Produced by prolific Emmy Award winner, Dan Reed (Leaving Neverland), Four Hours at the Capitol, which has been commissioned by BBC Two, will deliver a full investigative account of the storming of the US Capitol on 6th January 2021 and the planning and co-ordination which led up to it. Conducted with exhaustive research, the documentary will reveal why it happened and ask the question - is the ideology that spurred the rioters still viral in America? A clear timeline of events will be portrayed by a wide-ranging cast of characters drawn from those involved on the day including security services, law enforcement, legislators, politicians, mainstream and alternative press and the various tribes within the mass of rioters and protesters. With no voice-over, the astonishing story of Four Hours at the Capitol will instead be narrated by key participants and insiders across all aspects of the event through unique and reflective interviews drawing on personal stories.
The 90’ documentary feature, which will deliver in September 2021, is directed by award-winning Jamie Roberts (The Rise of the Murdoch Dynasty).
Dan Reed: “Jamie is a rising star and he and I will continue to work closely to peel back the layers of this darkest day in America’s recent history and turn it into a gripping narrative with the pacing of a thriller.”
Jonathan Ford, Abacus Media Rights Managing Director, comments, “We look forward to another exceptional piece of documentary film-making from Dan Reed and his team at AMOS Pictures. This will be a highly detailed, forensic examination of the events in the White House leading up to the events of 6th January that shocked the world, delivering a deep dive into the actions of former President Trump, his senior aides and the tangled network of alliances which resulted in this eye-popping assault on American democracy.”
Patrick Holland, Controller, BBC Two said: “Jamie and Dan are a formidable filmmaking team and we are delighted to announce the commission of this major documentary about one of the most astonishing days in recent US history.”
Jo Carr, Head of BBC Current Affairs said: “The US Capitol riot is one of the most extraordinary episodes in an extraordinary year, and we are thrilled to be working with the brilliant Dan Reed and his team, to add insight and depth to this important story.”
Four Hours at the Capitol is the definitive feature-length documentary about the storming of the US Capitol. It is a powerful, character-led, detailed narrative of the colliding forces on the day, with dazzling storytelling based on extensive research. Through a meticulously reconstructed timeline of events, the film will unpack the complex network of organisers and participants, making sense of how an online movement, fuelled by disinformation and guided by a desperate rhetoric of the US President, burst into action on the 6th January 2021. Four Hours at the Capitol will examine the complex network of organisers and participants, it will exploit the huge cache of video material recorded in the lead up to and on the day of the insurrection itself to show exactly what happened from multiple angles. The documentary will track the personal timelines of the rioters involved, and will show how, through a series of increasingly urgent leadership meetings, the authorities struggled to try to avert disaster.
