{ "id": "epk3x9sj2z", "slug": "turning-point-9-11-and-the-war-on-terror", "title": "Turning Point: 9/11 and the War on Terror", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series", "label": "Series and fictional screen worlds", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_unscripted", "label": "Unscripted, reality, and web-native series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_unscripted" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_documentary_factual", "label": "Documentary, docudrama, and lifestyle series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_documentary_factual" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_documentary_factual.true_crime_docuseries", "label": "True crime and investigative docuseries", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_documentary_factual.true_crime_docuseries" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_documentary_factual.true_crime_docuseries.yr-2006-2022", "label": "Premiered 2006 to 2022", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_documentary_factual.true_crime_docuseries.yr-2006-2022" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.us.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series.series_documentary_factual.true_crime_docuseries", "label": "United States · 2021 and later: True crime and investigative docuseries", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series.series_documentary_factual.true_crime_docuseries", "path": [ { "id": "geo.us", "label": "United States", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2021", "label": "United States · 2021 and later", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2021.culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.culture" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2021.culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.culture.performance" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2021.culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series", "label": "Series and fictional screen worlds", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series.series_unscripted", "label": "Unscripted, reality, and web-native series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series.series_unscripted" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series.series_documentary_factual", "label": "Documentary, docudrama, and lifestyle series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series.series_documentary_factual" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series.series_documentary_factual.true_crime_docuseries", "label": "True crime and investigative docuseries", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series.series_documentary_factual.true_crime_docuseries" } ] } ], "excerpt": "Turning Point: 9/11 and the War on Terror is a 2021 five-part Netflix docuseries by Brian Knappenberger covering the September 11 attacks and the war on terror from 1979 to the 2021 Afghanistan withdrawal; a 2026 follow-up film, Generation 9/11, interviews those too young to remember.", "snippet": "Turning Point: 9/11 and the War on Terror is a 2021 five-part Netflix docuseries by Brian Knappenberger covering the September 11 attacks and the war on terror from 1979 to the 2021 Afghanistan withdrawal; a 2026 follow-up film, Generation 9/11, interviews those too young to remember.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_documentary_factual.true_crime_docuseries.yr-2006-2022", "markdown": "# Turning Point: 9/11 and the War on Terror\n\n*Turning Point: 9/11 and the War on Terror* is a five-part Netflix documentary series directed by Brian Knappenberger that chronicles the September 11, 2001 attacks and the two decades of war and policy that followed, released on September 1, 2021, days before the attacks' twentieth anniversary.[1](https://media.netflix.com/en/only-on-netflix/81315804) • [2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/turning_point_9_11_and_the_war_on_terror) The series frames its subject with the claim that modern history divides into before 9/11 and after 9/11, and runs from the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 to the Taliban's return to control of Afghanistan weeks before the anniversary.[1](https://media.netflix.com/en/only-on-netflix/81315804)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Format | Five-part docuseries, Netflix, documentary/history, TV-14, released September 1, 2021[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/turning_point_9_11_and_the_war_on_terror) |\n| Director | Brian Knappenberger; executive producers Brian Knappenberger, Eve Marson, and Lowell Bergman[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/turning_point_9_11_and_the_war_on_terror) |\n| Interviews | 88 interviews with officials from multiple US presidential administrations, former CIA members, US military veterans, Afghan National Army soldiers, Taliban commanders, Afghan government members, warlords, and civilians, many of whom had never spoken on camera before[3](https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2021/09/24/turn-s24.pdf) • [1](https://media.netflix.com/en/only-on-netflix/81315804) |\n| Time span | From the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan to the US withdrawal and Taliban takeover in 2021[1](https://media.netflix.com/en/only-on-netflix/81315804) |\n| Critical reception | 83% Tomatometer (6 reviews) and 85% Popcornmeter on Rotten Tomatoes; Metascore 74 on Metacritic[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/turning_point_9_11_and_the_war_on_terror) • [4](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/turning-point-911-and-the-war-on-terror/critic-reviews/) |\n| Follow-up | *Turning Point: Generation 9/11*, a 97-minute standalone documentary released on Netflix on September 2, 2026[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/turning_point_generation_9_11) • [6](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/turning-point-generation-9-11-netflix-documentary-tv-review-2026) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Content and structure\n\nThe series opens in New York City on the morning of Tuesday, September 11, 2001. At 8:46am a first plane struck the North Tower of the World Trade Center; seventeen minutes later, at 9:03am, a second plane struck the South Tower.[7](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/tv/reviews/turning-point-9-11-documentary-netflix-b1912404.html) From there the narrative pauses and travels back to 1979 and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, which the series treats as a remarkable turning point in history, examining the takeover and the United States' support of the Afghan resistance as a defining moment that shaped foreign relations afterward.