The making of “Bucks County, USA”

Award-winning filmmakers Robert May and Barry Levinson join Studio 2 to discuss their new documentary series.

Air Date: September 16, 2026

Homes in Bucks County, Pa. (Kimberly Paynter/WHYY)

A five-part documentary series will start airing on PBS this weekend. The subject? Pennsylvania’s own Bucks County.

In an attempt to better understand our national political climate, camera crews set up shop in a county that Governor Josh Shapiro once dubbed ‘the swingiest of all swing counties in the swingiest of all swing states.’

Over the course of several years, filmmakers followed a community whose fault lines had been cleaved open by the COVID-19 pandemic. Tense rivalries formed in school board meetings as pandemic-era policy debates gave way to heated battles over gay pride flags and library books.

At the heart of the series are the relationships – former friends turned political rivals, teachers with opposing viewpoints trying to find common ground, and two teenage best friends trying to navigate through the culture wars around them.

Award-winning filmmakers Robert May and Barry Levinson join Studio 2 to discuss their new series, the people at the center of it, and what Bucks County might tell us about the broader political moment we’re in in 2026.

Guests:

Robert May, award-winning independent filmmaker
Barry Levinson, Oscar-winning director, screenwriter and producer

WHYY is your source for fact-based, in-depth journalism and information. As a nonprofit organization, we rely on financial support from readers like you. Please give today.