John Adams (2008– )

The life of one of the USA's Founding Fathers, its second President, and his role in the nation's first 50 years.

Stars:

Paul Giamatti, Laura Linney, John Dossett

Won 4 Golden Globes. Another 34 wins & 24 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Paul Giamatti	...	John Adams (7 episodes, 2008)
Laura Linney	...	Abigail Adams (7 episodes, 2008)
John Dossett	...	Benjamin Rush (6 episodes, 2008)
Stephen Dillane	...	Thomas Jefferson (5 episodes, 2008)
Sarah Polley	...	Nabby Adams (4 episodes, 2008)
Samuel Barnett	...	Thomas Adams (4 episodes, 2008)
Danny Huston	...	Samuel Adams (3 episodes, 2008)
David Morse	...	George Washington (3 episodes, 2008)
Ebon Moss-Bachrach	...	John Quincy Adams (3 episodes, 2008)
Steven Hinkle	...	Young John Quincy Adams (3 episodes, 2008)
Madeline Taylor	...	Young Nabby Adams (3 episodes, 2008)
Mamie Gummer	...	Sally Smith Adams (3 episodes, 2008)
Kevin Trainor	...	Charles Adams (3 episodes, 2008)
Andrew Scott	...	Colonel William Smith (3 episodes, 2008)
Tom Wilkinson	...	Benjamin Franklin (3 episodes, 2008)
Michael Hall D'Addario	...	Young Charles Adams (3 episodes, 2008)
Rufus Sewell	...	Alexander Hamilton (2 episodes, 2008)
Justin Theroux	...	John Hancock (2 episodes, 2008)
Judith Magre	...	Madame Helvétius (2 episodes, 2008)
Brennan Brown	...	Robert Treat Paine (2 episodes, 2008)
Tom Beckett	...	Elbridge Gerry (2 episodes, 2008)
Jules Croiset	...	Second Dutch Banker (2 episodes, 2008)
Sieger Sloot	...	Dutch Man (2 episodes, 2008)
Lex van Delden	...	First Dutch Banker (2 episodes, 2008)
Tim Seip	...	Sons of Liberty (2 episodes, 2008)

Storyline

The life of one of the USA's Founding Fathers, its second President, and his role in the nation's first 50 years.

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Plot Keywords:

john adams | colonial america | philadelphia pennsylvania | thomas jefferson | father son relationship | 

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Taglines:

Join or Die

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | History

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site [us]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 March 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

Untitled John Adams Miniseries

Filming Locations:

Budapest, Hungary

Company Credits

Production Co:

HBO Films, High Noon Productions, Playtone

Technical Specs

Runtime:

501 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

History buffs might recall that a British Navy surgeon shortly before 1750 concluded that sailors, by sucking on limes, could reduce the incidence of painful and debilitating scurvy. Concurrent experiments involving sailors taking vinegar or sea water failed. Eighteenth century medicine was unaware that limes contained Vitamin C (a substance not really understood until the 1930s) and also did not fully comprehend scurvy as a nutritional disease, but crews were issued limes in their rations after the field study. British sailors and later British people generally were nicknamed "limeys" shortly afterward. At the film's dock set, around a peck of sucked-on cut limes litter the ground as if discarded by sailors.

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Goofs

"Nabby" Adams died of breast cancer at age 48, yet in the series she is depicted as being barely out of her twenties when she dies.

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Quotes

John Hancock: [reluctantly] God save the King.
Samuel Adams: God damn the King!
Benjamin Franklin: [happily] God bless the King. Who else could've brought such a spirit of unity to the Congress?

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Connections

Referenced in Jeopardy!: The IBM Challenge: Day 3 (2011)

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Soundtracks

"Chester"
By William Billings

User Reviews

Exceptional Performances

In the film industry we have seen many exceptional productions, made so by incredible special effects, animation processes, Computer-Generated Imagery (CGI) and the like.

Seldom we find this same quality in the performance from the individual actors. More often we do recognize the difficulty, uniqueness and the gift that theater performances bring to their audiences. The gift of the individual performer is bared to the audience, where the audience feels the essence of the character transported by its performer.

The John Adams production has accomplished this by giving these performers the opportunity to display the essence of their talents. It is evident they gave their all.

The professionalism and talent of the entire production is of the highest quality, the realism and fidelity to the times is very impressive.

The attention to details, the very talented cast and the unique ability of Tom Hooper to capture what words cannot describe, has made this production a true work of art.

Paul Giamatti and Laura Linney professional eclectic careers are and will continue to define them as great actors. Both have reached for the best performance have not only achieved it but have surpassed it.

Paul and Laura do not only deserve the Oscar but they should be recognized has to have given their all, in an effort to help the audience better understand the complex multi-dimensional and existential realities of two historical individuals that have truly shaped the genesis and future the United States of America.

Paul Giamatti and Laura Linney have with their performance added the unique and the exceptional to an already fine production.

A truly multi-dimensional performance. Thank you Paul - thank you Laura for a rare gift.