TCA: Nat Geo Sets Week-Long 9/11 Anniversary Programming Block

Complete Coverage: 2011 TCA Summer Press Tour

National Geographic will mark the 10th anniversary of 9/11 with a week-long primetime programming block that will launch with an exclusive interview with President Bush regarding the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington D.C..

The block will launch Aug. 28 with George W. Bush: The 9/11 Interview, in which the former President discusses his account of the moments, days and weeks after the attacks on the World Trade Center and The Pentagon, said Michael Cascio, senior vice president of production for the network.

"This is the singular event in most of our lives and probably the biggest event in American history over the last 50 years and has changed everything," Cascio said during the network's TCA panel presentation. "We feel that a week of programming is probably not even enough to go into the different way that it has affected us."

The network Thursday also launched a Facebook page that allows visitors to share their 9/11 experiences and remembrances, said network officials.

Nat Geo will also air on Aug. 21 The Liquid Bomb Plot, which takes a behind the scenes look at the a 2006 terrorist plot that involved the use of hydrogen peroxide-injected soda bottles to bomb up to 10 airplanes.

In other news, the network will debut on Sept. 12 Kissinger, a two-hour interview with the veteran politician and Nobel Peace Prize winner, said Cascio.

R. Thomas Umstead

R. Thomas Umstead serves as senior content producer, programming for Multichannel News, Broadcasting + Cable and Next TV. During his more than 30-year career as a print and online journalist, Umstead has written articles on a variety of subjects ranging from TV technology, marketing and sports production to content distribution and development. He has provided expert commentary on television issues and trends for such TV, print, radio and streaming outlets as Fox News, CNBC, the Today show, USA Today, The New York Times and National Public Radio. Umstead has also filmed, produced and edited more than 100 original video interviews, profiles and news reports featuring key cable television executives as well as entertainers and celebrity personalities.