[7](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/tv/reviews/turning-point-9-11-documentary-netflix-b1912404.html)\n\n**The day itself.** By the end of the first episode the story returns to the United States. Episode two covers [American Airlines Flight 77](https://www.edgepedia.org/american-airlines-flight-77), which crashed into the Pentagon at 9:37am killing 184 victims, and pays tribute to the passengers of [United Airlines Flight 93](https://www.edgepedia.org/united-airlines-flight-93), who fought the hijackers before their plane crashed into a field in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. The episode then returns to New York, where the South Tower collapsed at 9:59am and the North Tower at 10:28am.[7](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/tv/reviews/turning-point-9-11-documentary-netflix-b1912404.html) In total, the four hijacked airplanes left 2,996 people dead.[7](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/tv/reviews/turning-point-9-11-documentary-netflix-b1912404.html)\n\nOne sequence recounts how President George W. Bush first learned of the attacks while reading books to second-grade students at a school: [Andrew Card](https://www.edgepedia.org/andrew-card), then [White House Chief of Staff](https://www.edgepedia.org/white-house-chief-of-staff), leaned over and whispered, \"A second plane hit the second tower. America is under attack.\" Card recounts the moment on camera, alongside the clip and the famous photograph of the president's expression of dismay.[7](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/tv/reviews/turning-point-9-11-documentary-netflix-b1912404.html)\n\n**The questions the series poses.** Netflix's synopsis states that the series asks who attacked the United States and why, what breakdowns in intelligence allowed the attacks to happen, and how decisions at the highest levels of three administrations in the war on terror brought the country to the moment of the 2021 withdrawal.[1](https://media.netflix.com/en/only-on-netflix/81315804) Director Knappenberger, commenting around the release, noted that after the longest war in American history, with trillions of dollars spent, thousands of American lives lost, and hundreds of thousands of Afghans killed, the Taliban had again seized control of Afghanistan weeks after a US withdrawal, and asked how the day had changed the country.[3](https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2021/09/24/turn-s24.pdf)\n\n## Reception\n\nCritical response was generally favorable. On Rotten Tomatoes, season 1 holds an 83% Tomatometer from 6 reviews and an 85% Popcornmeter audience score.[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/turning_point_9_11_and_the_war_on_terror) Metacritic assigned a Metascore of 74, based on 5 positive and 1 mixed review from 6 critics.[4](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/turning-point-911-and-the-war-on-terror/critic-reviews/)\n\nReviewers emphasized different strengths. Aaron Barnhart of Primetimer called it \"exactly the kind of serious, searing recapitulation that this moment demands,\" praising five \"expertly compressed\" episodes.[4](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/turning-point-911-and-the-war-on-terror/critic-reviews/) Clémence Michallon of *The Independent* scored it 4/5 and described it as a comprehensive, timely examination of the events, their historical context, and their contemporary implications.[7](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/tv/reviews/turning-point-9-11-documentary-netflix-b1912404.html) Nick Schager of The Daily Beast called it an upsetting, enraging, and largely even-handed history lesson about the preceding two decades, while noting that rather than uncovering bombshells it serves as an extremely watchable survey meant to be the streaming service's definitive 9/11-related viewing option.[8](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/turning-point-911-and-the-war-on-terror/season-1/) John Anderson, writing in *The Wall Street Journal*, noted that the series' objective of tracking the motives of the perpetrators back to the 1980s, beyond the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, distinguished it from contemporaneous anniversary documentaries.[8](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/turning-point-911-and-the-war-on-terror/season-1/) A more critical line held that a viewer interested specifically in either a 9/11 documentary or a War on Terror documentary could find better-focused alternatives, since the series attempts both in depth.[4](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/turning-point-911-and-the-war-on-terror/critic-reviews/)\n\nThe World Socialist Web Site's review took issue with the framing of the title itself, arguing that the series accepts too many premises of the war on terror and does not substantively challenge US foreign policy, while still calling the material and imagery valuable.[3](https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2021/09/24/turn-s24.pdf)\n\n## The director\n\nBrian Knappenberger's earlier documentaries include *We Are Legion: The Story of the Hacktivists* (2012), *The Internet's Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz* (2014), *Nobody Speak: Trials of the Free Press* (2017), and *Scout's Honor: The Secret Files of the Boy Scouts of America* (2023).[6](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/turning-point-generation-9-11-netflix-documentary-tv-review-2026) • [3](https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2021/09/24/turn-s24.pdf)\n\n## Follow-up: Generation 9/11\n\nA standalone companion film, *Turning Point: Generation 9/11*, was released on Netflix on September 2, 2026, with a runtime of 1 hour 37 minutes and narration by [Josh Brolin](https://www.edgepedia.org/josh-brolin).[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/turning_point_generation_9_11) Where the 2021 series covered causes and consequences across five hours, the film takes a generational angle: with a few exceptions, its interview subjects were infants or toddlers on September 11, 2001, and the film is about the generation that inherited the world the attacks created rather than about people remembering them.