting a Christian-themed film that goes beyond the era depicted in the Bible.
Arguably the most character-driven adaptation of the Revolutionary War for the screen, John Adams is a well-written and expertly performed arc that doesn’t shy away from the more complicated elements of the founding of the United States. The show stars a never-better Paul Giamatti as the titular historical figure, a shrewd but moralistic lawyer who finds himself a crucial figure in the founding of the nation, as well as its second President.
John Adams gets the period piece setting perfectly, especially alongside the more modern approaches to characters who struggle with their personal challenges while also first trying to avoid and then win a war. Slower in pace than most of the other entries on this list, fans of more dialogue-heavy political stories like The West Wing (1999) or The Crown (2016) will be drawn in by the strong scripts and pitch-perfect execution of John Adams.
Similar in scope and style to John Adams, Franklin takes an in-depth look at one of the Founding Fathers in a way that may be dull for audiences expecting some action, but it works really well as a character study. Franklin benefits from an impressive production value, courtesy of Apple TV+, with the sets, costuming, and designs sure to draw the audience headfirst into the world.
Even slower in pace than John Adams, Franklin is more of an interpersonal character drama that’s closer in tone to the charming historical drama The Gilded Age (2022) than the more combat-heavy HBO counterpart. If you thought John Adams was too slow, then this miniseries isn’t for you. However, fans of Michael Douglas will get plenty of enjoyment out of the actor’s sly, charming performance as the titular character.
Based on the Broadway musical of the same name, 1776 is a big, bombastic portrayal of the signing of the Declaration of Independence that will appeal to fans of old-school musicals. Recasting the Founding Fathers as big-hearted heroes and sanding off more of the complexities that exist in other versions of the story, the showy elements of 1776 will land with anyone who has ever swooned over My Fair Lady (1964) or West Side Story (1961).
If you don’t like earnest, cheesy musicals, this isn’t the movie for you. However, Broadway fans who really enjoyed Wicked (2024) should give it a try.
Hamilton became a massive sensation when it came to Broadway, and it found renewed attention when a live recording of the production came to Disney+. Following other successful musicals, including In the Heights, which got a 2021 film adaptation, Lin-Manuel Miranda’s breakout hit transformed the musical landscape in major ways.
The production boasts an amazing cast who infuses the historical figures with clear characterization and charming cores. While there is a certain pop-y element to the music that can make it feel a little cheesy at times, there’s also a craft and crispness to the choreography that make it a blast to watch and easy to fall in love with. Hamilton works because of that emphatic embrace of musical theater energy and catchy hip-hop music, and it remains one of the best musicals of the 21st century.
A great pick for fans of dramatic and historical espionage shows like The Americans (2013), TURN: Washington’s Spies is a fantastic and very underrated series. The AMC show adapts the story of the Culper Ring, a group of friends in the colonies who became crucial figures in turning the Revolutionary War from a near-disaster into a victory.
Intense and brutal, especially in its depiction of the aftermath of wartime combat, the real draw of TURN is the tight pacing and terrific performances. If you’re looking for a broad and optimistic story, this painfully grounded adaptation isn’t for you. However, if you can take a bit of violence and tension, TURN is one of the best AMC shows you may have missed out on while watching The Walking Dead (2010).
The Crossing is a slow-burn drama that takes a clear-eyed approach to the story behind one of the most iconic images of George Washington. Starring Jeff Daniels as Washington, the film depicts the Revolutionary Army’s sneak attack on the Hessian garrison that has proven to be a crucial advantage for the British Empire in the early days of the war. Crossing the Delaware becomes the crux of the film, with the slow buildup serving as much of the film’s drama and tension.
While The Crossing can feel trope-y to a fault, Daniels does good work as a version of Washington who embodies many of the legendary traits of the general without losing sight of the more human figure beneath the story. Impressively staged if not necessarily reinventing the wheel, The Crossing is still a solid pick for movie lovers looking for a cinematic take on one of Washington’s most important achievements.
More akin to action-historical movies like Gladiator (2000) than more historically accurate stories like John Adams, The Patriot is an explosive revenge narrative filtered through the War of Independence. Roland Emmerich brings his traditional style of explosive action with the gusto audiences have come to expect of the filmmaker, making him a natural fit for Mel Gibson.
Years after Braveheart (1995), Gibson once again finds an action-heavy vehicle for historical reimaginings in his take on a reluctant revolutionary, driven to war when he suffers a massive loss. Not necessarily a great pick for audiences seeking historically accurate retellings of the Revolution; however, The Patriot at least has enough big bombast to appeal to audiences wanting a true blockbuster experience.
Not historically accurate in the slightest and far from high-brow comedy, America: The Motion Picture is the perfect goofy balm to the serious dramatics in most adaptations of the Revolutionary War. A historical mishmash of real people reimagined as action movie characters, America: The Motion Picture proudly depicts Washington as best friends with Abraham Lincoln, imagines Benedict Arnold as a werewolf, and features horse-drawn chases straight out of The Fast and the Furious (2001).
The star-studded cast only makes the situation funnier, as the voice actors fully commit to the wacky but self-serious tone. Openly silly and proudly dumb in the vein of other goofy comedies like BASEketball (1998) and Airplane! (1980), America: The Motion Picture is the opposite of what a serious drama fan is looking for, but perfect for a chuckle over the Founding Fathers.
