This book explores for the first time the rise of one of Britain's least-recognised but most significant television genres. Working within the frame of public intellectual theory, it tells the story and analyses the means by which 'unusual kinds of star' became Britain's TV intellectuals and have developed as a genre for over 65 years.

Names included here are AJP Taylor, Kenneth Clark, Jacob Bronowski,, Jonathan Miller, Simon Schama, Marcus du Sautoy, Niall Ferguson, Mary Beard, Alice Roberts, Pam Cox, Brian Cox, David Olusoga, Janina Ramirez and Alastair Sooke, all of whom have starred in their different ways, combining within their productions an outstanding combination of television creativity and intellect for a huge international audience.

Built deeply into the assumptions of these television intellectuals have been understandings about civilisation itself, veering from Kenneth Clark's fear for its survival in his 1969 BBC series Civilisation, to the fear of it (in the form of colonialism) in the reworking of Clark's concept, now called Civilisations (2018) by the BBC and Civilizations by PBS in the USA.

Finally, in its Coda the book explores in the era of climate change continuing BBC/PBS assumptions about 'civilisation' by way of First Nations 'deep-history'.