American Playhouse
Season 4
198422 episodes
Episode 1
Testament
Nov 26, 19841h 30m
It's just another day in the small town of Hamlin until something disastrous happens. Suddenly, news breaks that a series of nuclear warheads has been dropped along the Eastern Seaboard and, more locally, in California. As people begin coping with the devastating aftermath of the attacks — many suffer radiation poisoning — the Wetherly family tries to survive.
Episode 2
A Matter of Principle
Dec 3, 19841h
TMDB rating 7.0TMDB
Flag Purdy, a 'man of many principles', must learn the hard lesson of compromisation in order to keep his wife and children. The 'final straw' comes when the family bring a Christmas tree into his house.
Episode 3
Solomon Northup's Odyssey
Dec 10, 19841h 55m
A free Black man from New York is tricked, kidnapped, and sold into slavery in the South, where he endures twelve years of brutal servitude before finding a way to contact his family and secure his freedom.
Episode 4
Tomorrow
Dec 17, 19841h 43m
A lonely farmer takes in a pregnant woman and looks after her. After she gives birth, tragedy strikes.
Episode 5
Go Tell It on the Mountain
Jan 14, 19851h 36m
Over a single, pivotal Saturday in 1930s Harlem, 14-year-old John Grimes wrestles with his religious calling and his fraught relationship with his abusive, hypocritical stepfather, Gabriel. Extended flashbacks explore the oppressive Southern past and personal histories of John's mother, his aunt, and Gabriel, ultimately illuminating the generational trauma and complex family secrets that shape his life.
Episode 6
Noon Wine
Jan 21, 19851h 21m
On a hot day in 1890s Texas, a stranger arrives at the small dairy farm of Royal and Ellie Thompson, seeking work. A taciturn, English-speaking Swede from North Dakota, Olaf Helton is competent, strong, and good at farm work. As years pass, the farm flourishes. Then one day, a second stranger also from North Dakota, Homer Hatch, changes lives in ways no one could have imagined.
Episode 7
The Joy That Kills
Jan 28, 198556m
TMDB rating 7.0TMDB
Louise dreams of traveling the world, but her weak heart and husband Brently's overbearing concern prevent her from doing so. However, news of a train accident changes everything.
Episode 8
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank
Feb 4, 19851h 23m
Computer programmer Aram Fingal's virtual vacation in the classic film Casablanca is removed by a totalitarian government and accidentally trapped in the virtual reality simulation. He must find a way out before he expires.
Episode 9
The Star-Crossed Romance of Josephine Cosnowski
Feb 11, 198556m
Ralph Parker navigates his first serious romance with his new Polish neighbor, Josephine Cosnowski, during a Thanksgiving setting.
Episode 10
Some Men Need Help
Feb 18, 19851h 17m
An oddball Good Samaritan parable as ex Mafioso tries to save his drunk neighbor from himself.
Episode 11
Charlotte Forten's Mission: Experiment in Freedom
Feb 25, 19851h 53m
Charlotte Forten is a young Black woman who became an integral part of President Lincoln's 'Great Experiment'. During the Civil War, Southern troops were forced off the Sea Islands off the coast of Georgia, which left 8,000 slaves as free. Miss Forten's mission was to journey south to Sea Island and lead those slaves in the transition from slavery to freedom, where she sought to give newly freed black children a decent education and chance for a better life.
Episode 12
Breakfast with Les and Bess
Mar 11, 19851h 30m
An eccentric couple broadcast their morning radio talk show from their New York apartment in the 1960s.
Episode 13
Nightsongs
Apr 15, 19851h 56m
A Chinese refugee from Vietnam emigrates to America, where she prepares to meet several relatives for the first time.
Episode 14
Under the Biltmore Clock
Apr 25, 19851h 19m
In 1915 Chicago, 21-year-old Myra Harper sets her sights on the wealthy and reserved Knowleton Whitney. All goes well, but later when Myra meets his wacky parents, it turns out to be much harder for Myra than simply landing the man of her dreams.
Episode 15
Displaced Person
May 6, 19851h
A young Black boy comes of age in an all-white German orphanage run by white nuns. Townspeople tease him that his father is an American GI named Joe Louis. Told of a 'sighting' of the alleged father, the boy sets out to find the soldier.
Episode 16
The Europeans
May 15, 19851h
The Countess Eugenia and her brother Robert, expatriate Americans who have grown up in Europe, return to prosperous relatives in New England. Eugenia hopes to make an advantageous marriage with a wealthy cousin. As Eugenia encounters obstacles, Robert finds his suit bearing fruit.
Episode 17
El Norte
May 20, 19852h 21m
Indigenous Guatemalan siblings Rosa and Enrique flee their village after a government massacre and undertake a perilous journey to the United States ('El Norte') seeking a new life, only to face new hardships as undocumented immigrants in Los Angeles.
Episode 18
Three Sovereigns for Sarah (1)
May 27, 198557m
In 1703 Salem, accused witch Sarah Cloyce, seeking justice for her sisters, recounts the events leading up to the trials, focusing on feuding neighbors and the girls' accusations, including those by Abigail Williams.
Episode 19
Three Sovereigns for Sarah (2)
Jun 3, 198557m
In 1703 Salem, accused witch Sarah Cloyce, seeking justice for her sisters, recounts the events leading up to the trials, focusing on feuding neighbors and the girls' accusations, including those by Abigail Williams.
Episode 20
Three Sovereigns for Sarah (3)
Jun 10, 198557m
In 1703 Salem, accused witch Sarah Cloyce, seeking justice for her sisters, recounts the events leading up to the trials, focusing on feuding neighbors and the girls' accusations, including those by Abigail Williams.
Episode 21
Paper Angels
Jun 15, 19851h
Chinese immigrants are detained on Angel Island in 1915 during the Chinese Exclusion era. The new arrivals express their hopes and anxieties as they try to reconcile their Chinese heritage with their new lives in California.
Episode 22
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Jun 24, 19852h 24m
An alcoholic ex-football player drinks his days away, having failed to come to terms with his sexuality and his real feelings for his football buddy who died after an ambiguous accident. His wife is crucified by her desperation to make him desire her: but he resists the affections of his wife. His reunion with his father—who is dying of cancer—jogs a host of memories and revelations for both father and son.