January 2021 - WETA Magazine

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Masterpiece celebrates 50 years

ALL CREATURES GREAT & SMALL New adaptation premieres Sunday, January 10 at 9 p.m. on WETA PBS & WETA Metro

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Introducing WETA Metro New TV Channel Features PBS Favorites and Life in the DMV WETA is proud to present WETA Metro, a new public television channel for viewers in the Washington, D.C. metro area. Like other WETA channels, WETA Metro is accessible to all, available free over the air via HD antenna — but this additional new service is unique and groundbreaking as WETA’s first television channel to livestream via the internet. With an internet connection and just a click or two, you can stream as much of WETA Metro’s superb content as you wish — anywhere, anytime. The channel features all of the PBS shows you love, as well as engaging content curated just for our community, spotlighting the people, places, history and institutions of our hometown. With the launch of WETA Metro, we now present outstanding programming on five distinct television channels, extending an extraordinary breadth of viewing opportunities for high-quality content. We continue to pursue new avenues of service to our community as we deliver the very best in informative, educational and entertaining programming. Sample and enjoy the exceptional offerings on WETA Metro — and thank you for your ongoing support of WETA.

Sharon Percy Rockefeller, President & CEO, WETA

W

Tony Powell

elcome to WETA Metro, an exciting new Stream FREE Via the Internet! livestreaming WETA local television channel for the WETA Metro is notably the first WETA channel to be Washington, D.C. region that showcases the best of PBS made available for livestreaming online — accessible programming and spotlights life in the “DMV” — the to anyone with an internet connection. Stream free District, Maryland and Virginia. On WETA Metro, enjoy at weta.org/livestream and on the PBS Video App. WETA Metro is also available free over the air primetime PBS programming that WETA offers on the via HD television WETA PBS channel — and much more, including antenna, and programs created or selected for our local community. through fee-based The new channel presents engaging program content streaming service that appeals to the varied tastes and interests of residents YouTube TV and cable services of the national capital area and broadens viewing Fios and RCN. opportunities for popular content. WETA Metro features a wide array of programming highlights (at right) that differentiate it from WETA’s principal channel WETA PBS, as well as overlap on major PBS News and Public Affairs Programs series, which are simulcast on both channels. The channel Outside of primetime, WETA Metro also carries features nearly 10 hours of informative a broad selection of news and lifestyle programs news programming in daytime offerings. each weekday in With the addition of this dynamic new morning, evening channel, WETA television services now consist and latenight news of WETA PBS, the national capital region’s blocks — including WETA newscast flagship public television channel; WETA UK, PBS NewsHour at airing the best in British television; WETA PBS 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. Kids, providing a haven for young viewers with weekday evenings educational programming; WETA World, (versus 7 p.m. offering documentary programming and news on WETA PBS), BBC News programs, independent newscast Democracy Now! reporting from around the globe; and now (weekdays at 8 a.m. and Fridays at 7 p.m.), and WETA public WETA Metro as well. affairs program Washington Week (simulcast Fridays at 8 p.m.).

W E TA — O N T H E A I R & O N L I N E WETA PBS

WETA UK

WETA PBS Kids

WETA World

26.1 via antenna Comcast 26, 219, 800, 1026 Cox 26, 1003, 1026 DirecTV 26, 26-1 Dish 8076 Fios 26, 526 RCN 26, 613

26.2 via antenna Comcast 265, 1146 Cox 800 Fios 474 RCN 39, 602

26.3 via antenna Comcast 266, 1147 Cox 801 Fios 472 RCN 38

26.4 via antenna Comcast 270, 1148 Cox 802 Fios 475 RCN 37

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26.5 over the air via antenna Fios 470 RCN 599 Stream at weta.org/livestream and on the PBS Video App or YouTube TV Visit weta.org/schedule to find WETA Metro program listings.

Themed Programming Nights On Thursdays nights, WETA Metro features explorations of American history, including acclaimed films from WETA and longtime production partner Ken Burns (the series Jazz begins this month) and a wide array of other intriguing history programming. On Saturday nights, the channel presents independent films and documentaries, including productions from biography series American Masters, film series POV and Independent Lens, and other offerings.

WETA Metro’s series will include an entertaining new WETA-produced locally focused househunting and neighborhood touring series, If You Lived Here, premiering February 15. The channel offers The Great Tours: Washington, D.C., a fascinating historical survey of the District of Columbia, Sunday through Thursday nights at 7 p.m. WETA Metro also features Politics and Prose Live, a series of riveting local book discussions with acclaimed authors, Saturdays at 7 p.m., taped by the popular local bookstore. And in arts programming, marvelous local National Philharmonic concerts from the Music Center at Strathmore, in Bethesda, Maryland, air on Sunday afternoons.

©Bill Spilka

OKJaguar/Wiki

Local Offerings

Lifestyle Shows & More PBS Primetime Favorites

Courtesy Rick Steves

WGBH

WETA Metro presents all of the popular primetime PBS programs from WETA PBS, simulcasting Masterpiece (including All Creatures Great and Small, premiering this month along with a wide array of other superb dramas), Nature, NOVA, Antiques Roadshow, American Experience, Frontline, Great Performances and additional top series, such as Finding Your Roots from WETA and production partner Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Note that WETA Metro programming is differentiated from WETA PBS on Thursday and Saturday nights in primetime hours, when WETA Metro presents special themed programming.

WETA Metro provides a wide selection of engaging lifestyle programming, from travel productions Rick Steves’ Europe and Samantha Brown’s Places to Love, to cooking series such as Pati’s Mexican Table and The Great British Baking Show, and cultural series AfroPop. Arts fans will enjoy Articulate with Jim Cotter and Best of the Joy of Painting, and the channel also presents insightful talk shows A Seat at the Table and The Chavis Chronicles and much more. Sample all that WETA Metro has to offer!

For program and membership inquiries, visit weta.org or call 703-998-2724. WETA Metro

WETA Online

Classical WETA

26.5 via antenna

weta.org weta.org/passport weta.org/pbsapp weta.org/learningmedia

WETA 90.9 FM Washington, D.C. WGMS 89.1 FM Hagerstown WETA 88.9 FM Frederick classicalweta.org vivalavoce.org

weta.org/livestream PBS Video App YouTube TV Fios 470 RCN 599

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WETA TV Highlights

COURTESY MCGEE MEDIA

Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Season 7 NEW SEASON of the WETA co-production airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. starting Jan. 19 on WETA PBS & WETA Metro; streams on the PBS Video App

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fter Season 6 of the Tuesday-night genealogy series Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. — produced in partnership with WETA — wraps up with two engaging final episodes on January 5 and 12, WETA premieres a riveting Gates with Nina Totenberg new 10-episode season beginning January 19. In Season 7, more top American celebrities discover the surprising stories within their own ancestries in the critically acclaimed series, which continues to explore family histories that illustrate the power and diversity of the human experience. This month’s Season 7 episodes are To the Manor Born (January 19), which explores the ancestries of actor Glenn Close and director John Waters, and Against All Odds (January 26), which traces the family trees of late-night TV personality Andy Cohen and radio journalist Nina Totenberg. Among other new participants in the series are actors John Lithgow, Jane Lynch, Audra McDonald, Christopher Meloni and Tony Shalhoub; musicians Clint Black, Rosanne Cash and Pharrell Williams; director Kasi Lemmons; journalist Gretchen Carlson; and comedians Lewis Black and Jim Gaffigan. In sharing their stories, Finding Your Roots traces families throughout the globe using an array of tools — from cutting-edge DNA research to old-school genealogical sleuthing — to reveal long-buried secrets. Together, the arc of each guest’s family personalizes history while emphasizing the human connections that unite everyone. Guiding each discovery is writer, host and executive producer Henry Louis Gates, Jr., the Alphonse Fletcher University Professor and Director of the Hutchins Center for African & African American Research at Harvard University. The series is a production of McGee Media, Inkwell Media, Kunhardt Films and WETA; learn more at pbs.org/FindingYourRoots. Corporate support for Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Season Seven is provided by Ancestry and Johnson & Johnson. Support is also provided by Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation; The Carnegie Corporation of New York; Candace King Weir; The Zegar Family Foundation; Lloyd Carney Foundation; and by The Inkwell Society and its members Felicia A. and Benjamin A. Horowitz Fund; Demond Martin; Sheryl Sandberg and Tom Bernthal; Jim and Susan Swartz; Anne Wojcicki; John and Jennifer Fisher; Fletcher and Benaree Wiley; Gwen and Peter Norton; and Darnell Armstrong and Nicole Commissiong. Major support is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and PBS.

