The Tenth Inning, a two-part, four-hour documentary film directed by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick, updates our landmark 1994 series, Baseball. Beginning where the original series left off, The Tenth Inning is based on the premise that this seemingly simple stick and ball game continues to be a window through which it is possible to see the best, as well as the worst, of America. Beginning in the early 1990s, the film tells the tumultuous story of our national pastime up to the present day, introducing an unforgettable array of players, teams and fans, celebrating the game’s resilience and enduring appeal, and showcasing a succession of extraordinary accomplishments and heroics – and devastating losses and disappointments.

Against a backdrop of surging globalization, a communications revolution, and dizzying cycles of boom and bust, The Tenth Inning begins with a crippling strike that alienates millions of fans and brings the game to the brink. Chastened, the players and the owners manage to find a way to work together, and baseball enters a period of unprecedented popularity – and skyrocketing profits. On the field, a generation of dazzlingly talented Latin players reinvent the game; the New York Yankees hire a new manager and build a new dynasty; baseball offers solace to a frightened country in the wake of the terrorist attacks of September 11th; and the Boston Red Sox provide their long suffering fans with some of the most painful, and some of the most joyous moments in their lives. An assemblage of larger than life athletes with tremendous gifts and grit – Pedro Martinez, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Manny Ramirez, Greg Maddux, Roger Clemens, David Ortiz, Ichiro Suzuki, Alex Rodriguez, and Barry Bonds -- do things that no one has ever done before.  But as hallowed records that have stood for decades are broken, a scandal of Shakespearean complexity threatens to destroy the faith of millions of loyal fans, and casts doubt on the integrity of the game itself.

A Film by
KEN BURNS
LYNN NOVICK

Written by
DAVID McMAHON &
LYNN NOVICK &
KEN BURNS

Produced by 
DAVID McMAHON
LYNN NOVICK
KEN BURNS

Editor
CRAIG MELLISH

Additional Editing
ERIK EWERS

Cinematography
BUDDY SQUIRES
with
ALLEN MOORE
KEN BURNS

Associate Producer
MIKE WELT

Narrated by
KEITH DAVID

Assistant Editor
MARGARET SHEPARDSON-LEGERE

Production Coordinator/Researcher
McKAY McFADDEN

Technical Director
DAVE MAST

Apprentice Editor
MEAGAN FRAPPIEA    

Corporate funding for The Tenth Inning is provided by Bank of America. Additional funding is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the Public Broadcasting Service.

Premiered Sunday, September 28-29, 2010