Forty years ago, Lawrence, Kansas was at the center of a global discussion on nuclear war when over 2000 of its residents participated in a made-for-TV movie that shook-up the nation, rattled President Reagan and helped avert nuclear war.

On November 20, 1983, ABC-TV broadcast The Day After, a chilling fictional account of the aftermath of a nuclear war on this small city in Kansas. More than 100 million viewers tuned in, making it the highest-rated made-for-TV film in history. The broadcast came after weeks of buildup and behind-the-scenes controversy extending all the way to a White House in the midst of a nuclear arms race with the Soviet Union.

With impressive access to the principals involved with the project and a trove of archival footage, the critically acclaimed, multi-award winning documentary Television Event revisits the improbable story of this harrowing, groundbreaking broadcast and the impact it left on the Reagan era and beyond.

Join us December 4, 2024 for a special screening of Television Event followed by a 40th anniversary reunion Q&A featuring The Day After’s cast and crew both in-person and virtually including:

● Actor, Steve Guttenberg
● TDA Director, Nicholas Meyer (Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan)
● TDA Producer, Bob Papazian (Rome, Inherit the Wind)
● TDA Producer, Stephanie Austin (Terminator 2, True Lies)
● Actor and Lawrence local, Ellen Moore who played Jolene Dahlberg
● Local casting agent, Jack Wright
● Former Mayor of Lawrence, David Longhurst
● Television Event director, Jeff Daniels

Before the screening KU Libraries and the Watkins Museum of History will display and share items from their archives related to the filming of The Day After.

This is a community partnership event, so Free State Film Society Subscribers do not receive free admission to this screening.