The PBS Nova film, in three-episodes of one hour each, was hosted by Kirk Johnson (Director of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History); Peter Oxley directed the first episode while Gwyn Williams directed the second and third. The series describes the very beginnings and later developments of the North American continent: from the origin of planet Earth 4.54 billion years ago; to the various movements of tectonic plates and their effect on the sculpturing of the continent's land and mountains, including the Rocky Mountains, Yellowstone and the Grand Canyon; to the emergence of life on the continent and its later evolution; and, finally, to the more recent settlement of the land by humans. According to Johnson, "Most people will not have considered a time when there was no North America ... What was there before North America? How did it form? When did it start? How did it come together?"

With unprecedented access from the Natinal Park Service and with the help of the Trust for the National Mall, National Geographic-for the first time ever-tells the story of the evolution of the Mall from wilderness to the center of a grand capital. The National Mall: America's Front Yard is an inside look at an evolving treasure, revealing its secret places and the ways the Mall's story is also America's.