The Toys That Built America

The Toys That Built America
GenreHistorical
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons3
No. of episodes26
Original release
NetworkHistory Channel
ReleaseNovember 28, 2021 (2021-11-28) –
December 17, 2023 (2023-12-17)

The Toys That Built America is an American nonfiction docudrama series that premiered on the History Channel on November 28, 2021. Each episode outlines the development of a popular toy, invention, or company in the United States, typically focusing on their rise and any rivals or struggles. Historical events in the relevant timelines are re-enacted for dramatic effect and interspersed with commentary by toy historians, business experts, and toy enthusiasts.[1][2]

It is the ninth installment of the That Built franchise.

Episodes

Series overview

SeasonEpisodesOriginally released
First releasedLast released
14November 28, 2021 (2021-11-28)December 19, 2021 (2021-12-19)
210October 23, 2022 (2022-10-23)December 11, 2022 (2022-12-11)
312October 15, 2023 (2023-10-15)December 17, 2023 (2023-12-17)

Season 1 (2021)

No.
overall		No. in
season		Title [3][4][5]Original release date [3][4][5]Prod.
code [3]		U.S. viewers
(millions)
11"Masters of Invention"November 28, 2021 (2021-11-28)1011.11[6]
The beginnings of Slinky, Silly Putty, and company Wham-O (with Hula hoop), all toys that were born by chance.
22"Clash of the Toy Titans"December 5, 2021 (2021-12-05)1020.97[7]
The beginnings of Mattel and Hasbro, with most of the episode focusing on Barbie and G.I. Joe.
33"Toy Car Wars"December 12, 2021 (2021-12-12)1030.87[8]
The rise of the once famous toy car brand Matchbox, and later on, the emergence of its rival, Hot Wheels.
44"Board Game Empires"December 19, 2021 (2021-12-19)1040.88[9]
The start of two famous board game companies: Milton Bradley and Parker Brothers.

Season 2 (2022)

No.
overall		No. in
season		Title [3][10][11]Original release date [3][10][11]Prod.
code [3]		U.S. viewers
(millions)
51"Masters of the Toy Universe"October 23, 2022 (2022-10-23)2010.49[12]
This episode focuses on action figures, in particular the toys related to Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica and Masters of the Universe.
62"The Birth of Video Games"October 30, 2022 (2022-10-30)2020.54[13]
The history of video games, from the moment Ralph Baer starts working on Pong to the video game crash of 1983.
73"The Idea Man"November 6, 2022 (2022-11-06)2030.56[14]
The legacy of Marvin Glass, whose ideas eventually brings to the world some of the most iconic toys of America.
84"Brick by Brick"November 13, 2022 (2022-11-13)2040.43[15]
The history of two toy brand that lets people build what they want: Erector and Lego.
95"Order Out of Chaos"November 20, 2022 (2022-11-20)2050.48[16]
The creation of Rubik's Cube, Jenga and Tetris.
106"Cabbage Clash"November 27, 2022 (2022-11-27)2060.50[17]
From Martha Nelson's design, come Cabbage Patch Kids, and later on, Garbage Pail Kids.
117"80's Tech Toys"December 4, 2022 (2022-12-04)2070.67[18]
The origin story of Teddy Ruxpin and Super Soaker.
128"Plumber Bros vs. Hedgehog"December 11, 2022 (2022-12-11)2080.42[19]
Continuation of episode 2, this episode talks about the revival of the video game industry, with the console war between Nintendo, Sega, and later on, Sony's PlayStation.
139"Gross Out Icons"December 11, 2022 (2022-12-11)2090.41[20]
A 30 minutes special, this episode highlights some of the most notable gross-out toys, like Whoopee cushion, Slime, Madballs, Garbage Pail Kids and more.
1410"Christmas Crazes"December 11, 2022 (2022-12-11)2100.37[21]
A 30 minutes special, this episode highlights the toys that once caused shopping craze in America: Cabbage Patch Kids, Tickle Me Elmo, Beanie Babies and Furbies. Along with that, is a brief history about Black Friday.

