Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Television

Kermit the Frog and Miss Mousey in "The Muppets Valentine Show"

Kermit the Frog Was Just Trying to Put on a Variety Show. Fifty Years Later, the Muppets Are Some of the Biggest Stars in Television History

The first episode of Jim Henson’s “The Muppet Show” premiered in the United Kingdom on September 5, 1976. Enthusiasm for the eclectic ensemble has endured ever since

Felicio (played by Frankie Treadaway) and his mother (Madeleine Walker) try to escape Mount Vesuvius' eruption in "Pompeii: Out of Time With Tom Hiddleston."

Based on a True Story

We All Know the Story of the Pompeii Victims Who Died When Mount Vesuvius Erupted 2,000 Years Ago. Archaeologists Are Still Learning About Those Who Made It Out Alive

A semi-fictionalized documentary series hosted by actor Tom Hiddleston follows three people in the ancient towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum who experienced the disaster in 79 C.E.

Katherine Read’s self-portrait

Cool Finds

Art Sleuths Discovered a Lost and ‘Enormously Important’ Portrait of an Elite Indian Woman by This Pioneering Scottish Painter

Katherine Read was one of the most fashionable portrait creators in London before she moved to India. She found success portraying women and children

The Creature Shop is located in Queens, inside the former Standard Motors building, a two-block-long behemoth with high ceilings and freight elevators capable of accommodating even the biggest birds. 

A Peek Inside Jim Henson’s Creature Shop, Where ‘Sesame Street’ Characters and Other Whimsical Puppets Are Designed

Every weekend, the magical workshop opens its doors for the public to see how legendary film and television characters are made

None

America at 250: The Revolutionary Spark

Every Generation of Teenagers Redefines Pop Culture Through Its Favorite Music, Fads, Movies and Trends

When new government policies allowed kids more time to grown up, the teenager was born. And every decade or so, they’ve changed the ways they entertain themselves … and everyone else

Jerry Lawson’s gaming system featured interchangeable cartridges, so users could swap out titles like “Space War” and “Math Quiz.”

America at 250: The Revolutionary Spark

This Unsung Black Developer Unlocked the Code to Turning a Video Game Console Into a Virtual Living Room Arcade

Jerry Lawson’s Channel F system was the first to put games on interchangeable cartridges, paving the way for Atari, Nintendo, Xbox and PlayStation

Iconic soap characters: Susan Lucci’s Erica Kane of All My Children; Eric Braeden’s Victor Newman of The Young and the Restless; and Tamara  Tunie’s Jessica Griffin Harris of As the World Turns. Tunie now stars in CBS’ Beyond the Gates. 

America at 250: The Revolutionary Spark

The Queen of Soap Operas Started Off By Telling Stories About the Drama She Was Missing in Her Own Life

Irna Phillips was a radio voice actor in Chicago when she was asked to create a serialized program. From that, she created a legacy that includes ‘Guiding Light’ and ‘As the World Turns’

Rhys Ifans (standing in second row) as the chief designer in "Star City," a spinoff of Apple TV's "For All Mankind" 

Based on a True Story

Soviet Cosmonauts Trained at Star City as They Raced to Beat America to the Moon. Now, a New TV Series Imagines What Happened Behind the Base’s Walls

Apple TV’s “Star City” takes place in a world where the space race never came to an end. A spinoff of “For All Mankind,” the show is told from the Soviet perspective

Portrait of Faye Emerson in Paris, August 17, 1951

Faye Emerson Became the ‘First Lady of Television’ During the Medium’s Early Days. But Her Groundbreaking Success as a Late-Night Host Is Largely Forgotten Today

She rose to fame in the mid-20th century with “The Faye Emerson Show” on CBS, interviewing luminaries and speaking directly to viewers

An immunity necklace from the 50th season of “Survivor”

As ‘Survivor’ Finishes Its 50th Season, the Smithsonian Acquires the Sought-After Immunity Necklace and Other Props From the Iconic Reality TV Show

Items from the first and most recent seasons of the hit program will be added to the permanent collection of the National Museum of American History

William Golding, author of Lord of the Flies

‘Lord of the Flies’ Comes to Television for the First Time in a New Miniseries. In the 1950s, the Now-Famous Novel Almost Never Got Published

Publishers rejected the original manuscript for “Lord of the Flies” many times, yet the story still sparks a buzz today. Author William Golding later won the Nobel Prize in Literature

The game has taken a variety of twists and turns.

How the Classic American Game of Twister Went From Risqué to Record-Breaking

Sixty years ago, Johnny Carson and Eva Gabor played Twister on “The Tonight Show,” and the public took it as permission to buy the controversial game

Wishbone ready for his close-up

In the 1990s, a Dog Taught Kids About Shakespeare and Homer. A New Documentary Tells the Tale of ‘Wishbone’—From His Backflips to His Historical Hats

The film reunites the human cast and crew who saw the potential of a Jack Russell terrier to bring classic literature to life on PBS

A visitor gazes at a statue of a giant short-faced bear. At around 11 feet tall, the Ice Age animal was the largest carnivorous mammal ever to roam North America.

250 Places to Celebrate America

The La Brea Tar Pits Have Been Sucking in Visitors for Millennia. Paleontologists Are Still Finding Out What Lies Within the Ooze

In Los Angeles, scientists are delighted to decode one of the richest fossil records on Earth

The three-part BBC series is scheduled to air later this year.

Charles Dickens Searched the Streets of London and Found Inspiration for His Evocative Fiction

A three-part BBC series will examine how real events shaped the 19th-century British author’s writing. The show is part of the National Year of Reading in the U.K.

Spinosaurus was the largest and most aquatic of the spinosaurs, a group of dinosaurs with crocodilian snouts.

Was Spinosaurus Really a ‘Hell Heron’? Digging Into the Star of Netflix’s ‘The Dinosaurs’

With an incredible sail and heavy bones that might have acted as ballast, Spinosaurus seems primed for snatching fish. The creature has long captivated the public, from its early mysteries to the recent discovery of a new species

Tony Soprano sees a psychiatrist throughout the show.

‘The Sopranos’ Changed How Television Told Stories. These Scripts, Sketches and Set Designs Reveal What Made the Mob Drama So Thrilling

An exhibition at the Museum of the Moving Image in New York provides visitors with a behind-the-scenes look at the award-winning HBO show

An equestrian portrait of General Thomas-Alexandre Dumas, father of the novelist Alexandre Dumas

Based on a True Story

The Real Count of Monte Cristo Was Alexandre Dumas’s Father, a Trailblazing Black General

Ahead of the March 22 premiere of a new TV adaptation, learn about the life of Thomas-Alexandre Dumas, the French Army officer who inspired the beloved novel

The Brady house is located on Dilling Street in Studio City.

The Iconic House From ‘The Brady Bunch’ Is Now an Official Historic Landmark in Los Angeles

Viewers saw the house in shots of the Brady home’s exterior, though interior scenes were filmed in a studio. A few years ago, the structure was renovated to match the sets

Caitríona Balfe as Claire Fraser (left) and Sam Heughan as Jamie Fraser (right) in season one of "Outlander"

Based on a True Story

The Final Season of ‘Outlander’ Is Here. See the Most Iconic Kilts, Gowns and Other Costumes From the Time Travel Drama

An exhibition at the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown showcases 26 ensembles from the Starz series’ first four seasons

Page 1 of 23