PBS programming guide Fall 2020: September - DecemberNEW PBS PRIMETIME PREMIERES*Please Check Local Listings*OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASENEWS PROVIDED BY PBS ELECTION 2020 FRONTLINE “The Choice 2020: Trump vs. Biden” Every four years, FRONTLINE tells a dual biography of the two presidential candidates that will step back and look beyond the heated political rhetoric, taking measure of the two individuals and the events that have shaped their lives and values. PBS NEWSHOUR PRESIDENTIAL DEBATES PBS NEWSHOUR provides coverage and analysis of the three presidential candidate debates. LATINO VOTE: DISPATCHES FROM THE BATTLEGROUND NATIONAL HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH PROGRAM Get an inside look at the high-stakes effort to get out the Latino vote in this year’s election. Political candidates are focused on maximizing turnout and support from Latinos, poised to be the largest non-white voting bloc. PBS NEWSHOUR VICE PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE PBS NEWSHOUR provides coverage and analysis of the vice presidential candidate debate. INDEPENDENT LENS “Represent” In Detroit, rural Ohio and Illinois, three women take on entrenched political systems in an effort to reshape local politics. Follow their journeys on and off the campaign trail and see how female candidates of color from different Midwest communities, support systems and political parties demonstrate that even in local politics, the stakes are high. PBS NEWSHOUR ELECTION NIGHT COVERAGE Join PBS NEWSHOUR for special coverage of the 2020 Presidential Election. ARTS, MUSIC & SPECIALS GREAT PERFORMANCES “Romeo and Juliet” Experience Shakespeare’s classic as a ballet from choreographer Kenneth MacMillan performed by dancers from The Royal Ballet set to a score by Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev and filmed on atmospheric sets and locations throughout Budapest. GREAT PERFORMANCES “Now Hear This, Series 2” Take a voyage of musical discovery with virtuoso violinist Scott Yoo, Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the Mexico City Philharmonic. Each episode reveals how some of the greatest classical music ever written came to be. Season 2 features the compositions of Haydn, Schubert and Mozart. THE HISPANIC HERITAGE AWARDS NATIONAL HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH PROGRAM Celebrate the recipients of the annual Hispanic Heritage Awards. The evening includes appearances by some of the country's most celebrated Hispanic artists and visionaries. Honorees will be announced later. GREAT PERFORMANCES “GRAMMY® Salute to Music Legends” Description: In collaboration with the Recording Academy®, GREAT PERFORMANCES presents the fifth annual all-star special showcasing 2020 Special Merit Awards recipients, including Lifetime Achievement Award honorees Chicago, Roberta Flack, Isaac Hayes, Iggy Pop, John Prine, Public Enemy and Sister Rosetta Tharpe. Ken Ehrlich, Philip Glass and Frank Walker receive Trustees Award honors, and George Augspurger is the Technical GRAMMY Award recipient. Hosted by five-time GRAMMY Award winner Jimmy Jam, this year’s special pays tribute to these diverse music legends through classic performance footage and newly recorded acceptance speeches from honorees and the performers they have influenced. The originally planned April ceremony and concert was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, and Prine tragically died from complications of COVID-19 on April 7. GENERATION NATION: A PBS AMERICAN PORTRAIT SPECIAL Explore how people in different age groups see themselves and their place in America. Through self-shot video, they share common experiences that bind age groups together and generational differences that put them at odds with one another. WALTER WINCHELL: AMERICAN MASTERS Meet the syndicated columnist, radio news commentator and television host who pioneered the fast-paced, gossip driven, politically charged media that dominates today. At his height, his newspaper and radio audience included two thirds of American adults. A SWINGIN’ SESAME STREET CELEBRATION: 50 YEARS AND COUNTING Sesame Street comes to Jazz at Lincoln Center for a swinging celebration of the show’s 50th anniversary. See some of your favorite feathered and furry friends like Big Bird and Elmo sing classic Sesame Street songs alongside the world-renowned Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis. GREAT PERFORMANCES “Fiddler: A Miracle of Miracles” Travel through the history of the iconic musical exploring its reach across time and cultures featuring appearances by composer and lyricist Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick as well as famous fans including Lin-Manuel Miranda, Topol and more. GREAT PERFORMANCES “Lea Salonga in Concert” Enjoy a concert from the Sydney Opera House performed by the internationally acclaimed singer and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra featuring selections from her Broadway career, as well as hits from the animated movie blockbusters “Aladdin” and “Mulan.” LAURA INGALLS WILDER: AMERICAN MASTERS Follow the remarkable story of an Ozarks farm woman who, at 65, turned her childhood into the best-selling Little House series. This portrait dives into the life, times and controversial legacy of this pioneer woman. DRAMA VAN DER VALK ON MASTERPIECE Set in Amsterdam, the series follows the work of Commisaris Van der Valk, a street smart and unapologetic Dutch detective who navigates the lively and enigmatic city, solving mysterious crimes using astute human observation and inspired detection. LAST TANGO IN HALIFAX After seven years of marriage, Alan and Celia discover that wedded bliss isn’t always blissful. Clashing politics, Alan’s new job and a wild local lad create tension. Caroline gets emotionally embroiled at work. Alan’s brother visits. FLESH AND BLOOD ON MASTERPIECE The lives of three siblings (Claudie Blakley, Russell Tovey, Lydia Leonard) are disrupted when their recently widowed mother (Francesca Annis) declares she's in love with a new man (Stephen Rea). The older woman's budding romance provokes suspicion among her adult children and their inquisitive next-door neighbor (Imelda Staunton), and a detective (David