User reviews

As a film fan, I knew nothing about Reagan's career as an actor, and as a European, I knew nothing about his political career before the presidency catapulted him onto the world stage

So the early episodes of this series were an education in both, revealing his political journey as following the same path his party and a significant percentage of his generation took, towards identity politics and adopting the ideology of the market (and its corollary, limited government) as a sort of second faith

Although the insights into how his wife's adoptive father's extreme views influenced Reagan's early political development are illuminating, editorial attempts to cite her taste in decor and fashion as symbolic of hypocrisy when contrasted with the administration's welfare cuts are tendentious

The role of Reagan's wife in his career appears to have been that of most women of her generation - supportive but ultimately passive - which renders the premise of the series as a whole (a biography of the couple, rather than Reagan himself) redundant

Although I'm essentially sympathetic to the criticism of the Reagan administration's idolatry of the market and raising deregulation to the level of a belief system, I can't argue with reviews on this page from politically biased commentators, which describe this documentary as a hit piece

I think it's perfectly valid for film makers to adopt a critical tone when interrogating their subject matter, but this series approaches every single topic with the aim of demonstrating that Reagan was wrong about absolutely everything

Maybe the film makers feel the contemporary narrative around the Reagan presidency is too hagiographic and needs to be countered, but producing an act of propaganda as a counterweight seems an ineffective way to address this imbalance

Since those who most need to hear a countervailing version of history are unlikely to stay with such a nakedly biased piece of propaganda long enough to hear any truths it contains

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I thought this was a very well made, interesting, and informative documentary. I think it's important to look deeper at powerful public figures, especially those who are revered as much as Reagan. It's disappointing to me to see so many people angry about this, calling it left wing propaganda and defamation. It's not. If you can't watch a well made documentary and make your own conclusions without getting defensive and irrational, well that just concerns me a bit. I learned a lot from this show, but I didn't come out of watching it thinking Reagan was some kind of a monster. I still think Reagan was a good man and a highly successful president. That doesn't mean, however, that we should ignore his shortcomings or deny the dangers of his success.

"The Reagans" (2020 release; 4 episodes of about 55 min. each) takes a new look at the legacy of Ronald and Nancy Reagan. As Episode 1 "The Hollywood Myth Machine" opens, Reagan is in the White House taping a TV commercial for his 1984 re-election campaign. Ronald Reagan Jr. comments "My father was a strange fellow to be president of this country." We then go back in time to "1937" when Reagan, then 26 yrs. old is signed by Jack Warner to a studio contract. With the help of Hollywood gossip columnist Louella Parsons, it is the beginning of a how "the story became the reality", as the Reagans' daughter Patti Davis puts it. At this point we are less than 15 min. into Episode 1.

Couple of comments: please do not confuse this documentary mini-series with the same titled (and controversial) CBS mini-series from 2003. It is equally important to note that this series is not just about Ronald Reagan, but it is just as much about Nancy Reagan. Episode 1 is fascinating for a number of reasons, none more so to understand how Ronald Reagan, who grew up a Democrat, eventually evolved into a Republican, and not just any Republican, but a Barry Goldwater-type conservative at that. Reagan changed from being a union guy to an all-out pro-business/anti-union guy because it was politically convenient. Episode 1 also examines how Nancy became the rock in Reagan's life that would propel him to the presidency. Episode 1 concludes with Reagan's stunning victory in the 1968 California governor's race. Can't wait to see the remaining 3 episodes. By the way, I immigrated to this country, arriving from Belgium in Washington DC for graduate studies in 1983, yes smack in the middle of the Reagan two term presidency. I was welcomed by this country with arms wide open, and I've lived in the US ever since. Fast forward to 2016 when this country elected a blatant racist and xenophobe to the White House. Thankfully now fired by the American people.

"The Reagans" premiered this weekend on Showtime, and Episode 1 is now available on SHO On Demand and other streaming services. New episodes air Sunday evenings at 8 pm Eastern. If you have any interest in politics or in the history of this country, I'd readily suggest you check out "The Reagans" documentary mini-series, and draw your own conclusion.

