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The Titans That Built America

The Titans That Built America

2021Miniseries2 seasons4 episodesMidcredits score: 91st percentile of all shows

Out of the ashes of World War I, a new generation of titan rises…Pierre Du Pont, Walter Chrysler, J.P. Morgan Jr., Henry Ford, and William Boeing. Their fight to reach the top will transform America as they compete to dominate new industries—from the highways to the skyways. After years of fighting each other, and FDR, these rivals must unite during World War II to defeat a greater enemy and save the world.

Your rating, lists and review

Where to watch

Where can I watch The Titans That Built America?

As of October 24, 2026, MovieCove lists The Titans That Built America streaming on AMC+, Curiosity Stream, Disney+, HISTORY Vault via Apple TV, Hulu and The Roku Channel (free) and to rent or buy on Apple TV.

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via Apple TVFree

Rent / Buy

Buy

Highlights

What stands out about The Titans That Built America?

The Titans That Built America earns 3 badges, led by Top 10% of shows and Crowd Pleaser.

  • Rank
  • Reception
  • Craft and mood

Reception

Is The Titans That Built America worth watching?

The Titans That Built America's Midcredits score is the 91st percentile of all shows, from 487 ratings across 2 sources. 89% liked it (rated it 7 or higher out of 10).

Midcredits score

How well it was received

91st percentile

Better received than 91% of shows

87th percentile among Documentary93rd percentile among 2020s
Acclaim (how much people like it)87th
Approval (how many liked it)91st

Acclaim

Crowd Pleaser: Rating-distribution shape vs the catalog

How much people like it

80 /100

87th percentile of all shows

80th percentile among Documentary89th percentile among 2020s

Rating distribution

Most people land high, with a thin tail of low scores from those it didn't reach.

Approval

How many liked it

89% liked it

91st percentile of all shows

88th percentile among Documentary93rd percentile among 2020s
89% rated it 7–1011% rated it 1–6

Reach

How many have seen it

40th percentile

480 ratings across platforms

65th percentile among Documentary39th percentile among 2020s
TMDB popularity, last 37 days to Oct 26Down 15% in 30 days

Episodes

1 season

Season 1 · 2021 · 3 episodes

  • S1E1

    A New Generation Rises

    May 31, 202190 min
  • S1E2

    Titans vs FDR

    Jun 1, 202190 min
  • S1E3

    United They Stand

    Jun 2, 202190 minFinale

Watch experience

What is The Titans That Built America like to watch?

Conclusions only — categories and positions, no plot detail.

Earnest, serious and charged — a slow-burn watch that leaves you thinking.

ToneFeelDemandexact position · filled zone: the category

What it asks of you

What it feels like

Moods
TenseContemplative
Heaviest: throughout
Register
Solemn: Grave and dignified; treats its subject with weight and respect.Adventurous · 15% of shows
Told as
SerializedSingle-season story
ToneThe series presents its historical material with a serious, respectful gravity, played straight as a factual recounting.
The rideThe series maintains a steady tone of competitive tension and weightiness across its run.
StructureThe series presents a chronological account of historical events without notable structural devices.
Episode formatThough the series is documentary-style, it follows a chronological thread across episodes, each building on the last to tell the broader story of these tycoons' rise and interactions.
Season formatThe series aired as two seasons but tells one complete historical story covering the same period and figures across both seasons.

How it leaves you

what you carry away
Thought-provokingHopeful
Why it leaves you this wayThe series leaves you reflecting on how individual ambition shaped modern America, while the stories of struggle and invention inspire a belief in human ingenuity.
How it ends · evidence
Bittersweet ending