How It Feels to Be Free: American Masters

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Monday, January 18 at 9 p.m. on WETA PBS Saturday, Jan. 23 at 8 p.m. on WETA Metro; streams on PBS Video App

Support for American Masters is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, AARP, Rosalind P. Walter, Judith and Burton Resnick, Lillian Goldman Programming Endowment, Cheryl and Philip Milstein Family Foundation, Vital Projects Fund, The Blanche & Irving Laurie Foundation, Seton J. Melvin, The Philip and Janice Levin Foundation, Ellen and James S. Marcus, The André and Elizabeth Kertész Foundation, and public television viewers.

HULTON-DEUTSCH COLLECTION/CORBIS/CORBIS VIA GETTY IMAGES

new American Masters documentary explores the lives, work and legacy of six trailblazing Black female entertainers: singer, dancer and actress Lena Horne; jazz vocalist, songwriter and actress Abbey Lincoln; Tony-winning actress, singer and model Diahann Carroll; jazz, blues and folk singer Nina Simone; actress and model Cicely Tyson; and actress Pam Grier. Executive produced by 15-time Grammy Award-winner Alicia Keys, How It Feels to Be Free tells the inspiring story of how these women challenged an entertainment industry deeply complicit in perpetuating racist stereotypes — and transformed themselves and their audiences in the process. The film features archival performances, and interviews with all six women, as well as original conversations with contemporary artists influenced by them, including Halle Berry, Lena Waithe, Meagan Good, LaTanya Richardson Jackson, Samuel L. Jackson and other luminaries, as well as family members, including Horne’s daughter Gail Lumet Buckley. Based on the book “How It Feels to Be Free: Black Women Entertainers and the Civil Rights Movement” by Ruth Feldstein, the film tells the story of how these six pioneering women broke through in an entertainment industry bent on keeping them out. The two-hour production examines the impact the entertainers had on reshaping the narrative of Black female identity in Hollywood through their art and political activism while advocating for social change — and highlights how each woman harnessed her celebrity to advance the civil rights movement.

Diahann Carroll

2 JANUARY 2021 • Stream select programs via the free PBS Video App.

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NEW SEASON! Series 3, a WETA presentation, airs Fridays at 8:30 p.m. starting January 8 on WETA PBS; streams on the PBS Video App

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avid Rubenstein hosts a new, third season of fascinating interviews with the most influential people today, exploring successful leadership and how it can be developed into a force for true achievement. In The David Rubenstein Show: Peer to Peer Conversations, Season 3, presented to PBS stations nationwide by WETA, the Washington, D.C.-based financier and philanthropist sits down with prominent figures in business, government, technology, arts and entertainment and beyond to discuss their personal and professional choices and explore their paths to success. The new season, produced by Bloomberg Media, airs Friday nights at 8:30 p.m., premiering January 8 with a special one-hour episode featuring the late Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The programs include discussions with Amazon.com, Inc. founder and CEO Jeff Bezos; Tim Cook, Apple CEO; Lorne Michaels, Saturday Night Live creator & executive producer; Charles Schwab, chairman & founder of Charles Schwab Corporation; philanthropists Bill and Melinda Gates; golf legend Jack Nicklaus; National Medal of Arts recipient Renée Fleming, and business innovators Steve Ballmer, Marc Benioff, Aliko Dangote, Ken Griffin, John Rogers and Jean Liu. As a peer in business, Rubenstein asks his guests frank questions, uncovering the moments that define how they think, lead and give back. Rubenstein is the co-founder and co-CEO of The Carlyle Group, one of the world’s largest and most diverse private equity groups. He is chairman of the board of trustees of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, regent of the Smithsonian Institution, president of the Economic Club of Washington, and a noted philanthropist who has loaned his copies of artifacts including the Magna Carta, Declaration of Independence, and Emancipation Proclamation to national museums. Rubenstein has also helped fund repairs to the Washington Monument.

General Motors (GM) is the exclusive corporate underwriter of the PBS broadcast of The David Rubenstein Show: Peer to Peer Conversations.

Jazz — A Film by Ken Burns

WETA co-production airs Saturdays at 8 p.m. starting Jan. 9 on WETA PBS & Thursdays at 8 p.m. starting Jan. 14 on WETA Metro; streams on WETA Passport

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©HERMAN LEONARD

azz has been called the purest expression of American democracy, a music built on individualism and compromise, independence and cooperation. It reflects America’s remarkable diversity as well, a great musical gumbo mixed together with genius. As part of American history programming on WETA PBS and new channel WETA Metro, WETA reprises Ken Burns’s 10-part documentary Jazz, Louis Armstrong a monumental, acclaimed 2001 series created in partnership with WETA that explores in historical and social context the evolution and influences of this original American art form and its impact on the nation. Jazz traces the music across generations of innovators who refashioned it to the tempo of their times — spotlighting titans such as Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Bix Beiderbecke, Fletcher Henderson, Charlie Parker, Sarah Vaughan, Count Basie, Dizzy Gillespie, Billie Holiday, John Coltrane and Miles Davis. The series follows the music north from New Orleans to Chicago, downtown from Harlem to Swing Street and cross-country from Kansas City’s juke joints to the coffeehouses of the Pacific coast. Featuring 75 interviews, more than 500 pieces of music, and a vast number of still images and archival film clips, the series reveals the creative spirit that has made jazz perhaps America’s greatest cultural achievement. Funding for Jazz was provided by General Motors; Park Foundation; Pew Charitable Trusts; Doris Duke Charitable Foundation; Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism; National Endowment for the Humanities; Arthur Vining Davis Foundation; Reva and David Logan Foundation; The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation; National Endowment for the Arts; Peter and Helen Bing; public television viewers; PBS; and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

For full schedules and program information, visit weta.org. 3

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COURTESY GEORGE C. MARSHALL FOUNDATION LIBRARY

The Codebreaker: American Experience

Monday, January 11 at 9 p.m. on WETA PBS & WETA Metro; streams on the PBS Video App

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he American Experience film The Codebreaker tells the fascinating story of former Washington, D.C. resident Elizebeth Smith Friedman, a groundbreaking cryptanalyst whose painstaking work decoding thousands of messages for the U.S. government would send infamous gangsters to prison and bring down a massive, near-invisible Nazi spy ring during World War II. A suburban wife and mother, she led a secret double life that — along with her remarkable service to the nation — would only come to light decades after her death, when classified government files were unsealed. But together with her husband, the legendary cryptologist William Friedman, Elizebeth helped develop the codebreaking methods that led to the creation of the powerful new science of cryptology and laid the foundation for modern codebreaking today. The one-hour film is based on the book “The Woman Who Smashed Codes: A True Story of Love, Spies, and the Unlikely Heroine Who Outwitted America’s Enemies,” by Jason Fagone. Major funding for American Experience provided by Liberty Mutual Insurance, Consumer Cellular and by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Additional funding provided by the Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation, The Documentary Investment Group, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and public television viewers.

