The BEST Smithsonian Channel shows of all time

Every Smithsonian Channel show, ranked

We've compiled the average episode rating for every Smithsonian Channel show to compile this list of best shows!

Air Warriors
star
9.10
112 votes

#1 - Air Warriors

A winged fighter that hasn’t lost a fight in 26 years, a lifesaver that’s part plane and part chopper, and an attack helicopter our enemies call the Black Death. These are America’s undisputed kings of the sky: the F-15 Eagle, the V-22 Osprey, and the AH-64 Apache. And their success stories are as remarkable as they are improbable. Witness their turbulent journeys, brought to life through rarely seen combat footage and the stories of the dedicated pilots and teams who fly and maintain these ultimate air warriors.

View Episode Rankings
Aerial America
star
8.20
286 votes

#2 - Aerial America

Take off on a thrilling flight across America. This epic series offers rare glimpses of our nation's most treasured landmarks, all seen from breathtaking heights. From busy cityscapes to quiet landscapes, we capture the history and the pageantry of our amazing country, which is as diverse as the people who occupy it.

View Episode Rankings
America in Color
star
7.77
54 votes

#3 - America in Color

From the 1920s through the 1960s, America transformed from a young country on the rise into a global superpower. Using digital colorization technology, we present these formative decades as few have seen them, revisiting 50 vibrant years of good times and great despair, technological triumphs and natural disasters, and global villains and national heroes.

View Episode Rankings
Air Disasters
star
7.00
84 votes

#4 - Air Disasters

Harrowing stories of tragedy and triumph are brought to life through official reports, transcripts and interviews with the pilots, air traffic controllers and lucky survivors of history's most terrifying crashes. Widely considered to be the safest form of travel, air transportation is still in its infancy and when midair calamity strikes, the results are often catastrophic. From the cockpit to the cabin, from the control room to the crash scene, we uncover just what went wrong.

View Episode Rankings