9/11: 20 Years On: viewing guide

Television this week looks back on the 9/11 World Trade Center attacks 20 years on.

Documentary and news specials screen across Free to Air and Subscription channels, spanning everything from survivors, emergency workers, children, President Bush, Gander airport, Come From Away musical and post-trauma comedy….

Children Of 9/11: Our Story
9:10pm Sunday 5th September on SBS (double episode)
Children Of 9/11: Our Story marks the 20th anniversary of the September 11th attacks by telling the stories of seven young people whose fathers were killed that day.

NYC Epicenters 9/11-2021 1/2 Part 1
10:10pm Sunday September 5 on FOX Docos
From Academy Award and Emmy-winner Spike Lee (HBO’s David Byrne’s American Utopia, When The Levees Broke) comes NYC Epicenters: 9/11 -> 2021 1/2, an epic chronicle of life, loss, and survival in the city of New York over the twenty years since the September 11 attacks. The multi-part documentary event will offer an unprecedented, sweeping portrait of New Yorkers as they rebuild and rebound from a devastating terrorist attack through the ongoing global pandemic. Capturing the history through a staggering amount of visual imagery, and featuring first-hand accounts from a panoply of citizens from all walks of life.

CNN Films Presents: 9/11
10am Monday September 6 on CNN
An updated look at the iconic film by filmmakers who were embedded with the FDNY on 9/11. Includes footage from inside the World Trade Center and a visit with some of the firefighters and their families as they reflect upon that day.

Front Row to History: The 9/11 Classroom
12pm Monday September 6 on CNN
CNN Anchor and Correspondent Victor Blackwell tells the story of the deeply historical event through the lens of the second grade students who were in their Sarasota, Florida classroom at Emma E. Booker Elementary school with President George W. Bush when he got word about the first plane crashing into the World Trade Center. We document the dramatic events through the eyes of the students, their beloved teacher, and former White House aides who were there with the president that unfathomable day.

Lost Calls of 9/11
12pm Monday September 6 on FOX News
Anchor Bill Hemmer tells the story of a Houston man who purchased a piece of used computer equipment without knowing that it contained 103 never-heard-before calls from a trading room floor across the street from the World Trade Center on the morning of September 11th

9/11: The Falling Man
7:30pm Monday, 6 September on SBS
This film will tell the story of the most unforgettable image from 9/11 – a photograph of a falling man, a jumper from the North Tower of the World Trade Centre, frozen in mid-air, perfectly parallel against the lines of those sun-kissed buildings. The image ran in newspapers and magazines across the world over the following week, and should have remained the defining image of that terrible day. Instead, it was quickly airbrushed out of history. Why? This film follows the trail of that photograph – of the photographer who shot it, of the citizens who decried it, of the editors who published it and then banned it, of the journalist who tried to identify the figure, of the wife and daughters ‘accused’ of being his family, and finally of the writer who confronted America with it in an award-winning magazine article. To follow that trail, the film takes the audience back to the events of that day from the point of view of those stranded on the top floors of the World Trade Centre, evoking the horror of what it must have been like inside those buildings after the planes had hit. As a result, the film’s overarching narrative – the trail of the photograph – also includes the narrative of the 102 minutes from the time the first plane hit the North Tower at 8.46 through to the second plane hitting the South Tower at 9.59, its collapse at 10.56 and the North Tower’s collapse at 10.28. Up until that point, the horrifying thud of the jumpers hitting the ground continued – sometimes in clumps, sometimes individually.

9/11: One Day in America
7:30pm Monday September 6 on Nat Geo
As a hijacked plane hits the North Tower, we follow the first firefighters on the scene and their race against time to rescue trapped civilians.

The Project Presents 9/11: 20 Years On.
7.30pm Tuesday 7 September on 10
It was a moment in history that changed the world forever. Everyone remembers where they were on September 11, 2001. The catastrophic terror attacks on American soil that took the lives of 2,977 men, women and children, was the nation’s deadliest act of terrorism in history. In the lead up to the 20th anniversary, Carrie Bickmore hosts an inspirational and moving special, The Project Presents 9/11: 20 Years On, at 7:30pm on Tuesday, 7 September on 10. Carrie reconnects with five families she met in New York on the 10th anniversary, to discover how they’re coping and how their lives have changed another decade on.

9/11: Escape from the Impact Zone
7:35pm Tuesday September 5
Told for the first time, this is the story of the handful of people in the South Tower, on the actual floors hit by the hijacked plane, who made it out alive. That anyone could survive the devastating inferno ignited by 34,000 litres of jet fuel is surprising enough. But how they managed to escape before the tower collapsed is even more extraordinary. Now, those who were there recall the unique life and death struggles that took place inside the Tower that morning – and reveal how they got away.

