The Story Of Us with Morgan Freeman

Why do some people rise to power and others do not? Why do we fall in love – not just with romantic partners but with friends and strangers? How has our need to share beliefs built human culture?

National Geographic seeks to answer these big questions and many more with new series The Story of Us with Morgan Freeman, premiering 14 January 2018 on National Geographic.

From the creators of the critically acclaimed series The Story of God with Morgan Freeman, this expansion of the channel’s hit franchise once again finds Freeman taking viewers on a global journey to meet with people from different cultures whose lives are shaped in surprising ways by different fundamental forces, this time exploring themes that unite us all. The series will premiere globally in early 2018 on National Geographic in 171 countries and 45 languages.

At a time when global events seem to be driving cultures apart, The Story of Us aims to reveal the common humanity that lives inside all of us. Each of the six hour-long episodes will explore a single fundamental force or topic: freedom, peace, love, social division, power and rebellion. Along the way, Freeman meets and speaks with powerful world leaders, ordinary people with extraordinary stories and everyone in between. “Talking with three presidents and two Nobel Peace Prize winners and travelling to remote regions of Africa and Central America was a memorable experience for me. It was an incredible global journey to understand how human culture has taken on so many remarkable forms,” Freeman said.

Among those Freeman speaks with along the way:

Albert Woodfox (“The March of Freedom”), one of three prison inmates put in solitary confinement in Louisiana State Penitentiary in April 1972 after the killing of a corrections officer. He was kept in solitary confinement for more than 43 years until his conviction was overturned in 2014. He was finally released in 2016.

Paul Kagame (“The Fight for Peace”), the president of Rwanda, whose people have been able to make peace after a horrific civil war. Freeman also meets with a Tutsi who has reconciled with the Hutu who killed her family.

Joshua Coombes (“The Power of Love”), a hairstylist from London who began a global social movement called #DoSomethingForNothing, which encourages people to carry out everyday small acts of kindness. For Coombes, that meant offering free haircuts to the homeless to help give them back their dignity.

Megan Phelps-Roper (“Us and Them”), a prominent member of the Westboro Baptist Church before leaving in 2012. Since then, she has become an advocate for people and ideas she was once taught to despise – especially the value of empathising with people across ideological lines.

President Bill Clinton (“The Power of Us”), who discusses what it is like to bear the weight of wielding great power, both in the United States and around the world.

“Talking with three presidents and two Nobel Peace Prize winners and travelling to remote regions of Africa and Central America was a memorable experience for me. It was an incredible global journey to understand how human culture has taken on so many remarkable forms,” added Freeman.

EPISODES INCLUDE:

The Story of Us with Morgan Freeman: The March of Freedom – 14 January 2018

The Story of Us with Morgan Freeman: The Fight for Peace – 14 January 2018 (double bill)

The Story of Us with Morgan Freeman: The Power of Love – 21 January 2018

The Story of Us with Morgan Freeman: Us and Them – 28 January 2018

The Story of Us with Morgan Freeman: The Power of Us – 4 February 2018 

The Story of Us with Morgan Freeman: The Rebel Spirit – 11 February 2018

The Story of Us is produced by Revelations Entertainment for National Geographic. For Revelations Entertainment, the executive producers are Morgan Freeman, Lori McCreary and James Younger. For National Geographic, the executive producer is Betsy Forhan; Kevin Tao Mohs is vice president, production and development; and Tim Pastore is president of original programming and production.