John Adams - Season 1 - Eps 1: Join or Die
In an emotionally charged trial John Adams defends the British sentries involved in the Boston Massacre who contend they were provoked into firing on the assembled crowd. John's success brings him offers of positions in the Massachusetts government. But after John Hancock rouses a crowd to tar and feather a representative of the British East India Tea Company and the British respond to the growing unrest with oppressive measures, John instead speaks against the British policies and chooses to represent Massachusetts in the Continental Congress.
About John Adams

Title: John Adams
First Air Date: 2008-03-16
Last Air Date: 2008-04-20
Status: Ended
Rating: 7.7/10 (from 306 votes)
Language: EN
Seasons: 2
Total Episodes: 7
Network: HBO
Genres: Drama
Production Companies: Mid Atlantic Films, Playtone, HBO Films, High Noon Productions
Synopsis
Adapted from David McCullough's Pulitzer Prize-winning biography, this lavish seven-part miniseries chronicles the life of Founding Father John Adams, starting with the Boston Massacre of 1770 through his years as an ambassador in Europe, then his terms as vice president and president of the United States, up to his death on July 4, 1826.
Cast

Paul Giamatti
John Adams

Laura Linney
Abigail Adams

Stephen Dillane
Thomas Jefferson

Danny Huston
Samuel Adams

David Morse
George Washington

Sarah Polley
Abigail Adams Smith

Tom Wilkinson
Benjamin Franklin

Steven Hinkle
Young John Quincy Adams

Madeline Taylor
Young Nabby Adams

John Dossett
Benjamin Rush