I love history and politics so this 4 part doc from "Showtime" called "The Reagans" was must viewing for me. It was indeed informative and revealing which was historical and biography type telling of Ronald's early and humble start of being a radio announcer to his start in Hollywood with B pictures, to his election as California governor to his rise as the president. All of this is supported by footage vintage clips and news interviews and interviews are given with media people and republican cabinet members Jim Baker, Ed Rollins, and Stu Spencer are interviewed as they give thoughts and opinions. Plus son Ron Jr. give his thoughts on his parents life and how they seemed different as he did not always agree with them. Shown also is how Ronald was influenced by his Hollywood days to become pro right and leave his union membership, and after elected he became a pro military hawk and was influenced in domestic issues by the religious right. Also his final term was plagued by scandal the Iran contra affair, and Nancy always ruled and looked over his shoulder even though she consulted with the stars. Plus his final years hints and clues were displayed by the actor/politician of memory loss. Really great super doc that looks back at an era and a man that shaped many things like him or hate him see this doc if you are a political or history type buff!

This was a good documentary on the Reagans. I was a child and a teenager through most of Reagan's presidency, so I remember a lot of these events, (and even some of Carter's presidency) but it was nice to see it all narrated w/ more historical detail.

I think some of the good things Reagan did were downplayed (I mean he did turn the economy around significantly in his first term (compared to what a mess things were w/ Carter)). The program also had an overly ominous tone in general - as though the Reagan presidency was this dark awful time for everyone but the very rich - which was not the case. Things improved compared to Carter for many, many regular people too - thus why Reagan was so popular. However, these types of programs always like to make conservatives villains so the negative slant wasn't unexpected to me (got to just take it with a grain of salt).

I especially liked the commentary of Kitty Kelly, their son and Stu Spencer - was nice to hear their real life accounts. James Bakker was good too.

Watch it yourself ignore the scores of 1 by right wingers, bringing the score down.

I'm not a Reagan-fan by any mean, I watched the documentary from a liberal minded European view. But I'm also a historian and value a balanced effort and fact-based telling of things. Because Reagan is such a mythical being it's good to be critical of that myth and most of the criticism in this documentary is based on reality.

Still, you cannot just push the narrative, you have to base it on facts and numbers which are not shown to us in the documentary. If you talk about economy or poverty, show the numbers! There are good moments in this mini-series but it's frustrating and too one-sided to be considered a great documentary.

People who look up to Ronald Reagan will hate this documentary. They will see more of the truth behind the myth than they would otherwise like. For those comfortably used to seeing Reagan canonized as the patron saint of modern day Republicanism, peeling back the veneer is going to be unpleasant.

A must if you want to better understand how the current conservative movement was primed to be hoodwinked by a pretender like our current POTUS.

My Senior year in high school PBS aired it's American Experience special on Reagan. It a fairly nuanced, maybe even somewhat sympathetic documentary. This, however, is not. I don't think anyone can deny this is a critique of the Reagan's almost exclusively from a Left Wing point of view. That being said, it's not bad. It's fairly interesting, but as a mentioned just know going in it's not a puff piece.

I wanted to watch and learn ...but the constant snarky and snide comments from Ron jr about his own father just turned me off ... between him and his sister I've never seen children so seemingly upset because their parents loved each other ....

He was a corporate puppet whose legacy is ruin.

Ignore the insane reviews left by sycophants who need demagoguery in their world, if you already didn't know of the harm Reagan did then you must be willfully ignorant, but this doc will show the sordid details in a stark light.

I really enjoyed this political documentary.

And although I agree with the fundamental portrait as Reagan being an actor as president, I feel that this documentary fails an important rule of journalism; being objective. It is VERY bias. Important events and facts have been left unmentioned. So when indulging into this documentary, you have to bear in mind that this is a mediocre piece of film making and journalism.

Ron Jr disdain for his father's politics is very well known. It came through with each of his smirky interviews. You have to feel sorry for a son who enjoys ruining his dead father.

If you are on the left, this is a 9 or 10. If you are on the right, this is probably a 1. As an independent, I can say this documentary is well written and informative. But it is absolutely biased. I would have liked more balance and some commentary from the other side's point of view. One of the commentators in the series clearly has a hatred for the Reagans and any conservative policies. I just don't see the value in providing such a one-sided documentary (but I suppose most documentaries are biased....). Watch it for what it is and learn from it. Keep an open mind. And most importantly, don't vote for someone just because they have D or R next to their name. Understand the issues and policies before voting.

