Background
The program debuted in 1983, with former NBC anchorwoman Jessica Savitch as its host, but Savitch died later in the first season. Judy Woodruff took over as anchor in 1984, and hosted the program for five years. In 1990, the show did away with the anchor position, and left the narrator to introduce each report.
Since 1988, Frontline has also aired "The Choice"—a series of special editions aired during the lead-up to presidential elections, focusing on the two candidates in the running to become President of the United States. The most recent of these aired on October 9, 2012, and featured a dual biography tracing the lives and careers of incumbent President Barack Obama and his challenger, Mitt Romney. The previous installment aired on October 14, 2008, using the same dual-biography format for Obama and John McCain. The 2008 documentary, produced by Michael Kirk, generated favorable reviews from The New York Times, which stated that the program helped viewers "gain perspective" about the "idea-oriented campaign", and The Los Angeles Times, which labeled it "refreshingly clear" and "informative".
Most Frontline reports are an hour in length, but some are extended to 90 minutes or beyond. Frontline also does occasional specials like "From Jesus to Christ", "The Farmer's Wife", and "Country Boys".
Since 1995, Frontline has been producing deep-content, companion web sites for all of its documentaries. The series publishes extended interview transcripts, in-depth chronologies, original essays, sidebar stories, related links and readings, and source documents including photographs and background research. Frontline has made many of its documentaries available via streaming Internet video, from their website.
Will Lyman is the distinctive voice who has narrated most of the series since its inception in 1983. However, certain reports have been narrated by David Ogden Stiers and Peter Berkrot.
The show is produced by the WGBH Educational Foundation, the parent company of WGBH-TV in Boston.
Read more about this topic: Frontline (U.S. TV series)
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