James Read

North and South is the title of three American television miniseries broadcast on the ABC network in 1985, 1986, and 1994. Set before, during, and immediately after the American Civil War, they are based on the 1980s trilogy of novels North and South by John Jakes. The 1985 first installment, North and South, remains the seventh-highest rated miniseries in TV history. North and South: Book II was met with similar success, while 1994’s Heaven and Hell: North and South Book III was poorly received by both critics and audiences.

The saga tells the story of the enduring friendship between Orry Main of South Carolina and George Hazard of Pennsylvania, who become best friends while attending the United States Military Academy at West Point but later find themselves and their families on opposite sides of the war. The slave-owning Mains are rural planters, while the Hazards, who resided in a small Northern mill town, live by manufacturing and industry, their differences reflecting the divisions between North and South that eventually led to the Civil War.