First In: CIA vs Bin Laden
2 Hour Special
Tuesday September 8 at 8.30pm on History
First In: CIA Vs. Bin Laden tells the full, true, first-hand story of one of the greatest manhunts in history. “First In” is the first documentary detailing the war between the CIA and bin Laden. From the first CIA officers that set boots on the ground in Afghanistan, days after 9/11, until the night Osama bin Laden was killed. First In reveals the inside story of the hunt for history’s most- wanted terrorist, thanks to our unique collaboration with the world’s largest and most sophisticated intelligence agency.

NYC Epicenters 9/11-2021 1/2 Part 2
7:30pm Wednesday September 8 on FOX Docos
From Academy Award and Emmy-winner Spike Lee (HBO’s David Byrne’s American Utopia, When The Levees Broke) comes NYC Epicenters: 9/11 -> 2021 1/2, an epic chronicle of life, loss, and survival in the city of New York over the twenty years since the September 11 attacks. The multi-part documentary event will offer an unprecedented, sweeping portrait of New Yorkers as they rebuild and rebound from a devastating terrorist attack through the ongoing global pandemic. Capturing the history through a staggering amount of visual imagery, and featuring first-hand accounts from a panoply of citizens from all walks of life.

Witness: 9/11 Kids
6am Thursday September 9 on Al Jazeera
What became of the schoolchildren President Bush was reading to when he was informed of the 9/11 attacks?

9/11: The Unheeded Warning
8:30pm Thursday September 9 on SBS
The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 sent the world into a state of shock. Yet some had been loudly and publicly warning of the dangers posed by terrorism. Ahmad Shah Massoud, an Afghan Mujahideen commander, was among them. It’s September 9, 2001, two days before the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Ahmad Shah Massoud, an Afghan commander fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan, is assassinated. Who ordered his murder? The same man who masterminded the attacks on the US two days later: Osama Bin Laden. For months, Massoud had tried to make his voice heard, warning about the global dangers posed by an ascendant Taliban in Afghanistan. But Europe and the United States weren’t listening. Why not? Would heeding his warnings have affected lucrative arms deals with Pakistan? Did economic interests take precedence over security? This little-known story is told firsthand by diplomats, political leaders and military officials. It sheds new light on the events leading up to the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Above all, it’s the story of a man who could have changed the fate of the world if his warnings had been heeded sooner.

9/11: Life Under Attack
9:35pm Thursday September 9 on ABC
9/11 was the first major news event in the age of digital cameras and voicemails. This remarkable film tells the never-before-told stories of that day, created through a tapestry of previously unseen video and unheard audio.

9/11: Phone Calls from the Towers
10:10pm Thursday September 9 on FOX Docos
Trapped in the Twin Towers on September 11, thousands of ordinary people struggled to make contact with the outside world.

Come From Away
Friday September 10 on Apple TV+
Apple Original Films announced today that the filmed version of the Tony & Olivier Award-winning hit musical “Come From Away” will premiere globally on Apple TV+ on Friday, 10 September. “Come From Away” is directed by Tony Award-winner Christopher Ashley, who directed the original Broadway production, and stars an ensemble cast led by members of the Broadway show. The original book, music and lyrics were written by Tony and Grammy Award nominees and Olivier Award winners Irene Sankoff and David Hein, who will also serve as Executive Producers alongside RadicalMedia’s Jon Kamen, Dave Sirulnick and Meredith Bennett. “Come From Away” tells the story of 7,000 people stranded in the small town of Gander, Newfoundland after all flights into the US are grounded on 11 September, 2001. As the people of Newfoundland graciously welcome the “come from aways” into their community in the aftermath, the passengers and locals alike process what’s happened while finding love, laughter, and new hope in the unlikely and lasting bonds that they forge. The live performance of “Come From Away” was filmed at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre this past May in New York City, where the Broadway production is staged, for an audience that included 9/11 survivors and front-line workers; and, employed over 200 people including members of the Broadway crew, staff and creative teams.

Comeback Season: Sports After 9/11
3pm Friday September 10 on ESPN2
ESPN’s award-winning Sunday morning sports magazine show, featuring the biggest names and the best stories in sports.

Too Soon: Comedy After 9/11
9:30pm Friday September 10 on SBS
It seemed incomprehensible to ever laugh again after September 11. Twenty years on, performers affirm that comedy remains a vital force for healing in the face of tragedy.

9/11: Escape From the Towers
11:35pm Friday September 10 on SBS VICELAND
9/11: Escape From the Towers is a gripping first-hand account of the 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center told exclusively from the unique perspective of survivors, most of whom are sharing their experiences for the first time. Focusing on two floors – the 81st floor of the north tower and the 77th floor of the south tower, just below the impact zones – it’s the story of ordinary working Americans who are completely unaware of the cause of the devastation right above their heads, or that they are caught up in the middle of the worst terror attack in American history.