Nature: The Alps

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Wednesdays, January 13 & 20 at 8 p.m. on WETA PBS & WETA Metro; streams on the PBS Video App

Support for Nature is made possible in part by the Arnhold Family in memory of Henry and Clarisse Arnhold; Sue and Edgar Wachenheim III; The Fairweather Foundation; the Kate W. Cassidy Foundation; Kathy Chiao and Ken Hao; the Filomen M. D’Agostino Foundation; Charles Rosenblum; Sandra Atlas Bass; the Lillian Goldman Charitable Trust; the Corporation for Public Broadcasting; and public television viewers.

© TERRA MATER FACTUAL STUDIOS & WILD NATURE FILM

n a two-part production this month, Nature spotlights the Alps, Europe’s majestic mountain range that connects eight countries, spanning 750 miles from the Mediterranean Sea to the Adriatic Sea. From sea level to peaks rising higher than 12,000 feet, with many of the world’s environments located within its boundaries, each mountain chain is more imposing and more diverse than the next. In the programs, discover how Alpine lynx, golden eagles, ibex, crocuses, griffon vultures and more face extreme seasonal fluctuations — from the volatile thunderstorms and landslides of summer to the frozen temperatures and avalanches of winter. On every mountain slope, ridge or meadow, nature’s drama is played out as animals fight for their survival. Part 1, The High Life, airing January 13, spotlights the Alps in spring and summertime and follows newborns growing up; Part 2, Winter’s Fortress, airing January 20, explores the range’s hostile and bitter cold ecosystems, shaped by blizzards and more.

Agatha Christie Specials

COURTESY CHRISTIE ARCHIVE TRUST

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Sundays Jan. 17 & 24 at 10 p.m. on WETA PBS & WETA Metro

wo Sunday-night specials this month spotlight the bestselling English mystery writer Dame Agatha Christie (1890-1976), whose works have sold more than two billion copies. The first, Inside the Mind of Agatha Christie, airing Sunday, January 17 at 10 p.m., examines what made the world’s most successful crime writer tick. Clues from Christie’s personal archive and interviews with family and scholars provide new insights into the author who continues to delight readers across the globe. The second program, Agatha Christie’s England, on Sunday, January 24 at 10 p.m., retraces the author’s footsteps to see the real places that inspired her literary universe. Learn how Christie drew on her surroundings throughout her life, immortalizing the people and locations she encountered in her beloved mysteries. The two programs repeat on WETA UK on Sundays, January 24 & 31, respectively, before episodes of Agatha Christie’s Poirot.

4 JANUARY 2021 • Stream select programs via the free PBS Video App.

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Masterpiece celebrates 50 years!

All Creatures Great & Small on Masterpiece

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Sundays at 9 p.m. starting January 10 on WETA PBS & WETA Metro Stream the series on WETA Passport on the night of its premiere

COURTESY PBS

he iconic PBS series Masterpiece, which sparked America’s infatuation with British television, marks its 50th anniversary this month, presenting a slate of superb dramas to rivet viewers. Topping the bill in January is a glorious new adaptation of “All Creatures Great and Small,” James Herriot’s best-selling, life-affirming autobiographical book about his adventures as a Northern England country veterinarian during the 1930s — and also featuring a central theme of community and its importance. The seven-part drama stars newcomer Nicholas Ralph, who makes his television debut as the vet who became renowned for his inspiring humor, compassion and keen observations. Samuel West (Mr. Selfridge) plays Siegfried Farnon, the chaotic and erratic chief veterinary surgeon and proprietor of Skeldale House, who reluctantly hires the recently qualified Herriot into his rural practice. Anna Madeley (The Child in Time) plays Mrs. Hall, the shrewd housekeeper and matriarch who steers the ship. Siegfried’s errant, charismatic and wayward younger brother, Tristan, is played by Callum Woodhouse (The Durrells in Corfu). Rachel Shenton takes on the role of Helen Alderson, a local farmer’s daughter in whom Herriot takes an interest. In one of her last appearances, Dame Diana Rigg plays Mrs. Pumphrey, the delightfully eccentric owner of an overly indulged Pekingese. All Creatures Great & Small opens in 1937, when Herriot, fresh out of Glasgow Veterinary College, follows his dream to become a vet in the magnificent Yorkshire Dales, one of England’s most beloved and beautiful landscapes. He soon discovers that treating the animals is as much about treating their owners, and the Dales’ farmers are a very tough crowd to please.

©HEYDAY TELEVISION/CARLOS RODRIGUEZ

COURTESY MASTERPIECE

©FRANK FOURNIER 1984

STV PRODUCTIONS/MARK MAINZ

Also on Masterpiece in January on WETA PBS and WETA Metro, and streaming on the PBS Video App: Elizabeth Is Missing (January 3 at 9 p.m.) • In a BAFTA- and International Emmy-winning performance, two-time Academy Award-winner Glenda Jackson portrays a woman desperate to solve two mysteries as she declines deeper into dementia. The Unseen Alistair Cooke (January 10 at 10 p.m.) • A one-hour film offers a portrait of the British-born American writer and 22-year host (1971-1992) of Masterpiece Theatre. Miss Scarlet & The Duke (starting January 17 at 8 p.m.) • Kate Phillips (Peaky Blinders) stars in a six-part mystery as the headstrong, first-ever female detective in Victorian London. Stuart Martin (Jamestown) plays her childhood friend, professional colleague, and potential love interest, Scotland Yard Detective Inspector William Wellington, a.k.a., The Duke. The series streams on WETA Passport starting the night of its broadcast premiere. The Long Song (starting January 31 at 10 p.m.) • A three-part miniseries based on Andrea Levy’s award-winning novel about the end of slavery in Jamaica follows an indomitable young woman, played by Tamara Lawrance (King Charles III), who works on a sugarcane plantation for her detestable mistress, portrayed by Hayley Atwell (The Avengers). Both their lives change with the arrival of a new overseer. In an additional Masterpiece drama presentation, WETA PBS airs Poldark, Season 1 in its entirety on Sunday, January 3 starting at 10 a.m. Winner of 83 Primetime Emmys, 16 Peabody Awards and 7 Golden Globes, Masterpiece has been essential Sunday-night viewing for millions of fans since 1971. The series is known for recent hits such as Sherlock, Downton Abbey and Victoria, beloved classics such as Upstairs, Downstairs; Poldark and the original House of Cards; literary classics such as Bleak House, Wolf Hall and The Forsyte Saga; and detective-led mysteries including Prime Suspect, Foyle’s War, Inspector Morse and Grantchester. Funding for Masterpiece is provided by Viking and Raymond James with additional support from public television viewers and contributors to The Masterpiece Trust.

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For full schedules and program information, visit weta.org. 5

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Primetime Schedule WETA PBS in January

Denotes WETA productions, co-productions and presentations

Visit weta.org/schedule for the most up-to-date schedule information.

8:00 Washington Week

8:30 History with David Rubenstein (Andrew Roberts)

9:00

9:30

10:00

Great Performances: From Vienna: The New Year’s Celebration 2021

10:30 Beyond the Canvas: All About the Music

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Fri

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Sat

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Sun

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Mon

5

Tue

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Wed

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Thu

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Fri

9

Sat

10

Sun

(from 7:30) Masterpiece: 50 Fabulous Years!

