From the Age of Industrialism’s introduction of the revolver to the commercialization of the personal computer in the Digital Age, America’s unique combination of inspiration, necessity, capitalism, and brilliance has produced some impressive technology, a number of which The National Geographic Channel surveys in their 2015 miniseries American Genius.

It starts with two of America’s well-known entrepreneurial figures, Bill Gates and Steve Jobs and touches on the lives, accomplishments, and failures of people like Samuel Colt and Daniel Wesson, William Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer, David Sarnoff and Philo Farnsworth, even the scientific programs the U.S. and Russia in the episode “Space Race,” which tackles the countries’ desires to be the first to the moon.

American Genius takes advantage of the naturally competitive spirit of capitalism, and focuses on lead figures in each of their industries and which of them was able to find a place in the lives of consumers. The show looks at how each invention functions and how each writer captured his or her audience.

Within each episode, there is a tone of respect for the feats of these inventors, businessmen, writers, and scientists, but American Genius does not shy away from what the pressure of success, self, and society do to the world stage’s highest performers, some upstanding in character and feats and others struggling to uphold standards and accomplishments simultaneously. The show examines professional and personal lives, as well as proud and shameful moments; it gives insight to ambition and what characteristics and opportunities make world-turners, and how sometimes part of succeeding and pushing forward is stamping out rivalries.

American Genius does sit solidly in the docudrama category; most of each episode is reenactment, but it isn’t much of a drawback unless one really prefers a purer documentary, or something that would appeal to watchers who already know a bit about the topic matter. With that said, the docuseries offers a good level of introductory information; it is just enough to educate watchers on the topic without being overwhelming, in both historic and scientific aspects.

It’s a very easy watch and good brain food and is definitely family and school friendly, but it is probably safe to say that a little bit of license is taken to history for the dramatized portions, since show makers can never actually know everything about history. They do well with the drama and documentary balance, though; it is interesting to sit in on a day in the life of the Wright brothers as they sketch plane models or watch the influence and drama of Hearst and Pulitzer’s Yellow Press as they redefine journalism and battle their own vices.

Available on Netflix and Amazon

Time commitment: 1 Season

Why its worth the binge: American Genius captures the excitement of the Age of Invention/Industrial Age, looks at the capitalistic backbone that helped build America, humanizes and personalizes history makers, and holds a unique look at well-known rivalries, offering easy-to-digest layman’s explanations of inventions and the detangling of history.