Story archetype

where it sits among all shows
Monster — 18% of shows. A threat menaces the hero's world and must be defeated.Rags — 3% of shows. A rise from lowliness to fortune, status, or recognition.Quest — 6% of shows. A journey toward a defined objective, with companions and obstacles.Voyage — 2% of shows. Into a strange world and back again, changed.Comedy — 12% of shows. Confusion and cross-purposes resolved into harmony.Tragedy — 4% of shows. A flaw or fixation drives the protagonist to ruin.Rebirth — 7% of shows. A stalled or darkened life reopened and renewed.Mystery — 8% of shows. A question drives the story — who did it, what happened, what is real — until it is answered.No archetype — 40% of showsPredator — 7% of shows. A creature or killer hunts the protagonists (Jaws, Alien).Tyrant — 3% of shows. A human villain holds power over the hero's world (Die Hard).Invasion — 2% of shows. An external force attacks the home or world (Independence Day).Oppressive state — 3% of shows. A government, its agencies or a secret faction inside them is the monster (V for Vendetta).Corporate villainy — 1% of shows. A company or its bosses are the monster (Erin Brockovich).Institutional injustice — 1% of shows. A court, prison, police force, school or church is itself the enemy (Spotlight).Class system — under 1% of shows. The gap between rich and poor, or a rigid hierarchy, is the monster (Parasite).Technology turns — under 1% of shows. Technology people rely on becomes the threat (The Terminator).Inner demon — 1% of shows. The monster is within — addiction, illness, a dark double.Underdog triumph — 2% of shows. Rise through competition or contest (Rocky).Social ascent — 1% of shows. A climb in class or status (Pretty Woman).Fame and fortune — under 1% of shows. An artistic or showbiz rise (A Star Is Born).Rise and fall — under 1% of shows. Wealth or power gained, self lost (Scarface).Hidden worth revealed — under 1% of shows. The protagonist's true value finally recognized.Treasure hunt — 1% of shows. Retrieve an object of value (Raiders of the Lost Ark).Rescue — 2% of shows. Retrieve or save a person (Saving Private Ryan).Mission — 4% of shows. Accomplish or destroy a defined objective (Mission: Impossible).Journey home — under 1% of shows. The goal is getting back (Finding Nemo).Pilgrimage — under 1% of shows. The journey itself transforms; the destination is symbolic.Portal fantasy — under 1% of shows. Transported into another world (The Wizard of Oz).Fish out of water — 1% of shows. Displaced into an unfamiliar social world (Elf).Survival ordeal — under 1% of shows. Trapped in a hostile environment, fighting back (Cast Away).Time displacement — under 1% of shows. Unstuck in time (Back to the Future).Descent — under 1% of shows. A night-journey into an underworld or subculture (After Hours).Romantic comedy — 2% of shows. Lovers kept apart by confusion, united at last.Comedy of errors — 3% of shows. Mistaken identity or misunderstanding drives the plot.Farce — 2% of shows. Escalating absurd chaos and coincidence (The Hangover).Buddy comedy — 1% of shows. A mismatched pair forced together (Rush Hour).Comedy of manners — 2% of shows. Social codes and class satirized (Clueless).Hubris — 1% of shows. Pride or ambition invites the fall (There Will Be Blood).Obsession — under 1% of shows. A fixation consumes the protagonist (Black Swan).Corruption arc — 1% of shows. Step-by-step moral decay (The Godfather).Doomed love — 1% of shows. Love destroyed by circumstance (Brokeback Mountain).Crushed by fate — 1% of shows. Destroyed by forces beyond the protagonist's control.Redemption — 1% of shows. Moral reawakening of a hardened soul (A Christmas Carol).Healing — 3% of shows. Recovery from grief or trauma (Good Will Hunting).Liberation — 2% of shows. Breaking free of a confining life (Room).Second chance — 1% of shows. A stagnant life re-opened to love or purpose (Groundhog Day).Puzzle — 1% of shows. A clue-by-clue puzzle you can try to solve before the reveal (Knives Out, Clue).Investigation — 6% of shows. A long pursuit of the truth that may never be fully solved (Zodiac, Memories of Murder).Enigma — 1% of shows. The mystery is what is real, or what is actually happening (Mulholland Drive).
Every story archetype, clockwise from the top
  • Monster 18%: Predator 7% · Tyrant 3% · Invasion 2% · Oppressive state 3% · Corporate villainy 1% · Institutional injustice 1% · Class system under 1% · Technology turns under 1% · Inner demon 1%
  • Rags 3%: Underdog triumph 2% · Social ascent 1% · Fame and fortune under 1% · Rise and fall under 1% · Hidden worth revealed under 1%
  • Quest 6%: Treasure hunt 1% · Rescue 2% · Mission 4% · Journey home under 1% · Pilgrimage under 1%
  • Voyage 2%: Portal fantasy under 1% · Fish out of water 1% · Survival ordeal under 1% · Time displacement under 1% · Descent under 1%
  • Comedy 12%: Romantic comedy 2% · Comedy of errors 3% · Farce 2% · Buddy comedy 1% · Comedy of manners 2%
  • Tragedy 4%: Hubris 1% · Obsession under 1% · Corruption arc 1% · Doomed love 1% · Crushed by fate 1%
  • Rebirth 7%: Redemption 1% · Healing 3% · Liberation 2% · Second chance 1%
  • Mystery 8%: Puzzle 1% · Investigation 6% · Enigma 1%
  • No archetype 40% (this title)

No archetype fits — true of 40% of shows: ensemble pieces, satire, slice-of-life.