All Creatures Great and Small on Masterpiece (Pt 1 of 7)

The Unseen Alistair Cooke on Masterpiece

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Mon

Antiques Roadshow: Vintage Baltimore 2021 (Hour 1)

The Codebreaker: American Experience

Independent Lens: A Day in the Life of America (to 11:30pm)

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Tue

Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Season 6 (Coming to America)

PBS American Portrait (Ep 2 of 4. I Work)

Frontline: Plastic Wars

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Wed

Nature: The Alps (Pt 1 of 2. The High Life)

NOVA: Secrets in Our DNA

When Disaster Strikes (Ep 2 of 3. The Silent Killer: Somalia)

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Thu

Prime Suspect, Series 4: The Scent of Darkness

Prince Albert: A Victorian Hero Revealed

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Fri

Washington Week

Great Performances: The Magic of Callas

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Sat

Jazz (Pt 2 of 10. The Gift) (1917-1924)

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Sun

Miss Scarlet & the Duke on Masterpiece (Pt 1 of 6)

All Creatures Great and Small on Masterpiece (Pt 2 of 7)

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Mon

Antiques Roadshow: Vintage Baltimore 2021 (Hour 2)

How It Feels to Be Free: American Masters

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Tue

Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Season 7 (To the Manor Born)

PBS American Portrait (Ep 3 of 4. I Keep)

Frontline: President Biden

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Wed

Nature: The Alps (Pt 2 of 2. Winter's Fortress)

NOVA: Decoding da Vinci

When Disaster Strikes (Ep 3 of 3. Paradise Lost: Bahamas)

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Thu

Prime Suspect, Series 5: Errors of Judgment (to 11:30pm)

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Fri

Washington Week

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Sat

Jazz (Pt 3 of 10. Our Language) (1924-1928)

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Sun

Miss Scarlet & the Duke on Masterpiece (Pt 2 of 6)

All Creatures Great and Small on Masterpiece (Pt 3 of 7)

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Mon

Antiques Roadshow: Vintage Tucson 2021 (Hour 1)

Antiques Roadshow Recut: Newport, RI

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Tues

Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Season 7 (Against All Odds)

PBS American Portrait (Ep 4 of 4. I Rise)

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Wed

Nature: Octopus: Making Contact

NOVA: Forgotten Genius

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Thu

29

Fri

30

Sat

31

Sun

Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool: American Masters

Sammy Davis, Jr.: I’ve Gotta Be Me: American Masters (to 12m)

Prince Albert: A Victorian Hero Revealed

Elizabeth Is Missing on Masterpiece

Antiques Roadshow: American Stories

Antiques Roadshow: Harrisburg, PA (Hour 2)

Independent Lens: A Woman’s Work: The NFL’s Cheerleader Problem

Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Season 6 (Breaking the Silences)

PBS American Portrait (Ep 1 of 4. I Dream)

Frontline: American Voices: A Nation in Turmoil

Nature: A Squirrel’s Guide to Success

NOVA: Prediction by the Numbers

When Disaster Strikes (Ep 1 of 3. A Perfect Storm: Mozambique)

Prime Suspect, Series 4: The Lost Child (to 9:45pm)

(from 9:45) Prime Suspect, Series 4: Inner Circles (to 11:30pm)

Washington Week

Frontline: A Thousand Cuts (to 11:30pm)

The David Rubenstein Show: Peer to Peer Conversations, Series 3 (Ruth Bader Ginsburg)

Jazz (Pt 1 of 10. Gumbo) (Beginnings to 1917)

The David Rubenstein Show: Peer to Peer Conversations, Series 3

The David Rubenstein Show: Peer to Peer Conversations, Series 3

Congressman John Lewis and Andrew Aydin: The Story of March

In Concert at the Hollywood Bowl (Ep 1 of 6. Musicals and the Movies)

Turmoil and Triumph: The George Shultz Years (Pt 1 of 3. A Call to Service)

Turmoil and Triumph: The George Shultz Years (Pt 2 of 3. To Start the World Again)

In Concert at the Hollywood Bowl (Ep 2 of 6. Hecho en Mexico/Made in Mexico)

Inside the Mind of Agatha Christie

Great Performances: The Magic of Horowitz Turmoil and Triumph: The George Shultz Years (Pt 3 of 3. Swords into Plowshares) Agatha Christie’s England

POV: The Mole Agent Frontline: China´s COVID Secrets (to 11:30pm)

Prime Suspect, Series 6: The Last Witness (to 11:30pm) Washington Week

The David Rubenstein Show: Peer to Peer Conversations, Series 3

In Concert at the Hollywood Bowl (Ep 3 of 6. Jazz at the Hollywood Bowl)

Lidia Celebrates America: A Salute to First Responders

Jazz (Pt 4 of 10. The True Welcome) (1929-1935 )

Marriner Eccles: Father of the Modern Federal Reserve

Miss Scarlet & the Duke on Masterpiece (Pt 3 of 6)

The Long Song on Masterpiece (Pt 1 of 3)

8:00

All Creatures Great and Small on Masterpiece (Pt 4 of 7)

8:30

PBS NewsHour airs weeknights at 7 p.m.

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9:00

9:30

10:00

10:30

Amanpour and Company airs late weeknights (check listings).

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TV Listings WETA PBS in January

Listings are accurate as of press time. For late-breaking program updates, visit weta.org/tv or call 703-998-2724. WETA PBS is devoted to children’s educational programming 8 a.m.–5 p.m., Monday-Friday. For 24 hours of children’s programming each day, tune in to the WETA PBS Kids channel. See page 15 for schedule information. Program Key Blue type — WETA productions, co-productions or presentations. R — Repeats that aired within the month.

WEEKDAY MORNINGS IN JANUARY: 6AM NHK NEWSLINE + 6:30AM BBC WORLD NEWS 7AM (Mondays:) PBS NEWSHOUR WEEKEND 7:30 (Mondays:) WASHINGTON WEEK — R 7AM (Tuesdays-Saturdays:) PBS NEWSHOUR — R 8AM-3PM WETA KIDS PROGRAMMING WEEKDAY EVENINGS IN JANUARY: 5PM AMANPOUR AND COMPANY — Repeat of previous night 6PM BBC NEWS — BBC World News Outside Source (6pm, Mon-Thur); BBC World News Today (6pm, Fri); BBC World News America (6:30pm, Mon-Fri)

1 Friday 7:00 PBS NEWSHOUR — The WETA production provides in-depth analysis of current events with a news summary, live interviews and discussions of domestic and international issues. Judy Woodruff anchors. Visit pbs.org/newshour. Repeats tomorrow, 7am 8:00 WASHINGTON WEEK — In WETA’s weekly production, join moderator Robert Costa for a roundtable discussion with award-winning journalists who provide reporting and analysis of the major news stories from the nation’s capital. Visit pbs.org/washingtonweek. Repeats Sat 1/2, 6am, 6:30pm; Mon 1/4, 7:30am 8:30 HISTORY WITH DAVID RUBENSTEIN — In this WETA presentation, Washington, D.C.-based financier and philanthropist David Rubenstein interviews some of America’s top scholars and writers to illuminate how history is made. Andrew Roberts. 9:00 GREAT PERFORMANCES: FROM VIENNA: THE NEW YEAR’S CELEBRATION 2021 — Ring in 2021 with host Hugh Bonneville, joined by guest conductor Riccardo Muti and the Vienna Philharmonic performing a festive selection of Strauss Family waltzes. 10:30 BEYOND THE CANVAS — Enjoy the best arts and culture reporting from PBS NewsHour’s CANVAS arts series. Amna Nawaz hosts. All About the Music. Making it as a musician takes talent, ambition, grit and a good bit of luck. Icons Bruce Springsteen, Reba McEntire and others talk about their success and some of their most vulnerable moments. 11:00 AMANPOUR AND COMPANY — Christiane Amanpour leads conversations with global thought leaders on contemporary issues. Repeats Monday, 5pm

2 Saturday 6AM WASHINGTON WEEK — R 6:30 FIRING LINE WITH MARGARET HOOVER — R

WETA Television

Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on WETA PBS Four-part series PBS American Portrait presents crowdsourced stories from 2020 filmed by everyday people and blended into documentaries that explore what it means to be an American today.

