9/11 Reunited is a three-part docuseries, produced by Nat Geo in conjunction with the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, where people who survived the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon are reunited with people they helped or who helped them. After that extraordinary event, these people who came together in that moment went their separate ways and are meeting again for the first time since the attacks happened 25 years ago.
Opening Shot: Archival footage of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, after the North Tower was hit by an American Airlines 767 at 8:46 AM.
The Gist: In each episode of 9/11 Reunited, we hear about two sets of stories. Mixed with harrowing archival footage, giving their perspective on the day and how it changed their lives. In Episode 1, we get the story of John Paczkowski, George Phoenix, and Jan Demczur, who were stuck in an elevator when the North Tower was hit. Demszur, who was a window cleaner, had the presence of mind to use his squeegee to start scoring the drywall in front of the elevator door, a move that helped them break through the wall on the 50th floor and get to the stairwell; they left the building 5 minutes before it collapsed.
We also get the story of Debbie St. John who was running from the towers alongside Stefan Horlacher when the South Tower was hit by a United 767 at 9:03 AM. Debris from the plane and the floors that were hit showered the streets below, and St. John was hit by a piece of metal that might have come from the engine. Horlacher stopped to help her, and when he realized she was still conscious, held her in that spot until an ambulance came along. She suffered severe injuries to her back, which was slashed open, and was hospitalized for 18 months through 50 surgeries. During their reunion, St. John wanted Horlacher to see her not only walk but ride a horse, two things she worked tirelessly to do over the past 25 years.
What Shows Will It Remind You Of? A new slate of 9/11-related specials and docuseries are coming out ahead of the 25th anniversary of the attacks (which, for us old enough to remember them, is hard to believe). We saw much of the footage in 9/11 Reunited in the Nat Geo docuseries 9/11: One Day In America, which came out in 2021 in conjunction with the 20th anniversary of the attacks.
Our Take: According to the show’s producers, about a third of the country is too young to remember 9/11; indeed anyone under 30 probably has no firsthand memory of it, even if they were preschoolers when it happened. So, series like 9/11 Reunited do a good job of putting people in the middle of that day’s horrors, especially given all the footage shot by film crews and people on their phones (yes, it’s grainy flip phone video, but at least it exists).
But for those of us who remember 9/11 like it was yesterday, that footage, which is liberally sprinkled throughout all three episodes, is still triggering. The planes flying into the towers, the fireball, the wreckage at the Pentagon, people hanging out the windows of the Twin Towers, desperate to get air and having to decide whether to stay or jump, the people fleeing… even a quarter-century later, it’s still horrific to watch.
However, those horrors are counterbalanced by the very human stories that are presented in this series. These are strangers who, just by circumstance of being in the same place at the same time, greatly affected each others’ lives in what was essentially a war zone. It’s even more amazing that, after the extraordinary moment that brought them together, they went their separate ways; they may not have ever even found out the other peoples’ names.
There are likely thousands of stories like this from that day, and we’d imagine the reunions were facilitated by the 9/11 Memorial & Museum. Watching these people see each other again after 25 years and the bond these people have that hasn’t been shaken over time makes going through the footage from the day, as triggering as it can be, worth it.
Performance Worth Watching: Debbie St. John’s story is remarkable, given how severe her injuries were that day. And it seems that her determination to live a “life worth saving”, as she put it, gives all of us hope.
Parting Shot: St. John calls Horlacher “My savior” as we see them ride horses together.
Sleeper Star: The producers have Jan Demczur reenact how he scored the drywall with his squeegee, and he was just as intense and determined as we imagine he was in that elevator.
Most Pilot-y Line: None we could find.
Our Call: STREAM IT. 9/11 Reunited is both a harrowing and a gratifying watch, with footage from the 9/11 attacks mixed with inspiring stories about strangers who greatly affected each other’s lives on that horrible day.
Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, RollingStone.com, VanityFair.com, Fast Company and elsewhere.