PBS's long-running documentary series American Experience has unveiled a slate of new limited series for 2027, headlined by a four-part history of the FBI and a three-part profile of aviator Charles Lindbergh.

The FBI series, titled The Bureau: A Secret History of the FBI, is set to air in autumn 2027. It will trace, in the words of the producers, "the rise, weaponization, and survival of the nation's most powerful law enforcement agency" (The Hollywood Reporter). Directors Sharon Grimberg and Sarah Colt are helming the project. Grimberg previously directed McCarthy, and Colt previously directed Walt Disney for the same series.

Before the FBI series arrives, American Experience will premiere Lindbergh in May 2027 — a three-part documentary about Charles Lindbergh, the aviator who completed the first uninterrupted solo flight across the Atlantic. Stephen Ives, director of The West, is directing, with Ken Burns on board as executive producer.

A series about the Great Depression is also in development, though no air date or episode count has been announced. The upcoming season will additionally feature reruns of two Stanley Nelson documentaries: Freedom Riders (2010) and Freedom Summer (2014).

American Experience is produced by GBH, the Boston public broadcaster. Raney Aronson-Rath serves as editor-in-chief of GBH documentaries, and Susan Goldberg is CEO of GBH. The full slate was announced in a GBH press release on 30 July 2026 (GBH).

The series is 37 years old, but its digital footprint is growing fast. In the five months preceding the announcement, American Experience drew more than 19 million views across TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube — a 273% jump from the same period a year earlier.

What stands out here is the range. A single season slate covers a federal law enforcement agency, a celebrated aviator, the Great Depression, and civil rights documentaries from a decade and a half ago. That breadth has been the series' formula since 1988, and the 2027 lineup stays squarely within it.