PBS NEWSHOUR — R JOSEPH ROSENDO’S TRAVELSCOPE RICK STEVES’ EUROPE ANTIQUES ROADSHOW — Repeat of Monday 8 p.m. THIS OLD HOUSE ASK THIS OLD HOUSE JOANNE WEIR’S PLATES AND PLACES JACQUES PÉPIN: HEART & SOUL YAN CAN COOK: SPICE KINGDOM CHRISTOPHER KIMBALL’S MILK STREET TELEVISION NICK STELLINO: STORYTELLER LIDIA’S KITCHEN IN JULIA’S KITCHEN WITH MASTER CHEFS SARA’S WEEKNIGHT MEALS MARTHA BAKES — (As of 1/9: Joanne Weir’s Plates and Places + New Scandinavian Cooking) 4:00 COOK’S COUNTRY FROM AMERICA’S TEST KITCHEN 4:30 AMERICA’S TEST KITCHEN FROM COOK’S ILLUSTRATED — New episodes start January 2! 5:00 PATI’S MEXICAN TABLE 5:30 SAMANTHA BROWN’S PLACES TO LOVE 6:00 PBS NEWSHOUR WEEKEND 6:30 WASHINGTON WEEK — R 7:00 SECRETS OF THE DEAD: BEN FRANKLIN’S BONES — When skeletal remains of at least 10 people, including several infants, turned up in the basement of Benjamin Franklin’s British residence, people wondered if a dark mystery surrounded the Founding Father. But Franklin was aware of the bodies in his basement; they were used in an illegal anatomy school that helped shaped modern medicine. Repeats tonight; Sun 1/3, 11pm 8:00 MILES DAVIS: BIRTH OF THE COOL: AMERICAN MASTERS — In award-winning filmmaker Stanley Nelson’s deep dive into the world of an iconic figure in music, discover the man behind the legend. With full access to the Miles Davis Estate, the film features neverbefore-seen footage, including studio outtakes from his recording sessions, rare photos and new interviews. Repeats 1am 10:00 SAMMY DAVIS, JR.: I’VE GOTTA BE ME: AMERICAN MASTERS — Explore the entertainer’s vast talent and journey for identity through the shifting tides of civil rights and racial progress in 20th-century America. Interviewees include Billy Crystal and Whoopi Goldberg; clips include Davis’ television, film and concert performances. Repeats 3am 12M SECRETS OF THE DEAD: BEN FRANKLIN’S BONES — R

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COURTESY PBS

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Sunday, January 3 at 9 p.m. on WETA PBS Elizabeth Is Missing on Masterpiece stars two-time Oscar-winner Glenda Jackson as a woman desperately trying to solve two mysteries as she declines ever deeper into dementia. Jackson won a BAFTA and an International Emmy for her performance in the drama.

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10:00 INDEPENDENT LENS: A WOMAN’S WORK: THE NFL’S CHEERLEADER PROBLEM — NFL cheerleaders revolve their lives around their sport, but most earn less than minimum wage. Three of them decide they deserve more. In high-stakes lawsuits, the women take a stand against the massive, male-dominated sports league. 11:00 AMANPOUR AND COMPANY — Repeats tomorrow, 5pm

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Wednesdays, January 6, 13 & 20 at 10 p.m. on WETA PBS Three-part miniseries When Disaster Strikes illuminates the mechanics of disaster relief, following the heroes responding on the ground and presenting extraordinary personal stories of determination and hope.

WETA Television

3 Sunday 6AM-9AM WETA KIDS PROGRAMMING 9AM WHITE HOUSE CHRONICLE 9:30 TO THE CONTRARY WITH BONNIE ERBE 10AM-2PM POLDARK, SERIES 1 ON MASTERPIECE — WETA reprises the first season of the popular romantic saga in its entirety today. Against the backdrop of 18th-century Cornwall, England, Aidan Turner stars as Captain Ross Poldark, who returns to his family’s land after the American Revolution and finds wrenching change. Eleanor Tomlinson portrays Demelza, the spirited miner’s daughter who joins the captain’s household; and Heida Reed is Elizabeth, Ross’s romantic obsession. Episodes 1-4 air 10 a.m.-2 p.m.; Episodes 5 & 6 air 3-5 p.m.; and Episode 7 airs 6-8 p.m. today. 2:00 NATIONAL PHILHARMONIC: MUSIC THAT BRINGS WONDER — WETA presents a National Philharmonic Chamber Concert Series performance at AMP by Strathmore, featuring works by Mendelssohn, Haydn, Caroline Shaw, Jessie Montgomery and Prokofiev. Inspired by the classic “Through the Looking Glass” by Lewis Carroll, this concert is intended to create a sense of wonder and joy. 3:00 POLDARK, SERIES 1 ON MASTERPIECE — Episodes 5 & 6. Continues at 6 p.m. 5:00 PBS NEWSHOUR WEEKEND — Repeats Mon 1/4, 7am 5:30 A SEAT AT THE TABLE, SERIES 1 — A talk show series gives voice to African American women, exploring their diverse experiences, perspectives and challenges. Episode 10 of 13. When Asked About Race, What Box Do You Check? 6:00 POLDARK, SERIES 1 ON MASTERPIECE — Episode 7. Series 1 of the 2015 romantic drama concludes. 8:00 PRINCE ALBERT: A VICTORIAN HERO REVEALED — Discover the little-known yet profound role Prince Albert played in shaping Victorian Britain. Professor Saul David examines Albert’s influence and innovative ideas, which transformed the nation’s fortunes and created a legacy that lives on today. Repeats Thur 1/14, 10pm 9:00 ELIZABETH IS MISSING ON MASTERPIECE — In the single-episode drama based on the novel by Emma Healey, Glenda Jackson stars as a woman desperately trying to solve two mysteries as she declines ever deeper into dementia. 11:00 SECRETS OF THE DEAD: BEN FRANKLIN’S BONES — R 12M AUSTIN CITY LIMITS

7:00 PBS NEWSHOUR — Repeats tomorrow, 7am 8:00 FINDING YOUR ROOTS WITH HENRY LOUIS GATES, JR., SEASON 6 — In this WETA co-production, join Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr., as he delves into the genealogy of famous Americans. Breaking the Silences. Gates explores the family secrets of journalist Gayle King, director Jordan Peele and comedian Issa Rae, introducing them to ancestors who are both black and white, raising profound questions about their family trees. Repeats Sun 1/10, 3pm 9:00 PBS AMERICAN PORTRAIT — A crowdsourced series blends stories filmed by everyday people into documentaries revealing what it really means to be American today. Episode 1 of 4. I Dream. Self-shot stories reveal the meaning of the American dream and explored the hard work, opportunities and barriers that come with pursuing this ideal today. Repeats Wed 1/6, 3pm; Sat 1/9, 11pm; Sun 1/10, 4pm 10:00 FRONTLINE: AMERICAN VOICES: A NATION IN TURMOIL — A Frontline special spotlights the lives, fears and hopes of Americans from the pandemic to the polls. Filmed around the country for much of the year 2020, Americans confront the pandemic, racial tensions, the polarizing election and its aftermath. 11:00 AMANPOUR AND COMPANY — Repeats tomorrow, 5pm

6 Wednesday 7:00 PBS NEWSHOUR — Repeats tomorrow, 7am 8:00 NATURE: A SQUIRREL’S GUIDE TO SUCCESS — Discovery the extraordinary abilities of squirrels, from the brainy fox squirrel, to the acrobatic gray squirrel, to the problem-solving ground squirrel. Follow a guide to the squirrel’s success along with an orphan red squirrel called Billy. Repeats Thur 1/7, 3pm 9:00 NOVA: PREDICTION BY THE NUMBERS — Discover how predictions underpin nearly every aspect of our lives and why some succeed spectacularly while others fail. Explore entertaining real-world challenges and join experts as they tackle that age-old question: Can we forecast the future? Repeats Fri 1/8, 3pm 10:00 WHEN DISASTER STRIKES — Learn about the mechanics of disaster relief from the heroes responding on the ground, and hear extraordinary personal stories of determination and hope. Episode 1 of 3. A Perfect Storm: Mozambique. Hear a story of bravery and hope after Cyclone Idai strikes Mozambique. The world races to help rescue and support survivors from flooding on a massive scale. Repeats Mon 1/11, 3pm 11:00 AMANPOUR AND COMPANY — Repeats tomorrow, 5pm

7:00 PBS NEWSHOUR — Repeats tomorrow, 7am 8:00 ANTIQUES ROADSHOW: AMERICAN STORIES — Celebrate the collective history of our country through personal accounts behind standout treasures, one of which is now valued at $165,000-$250,000. 9:00 ANTIQUES ROADSHOW: HARRISBURG, PA — Hour 2. Travel to Harrisburg for finds that include one valued at $300,000.

