'Democracy on Trial' among PBS Frontline’s most watched films this year, producer says

The co-producer of the PBS Frontline's documentary on the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection and its aftermath said the film was one of its most viewed productions.

“It’s one of the most-watched films we’ve made this year, if not in many years,” said Mike Wiser, who co-produced the documentary with Michael Kirk, at a March 27 event at the Club. He said the attention was due to people seeking to learn about events in more detail. “It really seemed to resonate,” he said.

The documentary, “Democracy on Trial,” explored the events that culminated in the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol by supporters of Donald Trump and the proceedings of the bipartisan House select committee that investigated the insurrection.

Wiser spoke via video link after the screening with Temidayo Aganga-Williams, former senior investigative counsel for the Jan. 6 committee, and Club President Emily Wilkins, 

Asked why PBS decided to cover material that had already been broadcast to millions of viewers by the committee, Wiser said that filmmakers hoped to share the information with the public in the wake of Trump’s indictment for interfering with the 2020 election. 

“It was just unprecedented to have a situation like this with a former president, a presidential candidate, who is going to be standing trial,” Wiser said. “When that indictment came down, it felt like something that we had to do—a story that we had to tell.”

Williams shed light on the committee’s inner workings and as well as his perspective about what it accomplished.

“I think the goal we went for, which I think we succeeded at, was: can you impact the national conversation? Can you push the conversation further in one direction? That’s all you really can do,” Williams said, adding that he believes it may be difficult if not impossible to persuade hardline Trump supporters to question conservative narratives.

The documentary featured bodycam footage from officers defending the Capitol on Jan. 6 and more than 20 interviews with people on both sides of the political spectrum.

Speaking in the documentary, many who strongly identified as conservatives spoke of the reasons why they decided to challenge Trump regarding the election.

One of those interviewed, Arizona State Rep. Rusty Bowers, emphasized his loyalty to his oath to uphold the Constitution, while Georgia elections official Gabriel Sterling, a self-described “bureaucrat,” said he focused only on performing his civic duty and did not expect to be in the limelight. “No one should know who the hell I am," he said. "I was just doing my job.”

Wiser said he and his team also were focused on doing their job of seeking to inform all Americans about the facts. 

“There are people on both sides who live in media bubbles that are hard to penetrate,” Wiser said. “What we can do is to try to tell the story as accurately, and also as compellingly, as we can to keep people interested and engaged so that it can come through and they can see what happened.” 

He stressed that the events remain relevant with an eye to a possible trial. “Right now, as you know, there is a real question of whether that [a trial] will happen, and whether the political process might short-circuit the chances for a trial,” he said

"What happens next and the impact that it has on our politics or court system, is really what is yet to be determined,” Wiser said. “It going to be how we as a country, as journalists, as voters to respond to the information that was laid out.”