It’s June 2002 – nine months after 9/11. In a year where terror had become a daily topic, the American public is wary and weary. School lets out for one of the hottest summers on record and families everywhere are looking for something easy and feel-good to do together. In the comfort of air-conditioning, there’s finally an alternative to baseball: American Idol, a music competition show that all ages and genders can agree on. 

Idol was a breakaway phenomenon. Hundreds of millions of people voted, countless more tuned in. It broke records in music and television, was #1 for 10 consecutive seasons, and turned Fox into the #1 network on TV. 

American Idol, American Dream exposes the untold stories of American Idol that you wouldn’t know if you didn’t work on the show. This 90-minute documentary explores the historic impact of the world’s most successful TV show and how the Idol juggernaut empowered the audience, changed the landscape of TV and music, and influenced a generation.