ITV

4 Monday

Thursdays at 8 p.m. on WETA PBS Prime Suspect, starring Helen Mirren as DS Jane Tennison, continues with more cases on Thriller Thursdays throughout January.

8 JANUARY 2021 • Stream select programs via the free PBS Video App.

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JAZZ A FILM BY KEN BURNS A WETA CO-PRODUCTION Saturdays at 8 p.m. starting January 9 on WETA PBS Acclaimed 10-part series Jazz, a 2001 documentary film from Ken Burns and WETA, tells the story of the American art form from its origins. Above: Duke Ellington watches iconic singer Ella Fitzgerald perform.

7 Thursday 7:00 PBS NEWSHOUR — Repeats tomorrow, 7am 8:00 PRIME SUSPECT, SERIES 4: THE LOST CHILD & INNER CIRCLES — The newly promoted Detective Superintendent Jane Tennison (Helen Mirren) is assigned to different stations to spearhead a number of major inquiries. The Lost Child. Tennison is back at Southampton Row to work on a case involving the disappearance of a young child. Her investigations lead her to a serial child sex offender. Inner Circles. In her next case, Tennison probes a bizarre death in an affluent suburb of London. The investigation exposes a web of fraud, local government corruption and hollow relationships. 11:30 AMANPOUR AND COMPANY — Repeats tomorrow, 5pm

8 Friday 7:00 PBS NEWSHOUR — Repeats tomorrow, 7am 8:00 WASHINGTON WEEK — WETA’s weekly production presents a roundtable discussion with award-winning journalists who provide reporting and analysis of the major news stories from the nation’s capital. Visit pbs.org/washingtonweek. Repeats Sat 1/9, 6am, 6:30pm; Mon 1/11, 7:30am 8:30 THE DAVID RUBENSTEIN SHOW: PEER TO PEER CONVERSATIONS, SERIES 3 — In a new season of episodes, the renowned Washington, D.C.-based financier and philanthropist explores successful leadership through new interviews with influential people in prominent fields of endeavor. Episode 1 of 15. Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Repeats Sun 1/10, 6:30pm 9:30 FRONTLINE: A THOUSAND CUTS — Frontline spotlights Philippine President Duterte’s crackdown on the press, and his prime target, Maria Ressa. The two-hour special presents a cautionary tale of Duterte’s escalating war on the press, his pursuit of Ressa and her colleagues, and the threat to democracy. 11:30 AMANPOUR AND COMPANY — Repeats Monday, 5pm

10 Sunday 6AM-10AM See the Sunday, January 3 listings. 10AM THIS IS AMERICA AND THE WORLD WITH DENNIS WHOLEY 10:30 THE OPEN MIND 11AM FIRING LINE WITH MARGARET HOOVER — Repeats Saturdays, 6:30am 11:30 TO DINE FOR WITH KATE SULLIVAN 12N THE WETA MOVIE: OLIVER! — In Carol Reed’s 1968 Best Picture-winning musical adaptation of Dickens’ novel, young orphan Oliver Twist runs away and meets a group of boys trained to be pickpockets by an elderly mentor. Mark Lester, Ron Moody, Shani Wallis and Oliver Reed star. The film won five Oscars. 2:30 ANTIQUES ROADSHOW BBC 3:00 FINDING YOUR ROOTS WITH HENRY LOUIS GATES, JR., SEASON 6 — Breaking the Silences. R 4:00 PBS AMERICAN PORTRAIT — Episode 1 of 4. I Dream. R 5:00 THE CHAVIS CHRONICLES — A talk show hosted by award-winning journalist, civil rights icon and intellectual influencer Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr. features interviews with thought leaders. Episode 2. Super Role Models in the Black Community. Chavis and guests offer

HOOVER INSTITUTE

9 Saturday 6AM WASHINGTON WEEK — R 6:30 FIRING LINE WITH MARGARET HOOVER — R 7AM PBS NEWSHOUR — R 8AM-6PM See the Saturday, January 2 listings. 6:00 PBS NEWSHOUR WEEKEND 6:30 WASHINGTON WEEK — R 7:00 SECRETS OF THE DEAD: NERO’S SUNKEN CITY — Baiae was an escape for ancient Rome’s powerful elite, the Las Vegas of its day. Now, archaeologists are mapping

WETA Television

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underwater ruins and piecing together what life was like in this playground for the rich. Repeats tonight; Sun 1/10, 11pm; Tue 1/12, 3pm JAZZ — Ken Burns’s epic documentary film, created in partnership with WETA, explores the history of jazz in America from the art form’s origins through the 1990s. Part 1 of 10. Gumbo (Beginnings to 1917). Jazz is born in the unique musical and social cauldron of New Orleans at the turn of the 20th century, emerging from such genres as ragtime, marching bands, work songs, spirituals, European classical music, funeral parade music and the blues. Repeats tonight, 1am CONGRESSMAN JOHN LEWIS AND ANDREW AYDIN: THE STORY OF MARCH — A 2019 presentation from Burlington, Vermont features the late civil rights icon Congressman John Lewis and co-author Andrew Aydin discussing their graphic novel “March: Book One” — based on Lewis’ life as a civil rights leader. TURMOIL AND TRIUMPH: THE GEORGE SHULTZ YEARS — A documentary series spotlights the inner workings of the Reagan White House in the early 1980s, during a period of high-level foreign tensions, and explores Secretary of State George Shultz’s service to the country. The programs feature extensive interviews with Shultz, as well as former Secretaries Henry Kissinger, Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice; Senators Edward Kennedy, Sam Nunn and Richard Lugar; Mikhail Gorbachev and others. Part 1 of 3. A Call to Service. A biography of Shultz explores how his service as a U.S. Marine and his academic career at MIT and the University of Chicago led to cabinet posts under President Nixon — and a role in the Reagan Administration. PBS AMERICAN PORTRAIT — Episode 1 of 4. I Dream. R SECRETS OF THE DEAD: NERO’S SUNKEN CITY — R

Saturdays, January 9, 16 & 23 at 10 p.m. on WETA PBS Three-part miniseries Turmoil and Triumph: The George Shultz Years explores the inner workings of the Reagan White House during the 1980s and Secretary of State Shultz’s service to the country. Above: President Reagan with Shultz at his swearing-in ceremony.

