PBS Reveals Prime-Time Lineup for Fall Season

ARLINGTON: A slew of new and returning series, films and specials, including coverage of the 50th anniversary of JFK’s assassination, are scheduled to air during prime time on PBS this fall.

Titles slated for broadcast in September include Genealogy Roadshow and Latino Americans, both of which commemorate Hispanic Heritage Month. Arts programming will include Great Performances’ The Hollow Crown and Independent Lens’ Don’t Stop Believin’: Everyman’s Journey from the PBS Independent Film Showcase. There will also be the tentatively titled Billy Jean King from American Masters and Foyle’s War, Series VII for Masterpiece Mystery!.

October’s science-themed programming will include the second season of NOVA’s Making Stuff with David Pogue and Raw to Ready (working title). The second PBS Arts Fall Festival debuts that month and will feature Great Performance’s 40th Anniversary Celebration. The PBS Independent Film Showcase will include Brooklyn Castle, 56 Up and Waiting Room. Also on the schedule is Frontline’s Concussion Watch (w/t) and The African Americans: Many Roads to Cross, among other programming. 

Some of the many titles on the slate for November are centered on President John F. Kennedy, including American Experiences’ JFK, NOVA’s Cold Case JFK (w/t) and Secrets of the Dead’s One o’Clock (w/t). Science content will include NOVA’s Asteroids: Doomsday or Payday? and an independent production. The PBS Arts Fall Festival will conclude with Great Performances’ Barbra Streisand: Back to Brooklyn. Titles lined up for December include Live from Lincoln Center’s New Year’s Eve with the New York Philharmonic (w/t) and American Masters’ Marvin Hamlisch: The Way He Was.

"It promises to be an exhilarating fall on PBS, with a vast array of attention-grabbing programming designed to entertain, educate and inspire audiences," said Beth Hoppe, PBS’ chief programming executive and general manager for general audience programming. "Among our many new and returning programs and specials are exceptional programs on President Kennedy, in the 50th year following his assassination, from American Experience, NOVA and Secrets of the Dead; comprehensive specials on American heritage that closely examine the rich cultural tapestry of America; and a vibrant slate of arts programming. Our strong fall season covers topics that will be attractive to viewers across all of the genres that made PBS great in the first place."