External links
| Current |
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| Former |
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| Upcoming |
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| American Classic | |
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| Genre | Comedy |
| Created by | Michael Hoffman Bob Martin |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Tom Howe |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 3 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
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| Producer | Sean Fogel |
| Production companies |
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| Original release | |
| Network | MGM+ |
| Release | March 1, 2026 – present |
American Classic is an American comedy television series from creators Michael Hoffman and Bob Martin. It premiered on March 1, 2026 on MGM+. It stars Kevin Kline, Jon Tenney and Laura Linney.
A narcissistic Broadway star returns to his hometown after a public meltdown and decides to save his family-run theatre by directing and starring in a production of a great American classic. [1]
| No. | Title [2] | Directed by | Written by [3] | Original release date [2] | U.S. viewers (millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Pilot" | Michael Hoffman | Michael Hoffman and Bob Martin | March 1, 2026 | TBD |
| 2 | "Swan Song" | Michael Hoffman | Michael Hoffman and Bob Martin | March 1, 2026 | TBD |
| 3 | "Juniper Berries" | Tricia Brock | Michael Hoffman and Bob Martin | March 8, 2026 | TBD |
| 4 | "Big Spender" | Tricia Brock | Michael Hoffman and Bob Martin | March 15, 2026 | TBD |
| 5 | "Schicklgruber" | TBA | Michael Hoffman and Bob Martin | March 22, 2026 | TBD |
| 6 | "Real Rain" | TBA | Ellen Fairey | March 29, 2026 | TBD |
| 7 | "Camelot" [4] | TBA | Ellen Fairey | April 5, 2026 | TBD |
| 8 | "Our Town" [5] | TBA | Michael Hoffman and Bob Martin | April 12, 2026 | TBD |
In January 2025, MGM+ gave an eight-episode series order to American Classic, a half-hour comedy starring and executive produced by Oscar winner Kevin Kline and created by Michael Hoffman and Bob Martin. The series has been in the works at MGM+ for more than three years, and was announced as part of the development slate of the platform in February 2022. Following that, Fifth Season came on board as studio, with Mar-Key Pictures, Likely Story and Anonymous Content producing. Writers Hoffman and Martin as well as Ellen Fairey are executive producers alongside Kline, Leslie Urdang, Anthony Bregman, and Miriam Mintz, David Levine and Garrett Kemble for Anonymous Content, with Hoffman directing the pilot episode. [6]
The cast, led by Kline, also contained Jon Tenney and Laura Linney, and included Harris Yulin, Jane Alexander, Jessica Hecht, Billy Carter, Nell Verlaque, Ajay Friese and Elise Kibler. Principal photography was scheduled for New Jersey in the summer of 2025. [7] Filming had begun in June 2025 when Yulin died from a cardiac arrest prior to the commencement of his scenes. [8] Director Hoffman said in a statement "All of us at American Classic have been blessed by our experience with him. He will always remain the beating heart of our show.” [9] In July, Yulin’s character was recast by Len Cariou, and was joined with additional cast in recurring roles. [10] The casting of Tony Shalhoub, Aaron Tveit and Stephen Spinella were revealed in January 2026. [11]
The series premiered on March 1, 2026 with the first two episodes, followed by a weekly release leading into the season finale on April 12. [11]
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 89% approval rating based on 9 critic reviews. [12] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, gave a score of 70 out of 100 based on 7 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. [13]