The docu-series premieres this Sunday.
Following a successful inaugural season detailing the history of the Wild West, Bill O’Reilly’s Legends and Lies docu-series for Fox News Channel was picked up for another two seasons. Season two, which airs this weekend, focuses on the American Revolution patriots who, by rebelling for what they believed in, shaped the United States into what it is today. To tell this story, showrunners moved filming to Richmond and enlisted actors hailing from the region.
The series’ season two premiere episode, “The Rebellion Begins,” dives into the minds of Paul Revere and Samuel Adams and documents the American rebel group, the Sons of Liberty, as they set into motion the first steps toward independence from Great Britain, ultimately culminating in the Boston Massacre.
From there the season’s first nine episodes, which will all air this summer, follow the footsteps of the first three presidents, George Washington, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, along with Benjamin Franklin, Francis Marion and Benedict Arnold. The final summer episode will chronicle the fatal duel between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr. The series will return in December when Fox News airs the last three episodes in a Christmas special highlighting George Washington’s valiant crossing of the Delaware River.
Legends and Lies’ second season was filmed in and around Richmond and parts of North Carolina. Director Kevin Hershberger even enlisted actors from North Carolina, Virginia and D.C. My Best Friend’s Wedding actor and Alexandria native Dermot Mulroney will narrate season two, and Richmond’s Harry Kollatz Jr. will star as Benjamin Franklin.
The series’ second season was in part inspired by O’Reilly’s book of the same name and coincides with the skyrocketing popularity of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical Hamilton. According to Fox News, each hourlong episode will include historical re-enactments as well as analysis and insights from historians and experts.
Legends and Lies’ history deep-dive ultimately intends to peel back the tiers of the country’s legends to discover the original layer—the truth. The season two premiere airs this Sunday, June 5, at 8 p.m.