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11 Monday 7:00 PBS NEWSHOUR — Repeats tomorrow, 7am 8:00 ANTIQUES ROADSHOW: VINTAGE BALTIMORE 2021 — Hour 1. Discover updated appraisals on magnificent Maryland finds from 2007. One is $130,000-$200,000. 9:00 THE CODEBREAKER: AMERICAN EXPERIENCE — Discover the fascinating story of Elizebeth Smith Friedman, the groundbreaking cryptanalyst who helped bring down Al Capone and break up a Nazi spy ring in South America. Her work helped lay the foundation for modern codebreaking today. 10:00 INDEPENDENT LENS: A DAY IN THE LIFE OF AMERICA — On July 4, 2017, more than 90 film crews across the country captured Americans in the midst of life, liberty and their particular pursuit of happiness, creating an unflinching snapshot of the depth and breadth of the American experience. Jared Leto directed the film. 11:30 AMANPOUR AND COMPANY — Repeats tomorrow, 5pm

12 Tuesday 7:00 PBS NEWSHOUR — Repeats tomorrow, 7am 8:00 FINDING YOUR ROOTS WITH HENRY LOUIS GATES, JR., SEASON 6 — In this WETA co-production, join Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr., as he delves into the genealogy of famous Americans. Coming to America. Gates helps Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, news anchor Norah O’Donnell and fashion designer

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insight into the importance of HBCUs including Howard University, as well as the influence of African American Greek-letter organizations in the 2020 election. A SEAT AT THE TABLE, SERIES 1 — A talk show series gives voice to African American women, exploring their diverse experiences, perspectives and challenges. Episode 11 of 13. Black Maternal Mortality. Black women are three to four times more likely to die in childbirth. PBS NEWSHOUR WEEKEND — Repeats Mon 1/11, 7am THE DAVID RUBENSTEIN SHOW: PEER TO PEER CONVERSATIONS, SERIES 3 — Episode 1 of 15. Ruth Bader Ginsburg. R MASTERPIECE: 50 FABULOUS YEARS! — Join Alan Cumming to celebrate the iconic series that introduced generations of PBS viewers to the delights of British drama. From Upstairs Downstairs to I, Claudius to The Jewel in the Crown and Downton Abbey, Masterpiece has stood the test of time. ALL CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL ON MASTERPIECE — In a new Masterpiece adaptation of the popular novel by James Herriot, follow the veterinarian at the start of his storied career in rural Yorkshire in the 1930s. Nicholas Ralph stars as the iconic vet who became renowned for his inspiring humor, compassion and love of life. Part 1 of 7. James Herriot interviews for a job with harried Yorkshire veterinarian Siegfried Farnon. Herriot’s first day is full of surprises. THE UNSEEN ALISTAIR COOKE ON MASTERPIECE — Enjoy a revealing portrait of longtime Masterpiece Theatre host Alistair Cooke, one of the most celebrated broadcasters of the 20th century. SECRETS OF THE DEAD: NERO’S SUNKEN CITY — R AUSTIN CITY LIMITS

Wednesday, January 13 at 9 p.m. on WETA PBS NOVA: Secrets in Our DNA examines the consequences of sharing genetic data with testing companies from whom we seek family heritage information or estimates of health risks. What is the peril and promise of doing so, and how accurate are the results?

Zac Posen explore their immigrant roots, retracing the journeys of their ancestors who arrived in the U.S. with little more than a dream. Repeats Sun 1/17, 3pm 9:00 PBS AMERICAN PORTRAIT — Intimate self-shot stories reveal what it really means to be American today. Episode 2 of 4. I Work. Everyday people share self-shot stories about their jobs and what it means to work in America. Repeats Wed 1/13, 3pm; Sat 1/16, 11pm; Sun 1/17, 4pm 10:00 FRONTLINE: PLASTIC WARS — An encore Frontline presentation: With the plastics industry expanding and ocean pollution crisis growing, Frontline and NPR investigate the fight over the future of plastics. 11:00 AMANPOUR AND COMPANY — Repeats tomorrow, 5pm

13 Wednesday 7:00 PBS NEWSHOUR — Repeats tomorrow, 7am 8:00 NATURE: THE ALPS — Discover how lynx, golden eagles, ibex and more thrive in Europe’s highest mountain range. Part 1 of 2. The High Life. Enjoy the Alps in spring and summertime as newborn animals grow up and prepare to face the coming brutal winter. Repeats Thur 1/14, 3pm 9:00 NOVA: SECRETS IN OUR DNA — Some 30 million Americans have sent their DNA to be analyzed by companies like 23andMe and AncestryDNA, hoping to obtain clues to family origins and forecasts of their future health. What happens once the sample is in the hands of testing companies? NOVA explores the power of this information and the unintended consequences that can arise from sharing our data. Repeats Fri 1/15, 3pm 10:00 WHEN DISASTER STRIKES — Learn about the mechanics of disaster relief from the heroes responding on the ground. Episode 2 of 3. The Silent Killer: Somalia. Go inside an epic battle for survival and preservation as drought strikes Somalia. Mass migration, food shortages and malnutrition threaten, and resolute humanitarians race to meet sufferers' needs. Rpts Mon 1/18, 3pm 11:00 AMANPOUR AND COMPANY — Repeats tomorrow, 5pm

14 Thursday

©TERRA MATER FACTUAL STUDIOS & WILD NATURE FILM

7:00 PBS NEWSHOUR — Repeats tomorrow, 7am 8:00 PRIME SUSPECT, SERIES 4: THE SCENT OF DARKNESS — Helen Mirren stars as Detective Superintendent Jane Tennison, who in this case finds her private and professional life in tatters when a series of murders lead to her old adversary, George Marlow. But he is still in prison, where Tennison put him. Are these copycat killings, or did the police get the wrong man? 10:00 PRINCE ALBERT: A VICTORIAN HERO REVEALED — R 11:00 AMANPOUR AND COMPANY — Repeats tomorrow, 5pm

15 Friday Wednesdays, January 13 & 20 at 8 p.m. on WETA PBS Nature: The Alps spotlights Europe’s majestic mountain range and how its fauna survives in the face of extreme seasonal fluctuations.

7:00 PBS NEWSHOUR — Repeats tomorrow, 7am 8:00 WASHINGTON WEEK — WETA’s weekly production presents a roundtable discussion with award-winning journalists who provide reporting and analysis of the major news stories from the nation’s capital. Visit pbs.org/washingtonweek. Repeats Sat 1/16, 6am, 6:30pm; Mon 1/18, 7:30am

10 JANUARY 2021 • Stream select programs via the free PBS Video App.

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16 Saturday 6AM WASHINGTON WEEK — R 6:30 FIRING LINE WITH MARGARET HOOVER — R 7AM PBS NEWSHOUR — R 8AM-6PM See the Saturday, January 2 listings. 6:00 PBS NEWSHOUR WEEKEND 6:30 WASHINGTON WEEK — R 7:00 SECRETS OF THE DEAD: LEONARDO: THE MAN WHO SAVED SCIENCE — Leonardo da Vinci is well known for his inventions as well as his art. But evidence shows that many of his ideas were realized long before he sketched them out in his notebooks — some even 1,700 years before. Repeats tonight; Sun 1/17, 11pm 8:00 JAZZ — Ken Burns’s epic documentary film, created in partnership with WETA, continues. Part 2 of 10. The Gift (1917-1924). During the tumultuous era known as the “Jazz Age,” the rhythms and spirit of jazz music mirror the world that emerged in the wake of World War I. The program introduces two extraordinary individuals: Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong. Repeats tonight, 1am 10:00 TURMOIL AND TRIUMPH: THE GEORGE SHULTZ YEARS — Part 2 of 3. To Start the World Again. Inside the Reagan Administration, cabinet members vie for the President’s attention, putting forth competing tactics to achieve the Administration’s goals. Reagan is taken with the Contras, a group of rebels fighting the Communist government in Nicaragua. 11:00 PBS AMERICAN PORTRAIT — Episode 2 of 4. I Work. R 12M SECRETS OF THE DEAD: LEONARDO: THE MAN WHO SAVED SCIENCE — R

17 Sunday 6AM-12N See the Sunday, January 3 & 10 listings. 12N THE WETA MOVIE: ON THE WATERFRONT — Elia Kazan’s classic 1954 drama stars Marlon Brando as a conscience-stricken ex-boxer who stands up to a corrupt union boss after unwittingly participating in

