Three-Part Historical Docudrama Premieres for Thanksgiving 2026 

NEW YORK, Oct. 27, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — FOX Nation has partnered with Academy Award winner and Landman star Billy Bob Thornton for the new original three-part docudrama event Billy Bob Thornton Presents: The Mayflower, premiering November 23, 2026, announced Lauren Petterson, president of FOX Nation. Hosted by Thornton, the series revisits one of America’s most enduring origin stories, revealing the complex history of the Mayflower voyage, the First Thanksgiving and the events that forever shaped our nation. A first look from episode one is available here. 

In making the announcement, Petterson said, “Billy Bob Thornton is a captivating storyteller with a unique ability to bring history to life. The Mayflower offers a fresh and thought-provoking perspective on one of the most familiar chapters in American history, giving viewers a richer understanding of the people, conflicts and events that shaped our nation’s beginnings.” 

Spanning three episodes, Billy Bob Thornton Presents: The Mayflower traces the Pilgrims’ perilous Atlantic crossing aboard the Mayflower, the fragile alliance forged between the English settlers and the Wampanoag people, and the devastating conflict that ultimately transformed Britain’s colonies into the earliest foundations of an American identity. 

Academy Award-winning writer, actor, director and musician Billy Bob Thornton has an extensive and impressive career in motion pictures, television, and theater. Charismatic and uniquely talented, Thornton has established himself as one of the most sought-after filmmakers and actors of his generation. Currently celebrating a high-water mark in his career, Thornton is starring in the hit Paramount+ series “Landman,” for which he received Critics’ Choice Award and Golden Globe Award nominations for Best Actor in a Television Drama. His recent projects have also included the Amazon series Goliath, for which his performance received rave reviews and garnered him a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Television Drama; the critically acclaimed FX Network limited television series Fargo, for which he received Golden Globe and Broadcast Television Critics Awards for Best Actor in a miniseries or Movie, and Emmy and SAG Award nominations in the same category. He garnered a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy for his role in the critically acclaimed box-office hit “Bad Santa,” and received rave reviews for his portrayal of legendary frontiersman Davy Crockett in Touchstone Pictures’ “The Alamo.” Showing the versatility of his acting abilities, Thornton starred in the caper comedy “Bandits”; the film noir “The Man Who Wasn’t There”; and the drama “Monster’s Ball.” Each of the three performances garnered Thornton unprecedented critical acclaim and resulted in him being named Best Actor of 2001 by the National Board of Review, Golden Globe nominations for Best Actor in a Drama for “The Man Who Wasn’t There” and Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy for “Bandits,” and an American Film Institute Award nomination for Best Actor for “The Man Who Wasn’t There.”  Thornton’s release of the critically acclaimed feature film “Sling Blade,” which he starred in and directed from an original script he wrote, firmly secured his status as a preeminent filmmaker. For his efforts, he was honored with both an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay and an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. In addition, Thornton received an Academy Award nomination and Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his celebrated work in the drama “A Simple Plan,” as well as a Best Supporting Actor award from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and a Best Supporting Actor nomination from the Screen Actors Guild.  He also co-starred in the blockbuster action-adventure film Armageddon. Thornton will next be seen starring in the highly anticipated dramatic feature film “Somedays.”

In developing the series, the team consulted a range of historical resources and experts, including historians at Plimoth Patuxet Museums, where portions of the series were filmed, as well as acclaimed historian Nathaniel Philbrick, author of the Pulitzer Prize finalist Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War. Praising the project’s effort to introduce this pivotal chapter of American history to a new audience, Philbrick said, “The voyage of the Mayflower set into motion what would become the United States. Kudos to Billy Bob Thornton for helping to bring this vital story from America’s past to life.”

The series is produced by AIRtime Projects and Terminal B TV with executive producers Billy Bob Thornton, Geyer Kosinski, Tom Forman, David Metzler, Jordan Rosenblum and showrunner and executive producer John Ealer.  

FOX Nation is a direct-to-consumer on-demand streaming service designed to complement the FOX News Channel experience with a members-only destination for its most passionate and loyal super fans. Featuring more than 10,000 hours of content, the subscription service includes lifestyle and entertainment content, as well as historical documentaries and investigative series from a multitude of FOX News personalities. Morning Consult named FOX Nation as one of the top 10 fastest-growing brands in 2023 among Gen Z adults, with the platform placing in the top 15 overall. Launched in 2018, FOX Nation is available at foxnation.com and via app for iOS devices, Android devices, FOX One, Prime Video, Fire TV, Apple TV, Google TV, Android TV, Roku, Xbox One, FuboTV, Vizio TVs, and Samsung TVs, as well as DIRECTV, DIRECTV STREAM, YouTube TV, Comcast Xfinity, Cox Contour, The Roku Channel, DISH and SLING.

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FOX Nation Media Contact:
Alexandra Coscia: 212.301.3272 or Alexandra.Coscia@FOX.com

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