Preview: "9/11 United We Stand - 25 Years Later" Celebrates The Power Of Entertainment

25 years later, the events of September 11, 2001 are certainly still clear in the minds of everybody who lived through it. With such an anniversary on the horizon, there are sure to be countless retrospectives, but the new one coming to ABC (and then Disney+ and Hulu) takes what is likely to be a unique approach.

I recently had the opportunity to check out an unfinished version of 9/11 United We Stand - 25 Years Later. While one expects most documentaries about the events to focus on the tragedy and loss of life, or perhaps the War on Terror that followed, that's not what United We Stand is all about. While the tragic events are never forgotten, it's focus is actually on the role of entertainment in the period that came after.

While the doc does open with news footage of the horrific events, trigger warning for those for whom such images might be a problem, it only takes up a few minutes of the total runtime. the rest is given over to what happened next, specifically how those in the world of entertainment responded, in both the the initial decision to stop, and then the realization that they would need to start again.

Matthew Broadrick, who was performing on Broadway in The Producers at the time, talks about the experience of going back on the stage only days after the attack. Michael Strahan, who co-produced the doc, discusses his position as an NFL player for the Giants, and the decision to first refuse to play (even before the NFL made the decision to cancel games) but also understanding the importance of giving people a place to come together through the games.

United We Stand is a celebration of those things that we all love in the world of sports and entertainment. It's about why these things, generally seen as unimportant, are important, and how the people who make them can make a difference. Whether that's Derek Jeter hitting a home run for the Yankees or Jon Stewart testifying in front of Congress to make sure First Responders won't lose their healthcare.

Any chance to look back at 9/11 will be emotional for most people, but United We Stand tries to focus on the parts that were positive. It's a valid, and valiant, effort.

9/11 United We Stand - 25 Years Later airs on ABC on September 1 at 9:00 PM. It will available on Disney+ and Hulu the net day. The documentary will be simulcast on Hulu/Disney+ and ABC on September 11 at 9:00 PM.