July 29, 2022

American Masters

Tony—A Year in the Life of Dr. Anthony Fauci

 

 

New documentary follows Dr. Fauci for over a year, offering a behind-the-scenes look at his career, his struggles and successes during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dr. Anthony Fauci became a household name during the AIDS crisis of the ‘80s and ‘90s. The physician-scientist and immunologist has since served as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the Chief Medical Advisor to the President for seven different administrations. In 2020, he found himself in the spotlight again as the COVID-19 pandemic ravaged the globe. Now, the new documentary American Masters: Tony – A Year in the Life of Dr. Anthony Fauci captures the most prominent physician in America at work over a period of 14 months, beginning with Inauguration Day 2021, as he strives to improve national public health. Broadcast debut nationwide is scheduled for Spring 2023.

American Masters: Tony – A Year in the Life of Dr. Anthony Fauci chronicles Fauci at home, in his office and in the corridors of power as he battles the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the political onslaught that upends his life and calls into question his 50-year career as the United States of America’s leading advocate for public health. From heated discussions about the vaccine with Black residents in downtown Washington, DC, to his explanation for how the NIH-funded lab in Wuhan, China, could not have created a virus that made COVID-19, Dr. Fauci is candid, truthful and passionate. Nothing Fauci had previously faced, including the impassioned activists who challenged him during the HIV/AIDS epidemic, prepared him for the vitriol, political backlash, and the threats against his safety and that of his family. American Masters: Tony – A Year in the Life of Dr. Anthony Fauci will examine the life of the man behind the podium—a scientist, husband, father and public servant who admits on camera how he would have done things differently in hindsight.

Fauci’s prerogative to help others, including those who cannot afford medical treatment, is modeled upon his father’s compassionate service as a pharmacist in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn. He attended Cornell University's Medical College (now Weill Cornell Medicine), where he specialized in adult internal medicine, focusing mainly on infectious diseases and the immune system. Fauci graduated first in his class with a Doctor of Medicine degree in 1966, completed his internship and residency in internal medicine at New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center (now Weill Cornell Medical Center), and joined the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as a clinical associate in the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases' (NIAID) Laboratory of Clinical Investigation in 1968. Fauci became the director of NIAID in 1984, and he has led the United States’ efforts against such viral diseases as HIV/AIDS, SARS, Ebola, COVID-19, and more. Dr. Fauci recently stated that he will step down from his post as director of the NIAID at the end of President Biden’s term.

Now in its 36th season on PBS, American Masters illuminates the lives and creative journeys of our nation’s most enduring artistic giants—those who have left an indelible impression on our cultural landscape—through compelling, unvarnished stories. Setting the standard for documentary film profiles, the series has earned widespread critical acclaim: 28 Emmy Awards—including 10 for Outstanding Non-Fiction Series and five for Outstanding Non-Fiction Special—two News & Documentary Emmys, 14 Peabodys, three Grammys, two Producers Guild Awards, an Oscar and many other honors. To further explore the lives and works of more than 250 masters past and present, the American Masters website offers full episodes, film outtakes, filmmaker interviews, the podcast “American Masters: Creative Spark,” educational resources, digital original series and more. The series is a production of The WNET Group.