Smithsonian Channel launches DRINKS, CRIME AND PROHIBITION Series in authentic NYC Speakeasy. The two-part series is now available on Amazon.
Smithsonian Channel held a premier event in an NYC speakeasy for its newest series, DRINKS, CRIME AND PROHIBITION, complete with period drinks, piano music, and more. It was a celebration of the very dynamic crowds that would have filled the speakeasy over 100 years ago. Although today, maybe with fewer crime bosses.
We’re coming up on the 100th anniversary of prohibition- the period in American history in which the sale and transport of alcohol was banned. Instead of American discontinuing to consume, it kicked off one of the most rampantly entrepreneurial periods in history. To help illustrate this myth-filled but truly fascinating period, The Smithsonian Channel has produced and released DRINKS, CRIME, AND PROHIBITION: a full-scale exploration of this time in American History.
Armed with a wealth of primary source material, Smithsonian Channel has combined the storytelling prowess of SHOWTIME® with the unmatched resources and rich traditions of the Smithsonian. The result is an engaging story with support of experts like Avery Fletcher, historian at 21 Club, Peter Liebhold of The Smithsonian Institute, Daniel Okrent, Author, “Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition” and more. Prohibition in America was an era of profound contradictions – a period of unprecedented government intervention into the lives of citizens, and yet also a time of exuberance, decadence and casting off restraints. It’s a deep dive into the underbelly of a time characterized as much by jazz, illegal booze and female liberation as it was by gangsters and brutality. The two-part special premieres Monday, June 11 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Smithsonian Channel.
The national ban on alcohol was fully enacted in 1920 and soon spurred the rise of the urban speakeasy – the illegal bars where Americans of different genders, classes, races and sexualities felt free to meet and mingle – but social mixing was a decidedly unintended consequence.
It’s a thrilling story with input from mixologists, economic experts, and historians alike, resulting in a surprising and well-rounded series that gets into the challenges of immigration, freedom, the changing face of crime, and creativity in the period.
DRINKS, CRIME AND PROHIBITION is produced and directed by Alex Jouve, with William Morgan and Jason Williams serving as executive producers for JWM Productions. Tim Evans and David Royle serve as executive producers for Smithsonian Channel. The program was inspired by a section of the American Enterprise exhibition at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.
Watch on Amazon here.
