Makers: Women Who Make America

The new documentary is one of the best and most far-reaching films about the modern women's movement.

Inevitably, there’s some overlap (“The Mary Tyler Moore Show” is cited in both of these first two hours), but Makers offers an evenhanded look at the barriers women have faced, while celebrating the accomplishments of those pioneers who have overcome them.

It's an awfully good [documentary].

Once you get past its curiously unhelpful title, this six-part series offers a powerful look at the rise of women over the last half century, in fields from comedy to politics.

In the beginning, this program feels like old news (one generation has seen it all before, and the other doesn’t care), but the narrative quickly comes together and still has the power to astound.