9/11: Inside the President’s War Room
Now streaming on Apple TV+ (free on Sept 11)
Narrated by Emmy Award winner Jeff Daniels (“The Looming Tower,” “The Comey Rule”), “9/11: Inside the President’s War Room” is a new Apple Original documentary that explores the events of 11 September, 2001 through the eyes of President Bush and his closest advisors as they personally detail the crucial hours and key decisions from that historic day. The documentary special will also be available to watch on 11 September for free in honour of the 20th anniversary.

9/11: Control The Skies rpt
5:40pm Saturday September 11 on SBS
Gander was once the gateway to North America. Until the 1960s, commercial aircraft had limited range, and stopped in Gander to refuel before continuing to their destinations. Those days have passed, but despite its population of just 10,000, Gander still maintains a huge airport worthy of a major city. And on September 11, 2001, what begins as an ordinary day turns into a horrific disaster.

10 News First: In The Shadow Of The Towers
6pm Saturday September 11 on 10.
10 News First: In The Shadow Of The Towers brings together a diverse group of Australians, who have one thing in common: September 11, 2001. The events of that historic day 20 years ago, have been a defining part of their lives. Some are famous. Some remain unknown to this day. Hosted by Sandra Sully, who was famously live on air at the time of the attacks and broke the news to Australia, along with interviews by Hugh Riminton, 10 News First: In The Shadow Of The Towers tells the stories of Australians who are forever linked by the tragedy, including Simon Kennedy, whose mother, Yvonne, was on Flight 77 that crashed into The Pentagon.

9/11: Minute By Minute
7:30pm Saturday September 11 on Nine
This documentary will expose the frenzied communication that took place over the airwaves as flight attendants, aviation authorities and the president grappled with a nightmare. Join us as we reflect on the darkest day in American history.

9/11 The Pentagon
Saturday September 11 at 7.30pm on History
On September 11, 1941, the U.S. War Department broke ground on a massive new five-sided headquarters that would rise to become the ultimate symbol of the American military. 60 years to the day after construction began, a hijacked airliner crashed into the building as part of the largest coordinated terror attack ever on American soil. Told by the men and women who lived it, this is the dramatic story of what happened inside the building in the harrowing minutes after impact; a raw eyewitness account of tragedy, heroism and survival on the day that forever transformed a nation.

9/11 Stories
8pm Saturday September 11 on ABC News
20 Years after the September 11 Attacks, John Barron speaks with Australians who were affected by the historic events of 9/11. At 9:00pm, a half hour news bulletin with the latest COVID news and previewing the services in New York, Washington and here in Australia. At 9:00pm, a half hour news bulletin with the latest COVID news and previewing the services in New York, Washington and here in Australia.

9/11: Voices From The Air
8:30pm Saturday September 11 on FOX Docos
Authentic transmissions from on-board stewardesses, chilling voicemails from victims, and never-before-seen interviews provide a groundbreaking insight into what really happened on this ill-fated day.

Race Against Time: The CIA And 9/11
9pm Saturday September 11 on 10
September 11th marked the greatest failure in the history of the CIA and also sparked what became its greatest success – the elimination of the world’s most wanted terrorist.

The 9/11 Attacks: 20 Years On
9:30pm Saturday September 11 on ABC News
Ellen Fanning and Stan Grant host an hour special in the lead up to the US memorial service. There’ll be special analysis from Planet America host John Barron and live discussion from New York and other US cities about how 9/11 changed the world.

The Last Secrets of 9/11
9:30pm Saturday September 11 on FOX Docos
Through the miracle of DNA, new methods have been developed to identify 60% of the remains. For the families, the pain never ends and closure is such a hard word to swallow.

102 Minutes That Changed America
9:30pm Saturday September 11 on SBS
A look at those who witnessed the largest terror attack in history. 102 minutes passed between the first plane’s impact into North Tower of the World Trade Center on 11 September 2001, the second plane’s attack on South Tower, and the collapse of both buildings. During that time, people around New York reached for their cameras. This documentary joins together hundreds of pieces of footage and audiotape into a single, seamless historical record, much of it never seen before.

9/11: Twenty Years On
10pm Saturday September 11 on BBC World News
Special coverage of events being held to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks , with Laura Trevelyan in New York.

Moments of Silence
10:30pm Saturday September 11 on ABC News
From 10:30pm, live coverage from New York of the 20th anniversary memorial service which will include six moments of silence, to mark when each World Trade Centre tower was struck and fell, when the Pentagon was attacked, and when the hijacked Flight 93 crashed in a Pennsylvania field. The first of these silences will be at 10:46pm.

Surviving 9/11
10pm Sunday September 12 on Seven
A deeply personal film that moves between accounts of the two-hour period when terrorists attacked the Twin Towers, the Pentagon and Flight 93 and the story of the 20 years since.