The Jan. 6 hearings are the year’s most important TV. Read our recaps
With the start on June 9 of public hearings by the committee investigating the Capitol insurrection of Jan. 6, 2021, the House of Representatives embarked on a project with few precedents in American history. Television was still in its infancy when the Army-McCarthy hearings harmed Sen. Joseph McCarthy’s popularity in 1954, and both the Watergate hearings and the impeachment of President Bill Clinton took place in vastly different media landscapes.
Opening in prime time, with former ABC News president James Goldston aboard to produce, the Jan. 6 hearings are intended to play out more like a dramatic miniseries — or a legal procedural — than the usual congressional committee fare, and already the approach has seemed to pay off. Twenty million people tuned in to the first night’s coverage (this without the widely watched Fox News broadcasting it live), and many more are expected to consume the hearings via social media, print and online news sources and more over the coming weeks.
Following along throughout the hearings is Times television critic Lorraine Ali, offering recaps of the proceedings and analysis of how the dramatic narrative constructed by committee Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) and Vice Chair Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) is resonating with viewers. Don’t miss her coverage of what may well be the most important thing you watch on TV this year.
Preferring substance over spectacle, real emotion over grandstanding, the first night of the Jan. 6 hearings successfully grabbed America’s attention.
Insurrection is no joke. But by showing the buffoonery of Rudy Giuliani, Donald Trump and more, the committee emphasized the absurdity of their claims.
With Trump’s pressure on Pence front and center and expectations high, Thursday’s hearings hit the first snag in an otherwise compelling narrative.
In a hyper-partisan political environment, the faint glimmers of bipartisanship on display have been one of the hearings’ biggest revelations of all.
Former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson held the nation’s attention. But her testimony was just one ingredient in the committee’s high drama.
“Unprecedented” offers a glimpse into Trump’s 2020 campaign — but none of the bombshells of the Jan. 6 hearings.
A ‘previously on...’ segment. A carefully choreographed timeline. A jaw-dropping cliffhanger. All the committee needs now is to stick the landing.
With help from Fox News, Sen. Josh Hawley and others, the Jan. 6 committee brought back the horror of that day — and used the words of some ardent Trump partisans to do it.
