Watch Hemingway

Hemingway is a six-hour documentary series by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick that tells the story of Ernest Hemingway through a combination of interviews, archival footage, and dramatic readings of his works. The series aired on PBS in April 2021 and is narrated by actor Peter Coyote.

The series begins with Hemingway's childhood in Oak Park, Illinois, where he was born in 1899. It explores his love of nature and the outdoors, which would later become a central theme in his writing. The series then delves into Hemingway's early years as a struggling journalist in Paris, where he met other expatriate writers like Gertrude Stein and Ezra Pound, and began to develop his distinctive style.

The series spends considerable time on Hemingway's war experiences, particularly his time as an ambulance driver in World War I and as a war correspondent during the Spanish Civil War. These experiences profoundly influenced his writing and are a prominent theme in many of his works.

Throughout the series, Hemingway's relationships with women are also explored, including his four marriages and numerous affairs. The series examines how these relationships and his own complicated psyche informed his writing, particularly when it came to creating complex, nuanced female characters.

The series is also notable for its focus on Hemingway's writing process. Through interviews with scholars and writers, as well as excerpts from his own letters and manuscripts, the series offers insight into the craft behind his most famous works, including The Sun Also Rises, A Farewell to Arms, and The Old Man and the Sea.

In addition to Coyote's narration, the series features a number of well-known actors reading excerpts from Hemingway's works, including Jeff Daniels, who reads from The Old Man and the Sea, and Meryl Streep, who reads from Hemingway's letters.

One particularly moving moment in the series comes when Hemingway's grandson, Sean, reads the author's eulogy for his father, which he wrote shortly after his suicide in 1961. It is a testament to the show's ability to humanize Hemingway, even as it explores the many contradictions and complexities of his life and work.

Overall, Hemingway is a masterfully crafted documentary series that gives viewers a rich, multifaceted portrait of one of America's greatest writers. It is a must-watch for anyone interested in Hemingway's life and legacy, as well as for those who simply enjoy a good story.

Hemingway is a series that ran for 1 seasons (13 episodes) between April 5, 2021 and on PBS