| How the States Got Their Shapes | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Starring | Brian Unger |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 (+ 1 special) |
| No. of episodes | 29 (+ 1 special) |
| Production | |
| Production location | United States of America |
| Running time | 44 minutes (season 1) 23 minutes (season 2) (+ 2 hour special) |
| Original release | |
| Network | History Channel |
| Release | April 6, 2010 (2010-04-06) – December 22, 2012 (2012-12-22) |
How the States Got Their Shapes is an American television series that aired on the History Channel. It is hosted by Brian Unger and is based on Mark Stein's book How the States Got Their Shapes. The show deals with how the various states of the United States established their borders but also delves into other aspects of history, including failed states, proposed new states, and the local culture and character of various U.S. states. It thus tackles the "shapes" of the states in a metaphorical sense as well as a literal sense.
Each episode has a particular theme, such as how the landscape, language, or natural resources contributed to the borders and character of various U.S. states. The show format follows Unger as he travels to various locations and interviews local people, visits important historical and cultural sites, and provides commentary from behind the wheel of his car as he drives from location to location. Interspersed with these segments are brief historical synopses by notable U.S. historians.
The show started as a single two-hour special which first aired in April 2010 but returned as a regular series of one-hour shows starting in May 2011. Season 2 premiered in the fall of 2012, with a slightly reality-oriented format and episodes shortened to 30 minutes, airing Saturdays on H2, with encore showings on Friday night on the History channel. Many of season 2's episodes contained material already covered in season 1.
| Season | Episodes | Originally aired | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First aired | Last aired | |||
| Special | April 6, 2010 (2010-04-06) | |||
| 1 | 10 | May 3, 2011 (2011-05-03) | July 12, 2011 (2011-07-12) | |
| 2 | 19 | September 29, 2012 (2012-09-29) | December 22, 2012 (2012-12-22) | |
| No. overall | Title | Original air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "How the States Got Their Shapes" | April 6, 2010 (2010-04-06)[1] |
| No. overall | No.in season | Title | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 1 | "A River Runs Through It" | May 3, 2011 (2011-05-03)[2] |
| 3 | 2 | "The Great Plains, Trains, & Automobiles" | May 10, 2011 (2011-05-10)[3] |
| 4 | 3 | "Force of Nature" | May 17, 2011 (2011-05-17)[4] |
| 5 | 4 | "State of Rebellion" | May 24, 2011 (2011-05-24)[5] |
| 6 | 5 | "Living on the Edge" | June 7, 2011 (2011-06-07)[6] |
| 7 | 6 | "Use It or Lose It" | June 14, 2011 (2011-06-14)[7] |
| 8 | 7 | "Church And States" | June 21, 2011 (2011-06-21)[8] |
| 9 | 8 | "A Boom with a View" | June 28, 2011 (2011-06-28)[9] |
| 10 | 9 | "Culture Clash" | July 5, 2011 (2011-07-05)[10] |
| 11 | 10 | "Mouthing Off" | July 12, 2011 (2011-07-12)[11] |
| No. overall | No.in season | Title | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | 1 | "Red State vs. Blue State" | September 29, 2012 (2012-09-29) |
| 13 | 2 | "White Collar vs. Blue Collar" | September 29, 2012 (2012-09-29) |
| 14 | 3 | "Hillbilly vs. Redneck" | October 6, 2012 (2012-10-06) |
| 15 | 4 | "Hatfields vs. McCoys" | October 6, 2012 (2012-10-06) |
| 16 | 5 | "North vs. South" | October 13, 2012 (2012-10-13) |
| 17 | 6 | "BigFoot vs. Aliens" | October 13, 2012 (2012-10-13) |
| 18 | 7 | "Great Lakes, Big Stakes" | October 20, 2012 (2012-10-20) |
| 19 | 8 | "Battle of the Bible Belt" | October 20, 2012 (2012-10-20) |
| 20 | 9 | "Vice vs. Virtue" | October 27, 2012 (2012-10-27) |
| 21 | 10 | "MidWest vs. The Rest" | October 27, 2012 (2012-10-27) |
| 22 | 11 | "Is West Best?" | November 3, 2012 (2012-11-03) |
| 23 | 12 | "City vs. Country" | November 3, 2012 (2012-11-03) |
| 24 | 13 | "East vs. West" | November 10, 2012 (2012-11-10) |
| 25 | 14 | "Rebels & Outlaws" | November 17, 2012 (2012-11-17) |
| 26 | 15 | "Mess with Texas" | November 24, 2012 (2012-11-24) |
| 27 | 16 | "State vs. State" | December 8, 2012 (2012-12-08) |
| 28 | 17 | "Rich vs. Poor" | December 8, 2012 (2012-12-08) |
| 29 | 18 | "Big vs. Small" | December 15, 2012 (2012-12-15) |
| 30 | 19 | "The United Shapes of America" | December 22, 2012 (2012-12-22) |
