Meryl Streep, Jeff Goldblum, & More to Lend Voices to Henry David Thoreau Film at PBS

Meryl Streep, Jeff Goldblum, George Clooney, and more are lending their voices to Henry David Thoreau, a new, three-part, three-hour film about the American writer for PBS.

Directed by Erik Ewers and Christopher Loren Ewers, and executive produced by Ken Burns and Don Henley, the movie will air on March 30 (Episodes 1 and 2) and March 31, 2026 at 9:00 p.m. ET (check local listings). A trailer for the film can be seen below.

Henry David Thoreau examines the life and work of the 19th-century writer in the context of antebellum New England and the larger United States, as well as through the universal themes he focused on in his writings: an individual’s relationship to the state, how to live an authentic life, our connection to nature, and the impact of race on American life.

Set against the political and social tensions of the mid-19th century, the film traces Thoreau’s journey from his early days in Concord, Massachusetts to his deep engagement with the moral crises of his time, including industrialization, slavery, war, and environmental degradation. Through his essays, journals, and landmark works such as Walden and Civil Disobedience, he became an inspiration for generations of writers, thinkers, and activists.

The film draws on a rich collection of archival materials, newly filmed cinematography in Concord and beyond, and interviews with scholars, writers, and environmentalists. Among the people featured in the film are Pico Ayer, Douglas Brinkley, Lois Brown, Kristen Case, Laura Dassow Walls, Clay Jenkinson, Robin Kimmerer, J. Drew Lanham, Bill McKibben, Michael Pollan, Rebecca Solnit, and more. 

The film illuminates the vibrant intellectual and political community that shaped and nurtured Thoreau. Concord, Massachusetts in the mid-19th century was a crucible of new ideas about religion, nature, politics, and social reform. Thoreau moved among the towering figures of American thought, such as his mentor Ralph Waldo Emerson, Margaret Fuller, Bronson Alcott, Frederick Douglass, the radical abolitionists of Boston, and the even more controversial John Brown, engaging in debates that would define the era.

Henry David Thoreau is narrated by George Clooney and voices are provided by Ted Danson (Ralph Waldo Emerson), Tate Donovan (William Ellery Channing), Jeff Goldblum (Henry David Thoreau), and Meryl Streep (Lidian Emerson, Margaret Fuller, Mary Merrick Brooks, and Maria Thoreau).

The film is a Ewers Brothers Production, in partnership with Florentine Films and WETA Washington, D.C. Directed by Erik Ewers and Christopher Loren Ewers. Written by David Blistein. Produced by Julie Coffman and Susan Shumaker, Producers Christopher Loren Ewers and Erik Ewers. Director of Photography Christopher Loren Ewers. Edited by Erik Ewers and Ryan Gifford. Co-Produced by Cauley Powell. Original Music Score by David Cieri. 

Photo Credit: PBS