Solid documentary so far into episode 3. President Reagan and his First Lady sure knew how to live the American dream. Too bad they dragged down the rest of the country with them to achieve it. Definitely for those who like to munch on political content and those who are curious. Highly recommended for people under the age of 35 who might not know much about a political era that has shaped much of the United States today.

Don't let the low rating put you off. If you read some of the negative reviews, you will soon understand the mindset of those who posted them. This is an excellent biop of a president who has for too long been lauded as a legend for no substantive reason. From his campaign slogan of "Make America Great Again," the parallels to Trump are all too apparent.

This was a liberal hit piece that makes no attempt at conveying to the viewer facts or actual history as it occurred. Nope, they re-write history and take every opportunity to smear the guy.

Could you imagine that your career and life are so pathetic that you'd have to create a faux documentary smearing a guy whose been dead for 16 years and hasn't been the president in over 30?

Don't waste your time with this junk it's definitely not historically accurate unless you are a far left liberal who believes in re-writing history to fit your narrative. Not sure why I am surprised considering the network it was on.

A well done documentary marrying video of the Reagans with contemporary accounts of people who knew them and worked with them, including their son.

Reagan was a B actor, a mediocre actor and someone who had very limited success in life until he was 60+ and he became the front man for powerful and wealthy interests who wanted a right wing government in California and later in America.

He went from being the head of a union (the Screen Actors Guild) to being anti union over night because the pay was better. He apparently never had any political or ideological views of his own and just aped the things that he was fed.

He was an actor. He made his living delivering the lines he was told to deliver, acting the way he was paid to act. In the documentary, you can see his non existent understanding of what he was fronting and you can hear people pick apart his positions, including the people he worked with.

His own son is very critical of him and is on record elsewhere saying that he doesn't think his father ever read a book. A single book. In his lifetime.

Reagan was a disastrous President and the decline of the country can certainly be connected to the things he did while President that were disastrous. And he created the lowered expectations that lead to the election of George W Moron and Trump.

A good example of a disastrous policy - eliminating the fairness doctrine in news which allowed the rise of Fox and others and the 7/24 disinformation age that we live in. Another example is the deregulation of the savings and loan industry which lead to enormous frauds in that industry and its collapse.

If you want a good summary of Reagan and his time in office, watch the documentary. Ignore the negative reviews. The people writing those are apologists for Reagan and Trump and the current brain dead GOP.

I wanted to watch something that would be worth my time, unfortunately this was not it. Mid-way through the first episode, you could tell that this documentary was made to smear Reagan. I would've preferred if they noted some of the good things he did, but instead they just went ham on smearing him. It got so bad, that the writers weren't bringing up facts but instead were treating their own ideas about Reagan as absolute truth. I won't go into it, so I don't spoil it for anyone still interested. This is for people who hate the Republican Party. For everyone else, this is unfortunately a poor one-sided documentary.

Reagan got into politics because his acting career was dryer than Ben Shapiro's wife. Lot of dumbo conservatives giving this low ratings, but who would have thought they'd like it anyway. They're better off watching Young Sheldon or The Apprentice

The reason I started watching this 4 episode mini-series is how much some racists were complaining about this and it was truly worth it. I've always wondered how Americans can be as dumb as to elect Trump and here I got the answer. The conservatives did elect the perfect guy for their beliefs back in the 80s and cemented the atmosphere. Even the MAGA slogan was used by him. He may have been a good man but did pave way for a lot of things through some of the worst right-wing decisions using his Hollywood charm. As someone who is not very well versed in this part of American history, this was a fascinating watch. I can even see some similarities with the current Indian government with the Reagan presidency as PR work is the backbone for both of these right-wing governments.

It is awful how the Reagans were to poor families while they spent money on themselves. It's INSANE that they gutted the New Deal and believed in Trickle Down economics. Obviously they were both spokespeople for evangelicals and corporations. It's also nuts they had so many gay friends and let AIDS just go unattended for so long. Or how he really felt he had not sold arms for hostages - when he had? It was good Reagan tried to deescalate nuclear tensions. The story comes off like a tragedy of a man who believed in the myth of America and the corporations who used him to hijack our political system.

Wow this is hit piece advertised as a documentary. Ron Jr hate for his family shines through in this one. If your a historian, a conservative or Reagan fan you will want to skip this. Basically, the sentiments of the Democrats from the 80's are taken from the political trail and are now presented as historical fact.