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Liev Schreiber hosts America The History of Us on History April 25

By April MacIntyre Apr 12, 2010, 4:41 GMT

actor Liev Schreiber Fame Pictures, Inc - Santa Monica, CA, USA

Documentaries are stepping up their TV appeal by expanding the idea of a traditional format into new areas of interest that can cover the gamut of subjects, from workplace situations to discovering your past through exhaustive genealogy.  Or take the classic nature documentary and blow it out to detail rich chapters using cutting edge filming techniques.

History is hoping for a home run with their ambitious "America The Story of Us" narrated by actor Liev Schreiber.  The series promises to show reenactments and segments with real historians, employing CGI to imagine what the past looks like, and sees famous citizens talking about what it means to be an American.

The network describes "America The Story of Us" as an "epic 12-hour television event" that shows how America was fashioned.

"With highly realistic CGI animation, dramatic recreations and thoughtful insights from some of America's most respected artists, business leaders, academics and intellectuals, it is the first television event in nearly 40 years to present a comprehensive telling of America's history."

"America The Story of Us" goes from early days to the explosive "go West young man" phenomenon that saw unprecedented European immigration that settled vast lands inhabited by native Indians and wildlife. From building the transcontinental railroad--the Internet of its day--to triumphing over vertical space through the construction of steel structured buildings to putting a man on the moon, the series reveals how in such a short period of time, a nation grew and developed with an intensity never seen in modern times.

"America The Story of Us" debuts April 25 at 9 pm on History.