Any discussion of films and TV series about the American revolution has to start with a caveat. There have been historical movies for as long as there have been movies, but films and TV series about the great founding event of the US have been thin on the ground, certainly until the 21st century.

In 1917, an American director was even prosecuted for making Spirit of 76, a film about the revolution that criticised America’s new ally Great Britain. It wasn’t until 1985 that Hollywood tried a big budget retelling of the American revolution, with Revolution (1985).

Sadly the Al Pacino vehicle, while spectacular, had an incoherent storyline and was an unmistakable flop. It was another 15 years before Hollywood tried again with The Patriot (2000). The Patriot was more financially successful but arguably even less popular among the historical community (including myself).

Amid all these flops, however, a few gems emerged in a different medium – television. I’m a historian of the American revolution and these are my favourite ways the story has been told on TV.

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This four season AMC TV series stars Jamie Bell as patriot spy Abraham Woodhull, who was a leading figure George Washinton’s successful spy network, the Culper Ring. The series was based on the book Washington’s Spies by Alexander Rose (2006).

The series has 40 episodes, and each one is action packed. For me, it conjures up the secret war of the........

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