ABC, Disney+, Hulu and National Geographic will unite for hours of coverage as television networks mark the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks with new specials and documentaries.
The commemoration builds from Aug. 21 through Sept. 11, spanning ABC News, Disney+, Hulu, National Geographic and the History Channel.
“Through the storytelling power of our platforms, we will mark this solemn anniversary with programming that honors the victims and their families and helps ensure that the stories of courage, compassion, and resilience that emerged from September 11 endure for future generations,” said Debra O’Connell, chairman of Disney Entertainment Television.
For Movieguide® readers, the anniversary is as much about memory as it is about meaning. Movieguide® has long encouraged families to process 9/11 through storytelling, previously curating a list of movies like WORLD TRADE CENTER and UNITED 93 to help viewers remember those who lost their lives that day.
Disney’s rollout begins Aug. 21 with the National Geographic docuseries 9/11 REUNITED, a three-part special that reunites survivors and first responders with the rescuers and everyday heroes who changed their lives — many meeting for the first time in nearly 25 years. Produced by 72 Films alongside the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, the series streams on Disney+ and Hulu the day after each episode airs on National Geographic.
Related: 9/11 Prompted This Talk Show Host to Leave Daytime Television
Sports broadcaster Michael Strahan hosts a two-hour ABC primetime special on Sept. 1, examining how sports, music, Broadway, comedy and media helped the nation heal in the years after the attacks. That special encores Sept. 11 on ABC, Disney+, Hulu and ABC News Live.
The anniversary itself culminates with 9/11 TRIBUTE IN LIGHT: LIVE FROM LOWER MANHATTAN, a one-hour special anchored by David Muir, Robin Roberts and Diane Sawyer airing 8-9 p.m. EDT across ABC, Disney+, Hulu, National Geographic and ABC News Live. Produced with the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, the broadcast culminates in the iconic Tribute in Light installation over the New York City skyline. A special edition of PRIME, hosted by Linsey Davis, Sade Baderinwa and Mike Marza, precedes the main broadcast on WABC-TV, ABC News Live, Disney+ and Hulu.
GOOD MORNING AMERICA, WORLD NEWS TONIGHT, NIGHTLINE, THIS WEEK and THE VIEW will all fold special coverage into their regular Sept. 11 broadcasts, according to Disney’s announcement. National Geographic also plans to launch a searchable video archive of previously unseen 9/11 footage and interviews in early September.
Outside the Disney umbrella, the History Channel marks the anniversary with 102 MINUTES INSIDE THE TOWERS, a new two-hour special airing Sept. 11 at 8 p.m. ET, according to the network’s own announcement. The title borrows its name from the harrowing window of time between the first plane’s impact and the South Tower’s collapse.
Beth Hillman, president and CEO of the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, framed the stakes plainly: 100 million Americans are now too young to remember that Tuesday morning firsthand. “This special will reach across generations to commemorate, educate, and inspire,” she said.
That generational gap is exactly why Movieguide® keeps returning to 9/11 stories. A quarter century removed from the tragedy, families raising children who never lived through that day need the same thing viewers needed in 2001: honest storytelling that treats grief seriously, points toward hope and resists letting a defining act of evil fade into a forgotten headline.
Read Next: Chris Pratt Commemorates 9/11 at Waves of Flag Ceremony: ‘Remember and Honor’
Questions or comments? Please write to us here.
