After the Boston Massacre happens, Adams arrives at the scene and is subsequently sought as a defense counsel for the soldiers involved by their commander, Captain Thomas Preston, who asks him to defend them in court.

However, in his zeal for immediate action, he manages to alienate many of the other Founding Fathers, going so far as to insult John Dickinson, who is for conciliation to the Crown, implying that the man suffers from a religiously based moral cowardice.

In Episode 3, Adams travels to Europe with his young son John Quincy during the Revolutionary War seeking alliances with foreign nations, during which the ship transporting them battles a British frigate.

Adams, on the other hand, is a plain spoken and faithful man, who finds himself out of his depth surrounded by an entertainment- and sex-driven culture among the French elite.

Franklin sharply rebukes Adams for his lack of diplomatic acumen, describing it as a "direct insult followed by a petulant whine".

Adams, chastened and dismayed but learning from his mistakes, then travels to the Dutch Republic to obtain monetary support for the Revolution.

Adams ends his time in the Netherlands in a state of progressive illness, having sent his son away as a diplomatic secretary to the Russian Empire.

In addition, John feels the position of Vice President is not a proper reflection of all the years of service he has dedicated to his nation.

A key event shown is the struggle to enact the Jay Treaty with Britain, which Adams himself must ratify before a deadlocked Senate (although historically his vote was not required).

His shaky relationship with Vice President Thomas Jefferson worsens after taking defensive actions against the French Republic because of failed diplomatic attempts and the signing of the Alien and Sedition Acts.

After receiving so much bad publicity while in office, Adams loses the election against his vice-president, Thomas Jefferson, and runner-up Aaron Burr (both from the same party).

His home life at Peacefield is full of pain and sorrow as his daughter, Nabby, dies of breast cancer and Abigail succumbs to typhoid fever.

Williamsburg's Public Hospital was in the background of the tent encampment of the Continental Army which Adams visited in the winter of 1776, which was replicated using special-effects snow.

[6] Sets, stage space, backlot and production offices were housed in an old Mechanicsville AMF warehouse in Richmond, Virginia.

The website's critics consensus reads: "Elegantly shot and relatively educational, John Adams is a worthy addition to the genre -- though its casting leaves something to be desired.

"[9] Metacritic assigned the series a weighted average score of 78 out of 100, based on 27 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

[10] Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly rated the miniseries A−,[11] and Matt Roush of TV Guide praised the lead performances of Paul Giamatti and Laura Linney.

She said the miniseries has "a Masterpiece Theatre gravity and takes a more somber, detailed and sepia-tinted look at the dawn of American democracy.

It gives viewers a vivid sense of the isolation and physical hardships of the period, as well as the mores, but it does not offer significantly different or deeper insights into the personalities of the men — and at least one woman — who worked so hard for liberty ... [It] is certainly worthy and beautifully made, and it has many masterly touches at the edges, especially Laura Linney as Abigail.

"[14] Among those unimpressed with the miniseries were Mary McNamara of the Los Angeles Times[15] and Tim Goodman of the San Francisco Chronicle.