United States of America eSeries: April showers bring May series 🎬

April showers bring May series 🎬

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Your behind-the-scenes access awaits

You won't have to stay up too long to get your late-night fix - on Sunday, May 2 we're bringing you a new CNN Original Series: The Story of Late Night. The six-part docuseries chronicles how legendary hosts (Johnny Carson, Jay Leno, David Letterman) changed late-night television forever. To get a taste of what's to come, listen to the show's companion podcast Behind the Desk: The Story of Late Night.

Host Bill Carter, a CNN Contributor and former New York Times Media Reporter, takes us through late-night desks' most memorable moments with first-hand, behind-the-scenes accounts from some of the most notable names in entertainment history. Listen to the trailer here - the first two podcast episodes will be available on Thursday, April 22 via Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts.

RSVP for a special advance screening of The Story of Late Night on Tuesday, April 27 at 7 PM ET, followed by a conversation with Bill Carter. Reserve your spot here.

Digging deeper with United Shades of America

Season 6 of United Shades of America is like none before it. As much of the country was shutdown, Bell traveled the nation, masked up and socially distanced, to film this season entirely during the Covid-19 pandemic.

In the season 6 premiere "Policing the Police" on Sunday, May 2, Bell examines the history and current state of policing in America through the eyes of activists, organizers, politicians, victims and police themselves in his hometown of Oakland, CA and the Bay Area. In future episodes, he'll explore Afrofuturism, the wealth gap, the shifting ethnic makeup of the US and more.

Join us on Wednesday, April 28 at 7 PM ET for an exclusive United Shades of America Clips & Conversation event featuring W. Kamau Bell and CNN's Sara Sidner! Register here to secure your spot. Check out the trailer for season 6 here and catch up on season 5, available on demand via CNNgo and your cable provider, beginning April 15.

A viewer's guide to The People v. The Klan

After watching the first two episodes yesterday, you may want to learn more about the Donald case and its historical context. You're in luck: The William Monroe Trotter Collaborative for Social Justice at the Harvard Kennedy School has an educational guide that offers exactly that. Below are four books from the guide, check out the full reading list here.

"The Light of the Truth: Writings of An Anti-Lynching Crusader" by Ida B. Wells
"Death of Innocence: The Story of the Hate Crime that Changed America" by Mamie Till-Mobley and Christopher Benson
"The Lynching: The Epic Courtroom Battle that Brought Down the Klan" by Laurence Leamer
"At the Hands of Persons Unknown: The Lynching of Black America" by Philip Dray

The final two episodes of The People v. The Klan air back-to-back on Sunday, April 18 @ 9 PM and 10 PM ET/PT.