[6](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/turning-point-generation-9-11-netflix-documentary-tv-review-2026)\n\nThe film follows children who lost parents in the attacks, journalists who began their careers covering the original war on terror, and young Afghans and Marines dealing with the fallout of the 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan, including the chaotic evacuation at Abbey Gate.[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/turning_point_generation_9_11) • [6](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/turning-point-generation-9-11-netflix-documentary-tv-review-2026) It also examines discrimination directed at Muslims, refugees, and immigrants in the aftermath of the attacks, and connects the surveillance architecture erected after 9/11 to later domestic enforcement practices.[9](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/tv-reviews/turning-point-generation-911) • [5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/turning_point_generation_9_11)\n\nCritics were more divided than for the series. The film's Tomatometer stood at 31% from 7 reviews, against a 50% audience rating.[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/turning_point_generation_9_11) Richard Roeper of RogerEbert.com gave it 3.5/4, calling it journalistically solid and provocative while conceding that 96 minutes is not enough time to cover so many angles of the 9/11 fallout.[6](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/turning-point-generation-9-11-netflix-documentary-tv-review-2026) Lucy Mangan of *The Guardian* gave it 4/5, writing that the film establishes the depth of the tragedy and then its breadth, arguing that decisions made in the aftermath shaped the United States into its current state.[10](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2026/sep/02/turning-point-generation-911-review-netflix) Mick LaSalle of the *San Francisco Chronicle* gave it 2.5/4, finding the interviews with people who lost parents heartfelt but unsurprising, and criticizing the film for tracing every subsequent American problem to 9/11 without saying what course would have been wiser.[11](https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/movies-tv/article/turning-point-generation-9-11-review-22398213.php) A review at TheFilmCritics argued the film spreads itself too thin, gives too much weight to the Afghanistan withdrawal relative to everyday legacies such as airport security and surveillance, and never becomes the definitive examination its anniversary occasion might have warranted.[12](https://thefilmcritics.org/movie-review/turning-point-generation-9-11/) The American Conservative similarly judged that cramming 25 years of history into a 97-minute runtime left the film without a single defining thread.[13](https://www.theamericanconservative.com/netflixs-9-11-documentary-is-too-big-for-its-runtime/)\n\n## References\n\n1. [Turning Point: 9/11 and the War on Terror, Netflix Media Center](https://media.netflix.com/en/only-on-netflix/81315804)\n2. [Turning Point: 9/11 and the War on Terror, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/turning_point_9_11_and_the_war_on_terror)\n3. [Joanne Laurier (2021). Turning Point: 9/11 And The War On Terror—An account of the terror attacks and their aftermath. World Socialist Web Site.](https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2021/09/24/turn-s24.pdf)\n4. [Turning Point: 9/11 and the War on Terror critic reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/turning-point-911-and-the-war-on-terror/critic-reviews/)\n5. [Turning Point: Generation 9/11, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/turning_point_generation_9_11)\n6. [Richard Roeper (2026). Turning Point: Generation 9/11 review. RogerEbert.com.](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/turning-point-generation-9-11-netflix-documentary-tv-review-2026)\n7. [Clémence Michallon (2021). Turning Point: 9/11 and the War on Terror review. The Independent.](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/tv/reviews/turning-point-9-11-documentary-netflix-b1912404.html)\n8. [Turning Point: 9/11 and the War on Terror season 1 reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/turning-point-911-and-the-war-on-terror/season-1/)\n9. [Turning Point: Generation 9/11 parents' guide, Common Sense Media](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/tv-reviews/turning-point-generation-911)\n10. [Lucy Mangan (2026). Turning Point: Generation 9/11 review. The Guardian.](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2026/sep/02/turning-point-generation-911-review-netflix)\n11. [Mick LaSalle (2026). How Netflix's 'Turning Point: Generation 9/11' makes a 25-year-old horror feel new again. San Francisco Chronicle.](https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/movies-tv/article/turning-point-generation-9-11-review-22398213.php)\n12. [Turning Point: Generation 9/11 movie review, TheFilmCritics](https://thefilmcritics.org/movie-review/turning-point-generation-9-11/)\n13. [Spencer Neale (2026). Netflix's 9/11 Documentary Is Too Big for its Runtime. The American Conservative.](https://www.theamericanconservative.com/netflixs-9-11-documentary-is-too-big-for-its-runtime/)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Unscripted, reality, and web-native series › Documentary, docudrama, and lifestyle series › True crime and investigative docuseries › Premiered 2006 to 2022*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/turning-point-9-11-and-the-war-on-terror", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/turning-point-9-11-and-the-war-on-terror.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"Turning Point: 9/11 and the War on Terror\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/turning-point-9-11-and-the-war-on-terror. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Turning Point: 9/11 and the War on Terror](https://www.edgepedia.org/turning-point-9-11-and-the-war-on-terror)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/turning-point-9-11-and-the-war-on-terror](https://www.edgepedia.org/turning-point-9-11-and-the-war-on-terror). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Turning Point: 9/11 and the War on Terror\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/turning-point-9-11-and-the-war-on-terror. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "Turning Point: 9/11 and the War on Terror is a 2021 five-part Netflix docuseries by Brian Knappenberger covering the September 11 attacks and the war on terror from 1979 to the 2021 Afghanistan withdrawal; a 2026 follow-up film, Generation 9/11, interviews those too young to remember." }