Why this archetypeThe series is a documentary examining real historical figures and their industrial rivalries, not a narrative with a plot archetype.

What it's about

7 groups · 53 themes
Bonds — 31% of showsSelf — 27% of showsPower — 7% of showsMorality — 11% of showsSurvival — 9% of showsSociety — 10% of showsIdeas — 5% of showsRomantic love — 10% of showsMarriage — 2% of showsFamily bonds — 22% of showsParenthood — 1% of showsFriendship — 18% of showsLoyalty — 7% of showsIdentity — 20% of showsComing of age — 9% of showsAging — under 1% of showsSelf-worth — 7% of showsAmbition — 14% of showsPurpose — 16% of showsMemory — 3% of showsObsession — 2% of shows. A fixation consumes the protagonist (Black Swan).Power — 5% of showsCorruption — 3% of showsGreed — 2% of showsClass — 4% of showsOppression — 2% of showsFreedom — 4% of showsJustice — 14% of showsDuty — 2% of showsRevenge — 1% of showsGuilt — 1% of showsRedemption — 3% of shows. Moral reawakening of a hardened soul (A Christmas Carol).Forgiveness — under 1% of showsSacrifice — 2% of showsBetrayal — 3% of showsDeception — 6% of showsSurvival — 12% of showsWar — 1% of showsViolence — 2% of showsMortality — 2% of showsGrief — 4% of showsTrauma — 5% of showsMental illness — under 1% of showsAddiction — under 1% of showsIllness and disability — under 1% of showsCommunity — 25% of shows. Consequences reach a town, institution or group.Isolation — 3% of showsPrejudice — 2% of showsDisplacement — 1% of showsFaith — 1% of showsTradition vs change — 3% of showsFame — 5% of showsLegacy — 3% of showsFate — 1% of showsFree will — under 1% of showsTruth — 6% of showsHope — 4% of showsNature — 3% of showsArt — 2% of showsTechnology — 1% of showsSelfAmbitionSelf
Every theme, clockwise from the top
  • Bonds 31%: Romantic love 10% · Marriage 2% · Family bonds 22% · Parenthood 1% · Friendship 18% · Loyalty 7%
  • Self 27% (this title): Identity 20% · Coming of age 9% · Aging under 1% · Self-worth 7% · Ambition 14% (this title) · Purpose 16% · Memory 3% · Obsession 2%
  • Power 7%: Power 5% (this title) · Corruption 3% · Greed 2% · Class 4% · Oppression 2% · Freedom 4%
  • Morality 11%: Justice 14% · Duty 2% · Revenge 1% · Guilt 1% · Redemption 3% · Forgiveness under 1% · Sacrifice 2% · Betrayal 3% · Deception 6%
  • Survival 9%: Survival 12% · War 1% · Violence 2% · Mortality 2% · Grief 4% · Trauma 5% · Mental illness under 1% · Addiction under 1% · Illness and disability under 1%
  • Society 10%: Community 25% · Isolation 3% · Prejudice 2% · Displacement 1% · Faith 1% · Tradition vs change 3% · Fame 5% · Legacy 3% (this title)
  • Ideas 5%: Fate 1% · Free will under 1% · Truth 6% · Hope 4% · Nature 3% · Art 2% · Technology 1%

Self

Ambition · 14% of showsPower · 5% of showsLegacy · 3% of shows
Observes its theme: Presents its theme neutrally, declining to judge.Societal stakes: Consequences reach a whole social order.Ensemble lead
How it treats its themeThe series centers on the personal drive of these tycoons to rise, build empires, and outdo their rivals.
StanceThe series presents the titans' ambition as a historical force, neither celebrating nor condemning it openly.

The world

Early 20th centuryUrbanDomesticRealistic
Orchestral classicalSupportive music · original score
SettingAmerican industrial boardrooms, factories, and estates in the early 1900s

Cast and crew

Who is in The Titans That Built America?

Cast

Campbell Scott
as Narrator
Gerald Kyd
as Pierre Du Pont
Cillian O'Gairbhi
as Walter Chrysler
Peter O'Meara
as JP Morgan Jr.
David Crowley
as Edsel Ford
Ian Toner
as William Boeing
Peter Gaynor
as Henry Kaiser
Charlie Maher
as Charles Lindbergh
Aidan O'Hare
as William Knudsen
Jonathan Delaney Tynan
as John Raskob

Crew

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