PBS Prohibition Series

The 3-part PBS Series “Prohibition” will begin airing on Sunday October 2nd on your local PBS channel.

The documentary runs for 5-1/2 hours and is in three installments: A Nation of Drunkards; A Nation of Scofflaws and A Nation of Hypocrites.

Neil Genzlinger praises the vocal talent put together to narrate the series in his New York Times review. Narrators include Peter Coyote, John Lithgow, Sam Waterston and Samuel L. Jackson.

PBS has a complete overview of the series: “Prohibition turned law-abiding citizens into criminals, made a mockery of the justice system, caused illicit drinking to seem glamorous and fun, encouraged neighborhood gangs to become national crime syndicates, permitted government officials to bend and sometimes even break the law, and fostered cynicism and hypocrisy that corroded the social contract all across the country.

Also check out their episode guide, with info on local listings. The first episode will air on PBS an hour before 2nd episode (“Ourselves Alone”) of “Boardwalk Empire” Season 2 on HBO, and then repeat on PBS after “Boardwalk Empire.” So even if you like to watch the last episode of “Boardwalk Empire,” you can still catch this, or you can set your recorder to watch the whole series together.