The 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks will bring a fresh wave of media attention.
One three-part documentary airs tonight (Aug. 21) and then streams; another is coming Sept. 1. And several will debut Sept. 11, 25 years after planes hit the World Trade Center towers (shown here) and the Pentagon.
Here’s a chronological round-up of what’s been announced so far:
— Tonight: “9/11 Reunited” debuted from 8-11 p.m.on the National Geographic Channel and then goes to Disney+ and Hulu. It brings together some of the strangers whose lives intersected that day, often through lifesaving heroics,
— Sept. 1: “9/11 United We Stand: 25 Years Later” debuts from 9-11 p.m. on ABC, reaches Hulu and Disney+ the next day and returns to ABC Sept. 11.
The special links the production companies of two people who were New York sports stars at the time — baseball’s Derek Jeter and football’s Michael Strahan (now on ABC’s “Good Morning, America”). It views the role of sports, music, comedy and Broadway in the attack’s aftermath.
The film includes comedian Pete Davidson (whose father, a firefighter, died that day), musician Jon Bon Jovi, actors Billy Crystal and Matthew Broderick, comedian/anchors Jon Stewart and Jimmy Fallon and newspeople Martha Raddatz, Robin Roberts and George Stephanopoulos.
— Sept. 8: PBS’ “Frontline” reruns “The Man Who Knew.” It looks at FBI agent John O’Neill, who had warned about Osama bin Laden, and asks how much the government knew before the attacks.
— Sept. 11: CBS starts its coverage at 7 a.m. on its morning show, with Tony Dokoupil at Ground Zero and Nora O’Donnell at the Pentagon.
At 8:30 a.m., it has a 90-minute report covering the three memorial events, in New York, at the Pentagon and in Shanksville, Pa., where passengers died after attacking the terrorists and forcing the plane to crash before it could do more damage.
At 8 p.m., “9/11: We Remember” will include reports from Lesley Stahl, Dokoupil and O’Donnell — who will interview Gen. Dan Caine, now head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff but then a young pilot, facing the possibility of shooting down commercial planes.
From 9-11 p.m., “Daughters of 9/ll” follows two women who fathers died that day. Working with a detective, they confront the man accused of masterminding the attacks.
The reports and other specials will then stream on Paramount+ and on CBS News 24/7.
— Sept. 11: In addition to rerunning its Sept. 1 special, ABC will debut a new hour. “9/11 Tribute in Light: Live From Lower Manhattan” views the installation that has lit New York each year on Sept. 11.