Season 3 (2023)

No.
overall		No. in
season		Title [3][22][23]Original release date [3][22][23]Prod.
code [3]		U.S. viewers
(millions)
151"Transforming Toy Invasion"October 15, 2023 (2023-10-15)3010.40[24]
The origin story of Tonka's GoBots and Hasbro's Transformers. Two toys with the same idea of transformable robots, both knows nothing about each others until late into development.
162"Mind Game Masters"October 22, 2023 (2023-10-22)3020.31[24]
The origin story of Yahtzee, Scrabble and Cluedo, three simple board games that are also pretty challenging to play and win.
173"Video Game Visionaries"October 29, 2023 (2023-10-29)3030.45[24]
The origin story of three iconic franchises published by Nintendo: Mario, The Legend of Zelda and Pokémon.
184"Game Night Legends"November 5, 2023 (2023-11-05)3040.26[24]
The story behind the creation of Trivia Pursuit. That game would eventually helps Pictionary comes to life.
195"Mighty Mutant Mayhem"November 12, 2023 (2023-11-12)3050.34[24]
The two big series that slowly cements themselves as iconic figure in America's pop culture: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Power Rangers.
206"Old Games, New Twists"November 26, 2023 (2023-11-26)3060.27[24]
The story behind the creation of UNO and Connect Four.
217"Happy Accidents"December 3, 2023 (2023-12-03)3070.31[24]
From mundane materials and accidental discoveries, come two legendary toys: Etch A Sketch and Play-Doh.
228"The Santa That America Built"December 10, 2023 (2023-12-10)3080.44[24]
How Santa Claus was shaped and defined in America through the years.
239"90's Fad Toys"December 10, 2023 (2023-12-10)3090.36[25]
2410"Hottest Wheels"December 10, 2023 (2023-12-10)3100.33[25]
2511"The Prank Toy Race"December 17, 2023 (2023-12-17)3110.29[24]
2612"Most Valuable Toys"December 17, 2023 (2023-12-17)3120.29[26]

Note

  1. 1 2 3 History.com is live: readers outside the United States will be redirected to the homepage of their local History Channel; use the archive or a VPN service to see the History.com website.

References

  1. ↑ Okuszka, Autumn (November 16, 2022). "Dr. Sam Srauy appears on 'The Toys That Built America'". The Oakland Post. Retrieved May 5, 2026. Dr. Sam Srauy's study of video games led to a television appearance on The History Channel's 'The Toys That Built America' series.
  2. ↑ Pockross, Adam (December 9, 2022). "'Plumber Bros vs. Hedgehog': Inside The Console Wars Of 'the Toys That Built America' Season Finale". Syfy. Retrieved December 10, 2022. Perhaps nowhere is that more apparent than in this Sunday's Season 2 finale of The HISTORY Channel's The Toys That Built America.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "The Toys That Built America Episode Listings". The Futon Critic.
  4. 1 2 "The Toys That Built America Season 1 Episode Guide". Zap2it.
  5. 1 2 "The Toys That Built America: Season 1". History Channel. Archived from the original on April 13, 2024.[a]
  6. ↑ Metcalf, Mitch (December 1, 2021). "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 11.28.2021". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
  7. ↑ Metcalf, Mitch (December 7, 2021). "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 12.5.2021". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
  8. ↑ Metcalf, Mitch (December 14, 2021). "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 12.12.2021". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
  9. ↑ Metcalf, Mitch (December 21, 2021). "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 12.19.2021". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
  10. 1 2 "The Toys That Built America Season 2 Episode Guide". Zap2it.
  11. 1 2 "The Toys That Built America: Season 2". History Channel. Archived from the original on April 13, 2024.[a]
  12. ↑ Metcalf, Mitch (October 25, 2022). "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 10.23.2022". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
  13. ↑ Metcalf, Mitch (November 1, 2022). "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 10.30.2022". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
  14. ↑ Metcalf, Mitch (November 8, 2022). "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 11.6.2022". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
  15. ↑ Metcalf, Mitch (November 15, 2022). "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 11.13.2022". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
  16. ↑ Metcalf, Mitch (November 22, 2022). "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 11.20.2022". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
  17. ↑ Metcalf, Mitch (November 29, 2022). "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 11.27.2022". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
  18. ↑ Metcalf, Mitch (December 6, 2022). "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 12.4.2022". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
  19. ↑ Metcalf, Mitch (December 13, 2022). "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 12.11.2022". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
  20. ↑ Metcalf, Mitch (December 13, 2022). "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 12.11.2022". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
  21. ↑ Metcalf, Mitch (December 13, 2022). "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 12.11.2022". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
  22. 1 2 "The Toys That Built America Season 3 Episode Guide". Zap2it.
  23. 1 2 "The Toys That Built America: Season 3". History Channel. Archived from the original on January 10, 2024.[a]
  24. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "The Toys That Built America". USTVDB. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
  25. 1 2 "History Channel Ratings Report (December 4-10, 2023)". Nielsen Media Research. December 12, 2023.
  26. ↑ "History Channel Ratings Report (December 11-17, 2023)". Nielsen Media Research. December 19, 2023.
  1. ↑ History.com is live: readers outside the United States will be redirected to the homepage of their local History Channel; use the archive or a VPN service to see the History.com website.
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