A four-part documentary series that explores the many surprisingly unexamined aspects of the Reagan White House, and how Nancy Reagan's paper-doll image was at odds with the power she ultimately wielded throughout her husband's presidency.
The testimony is steeped in acid, especially about matters like the Reagan administration's passion for cutting social services... It should be noted that, along with all its charges, this richly compelling series gives Reagan his due for achievements.
That assessment isn't as widely shared as the series indicates, but Tyrnauer is on firmer ground with his corollary argument that Reagan's election was the pivot that brought American politics and public life to where they are today.
On the off chance that there are viewers out there not yet utterly exhausted by American politics, this revealing Showtime documentary series provides plenty of fascinating insights into how the Republican Party has come to be how it is today.
The Reagans is certainly more pointed and zippily edited than if it had run on, say, PBS. But there's little here that isn't conventional progressive history, even if some of the minor details retain their power to shock.