Bamber) investigates whether an unfortunate incident was an accident or a heinous crime. COBRA Follow the British Prime Minister and his Cabinet Office Briefing Room A (COBRA) committee, comprised of leading contingency planners and senior politicians, as they navigate the difficulties in overcoming a major national crisis. THE TROUBLE WITH MAGGIE COLE See what happens when idle gossip escalates out of control and starts to affect people’s lives. Set in a picturesque fishing village, the series centers on Maggie Cole (Dawn French), the self-appointed oracle of this close-knit community. ROADKILL ON MASTERPIECE Ambition knows no bounds, nor does corruption in a political thriller written by David Hare and starring Hugh Laurie as a scheming U.K. government minister. Crime may not pay, but politics sure does. CULTURE, DOCUMENTARY & HISTORY FRONTLINE “Growing Up Poor in Trump’s America” (w.t.) The experience of child poverty in America, against the backdrop of the COVID outbreak, increasing racial tensions and a polarizing election. Set in Ohio, the film follows children and their families navigating issues of poverty, homelessness, and race amid the new challenges of the pandemic. FRONTLINE “America’s Police Problem” (w.t.) In the wake of the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, an examination of race and policing in America and the long struggle to hold departments accountable. Building on the 2016 FRONTLINE “Policing the Police,” historian and New Yorker writer Jelani Cobb delves into the Trump administration’s rollback of police oversight, the ongoing obstacles and prospects when it comes to police reform, and changes in one particularly troubled department. BUILDING THE AMERICAN DREAM NATIONAL HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH PROGRAM Travel to Texas where immigrant construction workers are seeking justice and equality in an industry rife with exploitation. Across the state, there’s an unprecedented building boom, fueled by Latino laborers with little or no rights. FRONTLINE “America Unprotected: The Medical Supply Crisis” (w.t.) An investigation into how the U.S. was left scrambling and desperate for critical medical equipment as the coronavirus swept the country. INDEPENDENT LENS “Feels Good Man” Follow artist Matt Furie, creator of the comic character Pepe the Frog, as he begins an uphill battle to take back his iconic cartoon image from those who use it for their own purposes. NOT DONE: WOMEN REMAKING AMERICA Follow the last five years of the women’s movement and its re-energized, intersectional fight for equality. Activists, journalists, entertainers, athletes and politicians report from the frontlines of the feminist tidal wave. MONSTRUM: THE HISTORY OF ZOMBIES (w.t.) Just in time for Halloween, MONSTRUM is a primetime broadcast adaptation of the popular PBS Digital Studios YouTube channel of the same name. Examine humans' unique drive to create and shape monster mythology through oral storytelling, literature and film, and dig deep into the history of those mythologies, just in time for Halloween. SECRETS OF THE DEAD “Abandoning the Titanic” Join a team of investigators as they search for the identity of the captain of a “mystery ship” that turned away from the “unsinkable” Titanic in its darkest hour, abandoning thousands of lives to the icy waters and their deaths. RISE OF THE NAZIS See how Adolf Hitler and the Nazis rise to power. In 1930, Germany is a liberal democracy. Just four years later, democracy is dead, Germany’s leader is a dictator and the government is in the hands of the Nazis. INDEPENDENT LENS “Jonathan Scott’s Power Trip” Travel across the U.S. with Jonathan Scott, of HGTV’s “Property Brothers,” to explore the production of energy, something we take for granted but is crucial to everyday living. Jonathan speaks to senators, coal miners, solar panel installers and everyone in between to learn the obstacles and opportunities for achieving energy freedom. SECRETS OF ROYAL TRAVEL Pack your bags for a rare inside look at the monarchy’s luxurious private planes and trains. Climb on board the “palace on wheels” and take to the skies for the five-star opulence of the Queen’s Flight. NATURE & SCIENCE NOVA “Human Nature” Our DNA can determine attributes from eye color to medical predispositions. An extraordinary technology called CRISPR allows us to edit human DNA, possibly eliminating genetic diseases or choosing our children’s features. But how far should we go? ISLANDS OF WONDER Journey to three of the most exotic, mysterious and remote islands on the planet: Madagascar, Borneo and Hawaii. Isolated from the rest of the world, they harbor remarkable wildlife and pioneering human communities found nowhere else on Earth. THE AGE OF NATURE Explore humanity’s relationship with nature and wildlife, as scientists and conservationists from all over the world examine ways we can restore our planet. This documentary series asks whether newfound awareness of nature could bring about a new chapter in the human story. NATURE “Australian Bushfire Rescue” Meet the people rescuing and caring for the animal survivors of Australia’s devastating bushfires. Iconic species like koalas, kangaroos and wombats face a series of hurdles to recover from their trauma. NATURE “Primates” Get to know the many species of primates, from the popular chimpanzee and gorilla, to the more obscure species like the snub-nosed monkey, the slow loris, the tarsier and much more. NATURE “Santa’s Wild Home” Get an intimate look into life in Lapland, fabled land of Santa Claus and actual home of tenacious wildlife such as reindeer, wolverines, Brown bears and more. NOVA “Saving Notre Dame” When the Notre Dame cathedral caught fire in April 2019, Paris came perilously close to losing over 800 years of history. As engineers rebuild, researchers use cutting-edge technology to piece together what happened and restore the cathedral. For more information on PBS’s fall programming, visit PBS.org. Viewers are also encouraged to engage in online conversation by tagging @PBS on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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July 24, 2020 10:20am ET by PBS |
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