The Food That Built America

The Food That Built America is an American nonfiction docudrama series for the History Channel, that premiered on August 11, 2019. Each episode outlines the development of a popular type of food or restaurant in the United States, typically focusing on the rise of two major companies that become rivals. Historical events in the relevant timelines are re-enacted for dramatic effect and interspersed with commentary by culinary historians, business experts, and food enthusiasts.

The series was first announced in March 2019. The first season premiered on August 11, 2019, and ran for three episodes until August 13. In May 2020, the series was renewed for a second season, which premiered on February 9, 2021, and ran for 16 episodes. The third season premiered on February 27, 2022, and consisted of 12 episodes. The fourth season premiered on February 19, 2023, and consisted of 16 episodes.

It is the fourth installment of the That Built franchise.

Production


In March 2019, the series was green-lit. In May 2020, the series was renewed for a second season. Yoshi Stone is the series' showrunner. Along with Stone, Kim Woodard, Greg Henry, and Isaac Holub executive produce for Lucky 8. Jim Pasquarella and Mary E. Donahue executive produce for the History Channel.

Reception
The first season garnered a total of 18.8 million viewers.

Podcast
In February 2021, the History Channel partnered with Ozy Media to launch a podcast of the same name. The first episode premiered on February 4, 2021.

The Food That Built America Snack Sized
In 2021, the producers of The Food That Built America created a new series called The Food That Built America Snack Sized by reediting some episodes to approximately half of the original size through the elimination of food historian commentary and some minor scenes to make smaller size episodes with a faster pace.