WETA Television

8:30 THE DAVID RUBENSTEIN SHOW: PEER TO PEER CONVERSATIONS, SERIES 3 — The renowned Washington, D.C.-based financier and philanthropist explores successful leadership through interviews with influential people in prominent fields of endeavor. Episode 2 of 15. Tim Cook, Apple CEO. Repeats Sun 1/17, 6:30pm 9:00 IN CONCERT AT THE HOLLYWOOD BOWL: MUSICALS AND THE MOVIES — In the first of a six-concert series, hear Kristin Chenoweth sing “Over the Rainbow” with Kevin Stites, Audra McDonald performing “Moon River” with Bramwell Tovey, and Sutton Foster sing Bernstein’s “On the Town” with Brian Stokes Mitchell along with Gustavo Dudamel and the LA Phil. 10:00 GREAT PERFORMANCES: THE MAGIC OF CALLAS — Explore the legacy of superstar Maria Callas in this documentary detailing her 1964 comeback at London’s Royal Opera House in Tosca and featuring insights from fans including Rufus Wainwright and opera stars Thomas Hampson and Kristine Opolais. 11:00 AMANPOUR AND COMPANY — Repeats Monday, 5pm

COURTESY HULTON ARCHIVE VIA GETTY IMAGES

COURTESY MASTERPIECE

Sundays at 8 p.m. starting January 17 on WETA PBS Miss Scarlet & the Duke on Masterpiece stars Kate Phillips as Eliza Scarlet, Victorian England’s first-ever female sleuth, who solves crimes with her partner and childhood friend, William “The Duke” Wellington, portrayed by Stuart Martin.

a fellow longshoreman’s murder. Karl Malden, Lee J. Cobb, Rod Steiger and Eva Marie Saint co-star. The film won eight Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor and Best Actress. (1:48) 2:00 NATIONAL PHILHARMONIC: MUSIC THAT TRAVELS THROUGH SPACE — WETA presents a National Philharmonic Chamber Concert Series performance at AMP by Strathmore, featuring instrumentalists performing works by Alistair Coleman, Lili Boulanger, Osvaldo Golijov, Manuel Ponce, Luise Adolpha Le Beau, Carson Cooman and Debussy. Alas, we can’t all become astronauts, but this concert offers the next best thing, offering a musical journey through space. 3:00 FINDING YOUR ROOTS WITH HENRY LOUIS GATES, JR., SEASON 6 — Coming to America. R 4:00 PBS AMERICAN PORTRAIT — Episode 2 of 4. I Work. R 5:00 THE CHAVIS CHRONICLES — Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr. hosts. Episode 3. Veteran civil rights activist and congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton reflects on the intersection of the Black Lives Matter movement and the three great civil rights acts of the 1960s. 5:30 A SEAT AT THE TABLE, SERIES 1 — Episode 12. Crowns, Crowns, Crowns. Just as a Queen’s crown is the symbol of her authority, hair for many Black women is a sign of splendor and glory. The series’ hosts discuss the ways women adorn their crowns. 6:00 PBS NEWSHOUR WEEKEND — Repeats Mon 1/18, 7am 6:30 THE DAVID RUBENSTEIN SHOW: PEER TO PEER CONVERSATIONS, SERIES 3 — Episode 2 of 15. Tim Cook, Apple CEO. R 7:00 LUCY WORSLEY’S ROYAL MYTHS & SECRETS — Join British historian Lucy Worsley on a journey across Europe to locations where royal history was made. Learn how royal history is a mixture of facts, exaggeration, manipulation and mythology. Episode 1 of 3. Elizabeth I: The Warrior Queen. Worsley explores how Elizabeth I’s iconic warrior image shaped British national identity for centuries. 8:00 MISS SCARLET & THE DUKE ON MASTERPIECE — Go on the case with private eye Eliza Scarlet, Victorian England’s first-ever female sleuth, as she solves crimes — and sometimes flirts — with her partner and childhood friend, Detective Inspector William “The Duke” Wellington. Kate Phillips and Stuart Martin star. Part 1 of 6. Inheritance. Thrown onto her own, Eliza goes to work as a private detective to dig out of debt. Luckily, a family friend known as “the Duke” is a cop willing to help. 9:00 ALL CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL ON MASTERPIECE — Follow veterinarian James Herriot at the start of his career in rural Yorkshire in the 1930s. Part 2 of 7. Fresh from veterinary college, Siegfried’s fun-loving brother, Tristan, arrives to help out. Mrs. Pumphrey throws a swanky party. 10:00 INSIDE THE MIND OF AGATHA CHRISTIE — Discover what made the world’s most successful crime writer tick. Christie expert Dr. John Curran pored over the celebrated writer’s personal archive and interviewed those who knew her best to paint an unprecedented portrait of the complex author.

Monday, January 18 at 9 p.m. on WETA PBS How It Feels to Be Free: American Masters explores the lives and trailblazing careers of six iconic African American entertainers — Lena Horne, Abbey Lincoln, Nina Simone (above), Diahann Carroll, Cicely Tyson and Pam Grier — who changed American culture.

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COURTESY MCGEE MEDIA

create his legendary artwork. Learn why Mona Lisa’s smile is so captivating — and what it took to create it. Repeats Fri 1/22, 3pm; Sun 1/24, 2pm 10:00 WHEN DISASTER STRIKES — Learn about the mechanics of disaster relief from the heroes responding on the ground. Episode 3 of 3. Paradise Lost: Bahamas. Hear an epic tale of survival as one of the Caribbean’s strongest hurricanes strikes the Bahamas. The government and international aid workers battle to meet the survivors’ needs in the aftermath. Rpts Mon 1/25, 3pm 11:00 AMANPOUR AND COMPANY — Repeats tomorrow, 5pm

21 Thursday NEW SEASON! FINDING YOUR ROOTS WITH HENRY LOUIS GATES, JR. A WETA CO-PRODUCTION Tuesdays at 8 p.m. on WETA PBS Finding Your Roots enters a new season January 19, presenting more explorations of celebrity genealogies with series writer, host and executive producer Henry Louis Gates, Jr., above with John Waters.

WETA Television

11:00 SECRETS OF THE DEAD: LEONARDO: THE MAN WHO SAVED SCIENCE — R 12M AUSTIN CITY LIMITS

18 Monday 7:00 PBS NEWSHOUR — Repeats tomorrow, 7am 8:00 ANTIQUES ROADSHOW: VINTAGE BALTIMORE 2021 — Hour 2. What are treasures from the 2007 Roadshow in Baltimore worth now? One has more than doubled to $250,000. 9:00 HOW IT FEELS TO BE FREE: AMERICAN MASTERS — Explore the lives and trailblazing careers of iconic African American entertainers Lena Horne, Abbey Lincoln, Nina Simone, Diahann Carroll, Cicely Tyson and Pam Grier, who changed American culture through their films, fashion, music and politics. 11:00 AMANPOUR AND COMPANY — Repeats tomorrow, 5pm

19 Tuesday 7:00 PBS NEWSHOUR — Repeats tomorrow, 7am 8:00 FINDING YOUR ROOTS WITH HENRY LOUIS GATES, JR., SEASON 7 — In a new season of the WETA coproduction, scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr. uncovers the family histories of exciting new guests who are game-changers in their fields. They learn how their family histories illustrate the power and diversity of the human experience. Episode 1 of 10. To the Manor Born. Gates discovers the privileged lineages that claim actor Glenn Close and director John Waters as descendants, introducing ancestors who are as bold and independent as they are. Repeats Sun 1/24, 3pm 9:00 PBS AMERICAN PORTRAIT — Intimate self-shot stories reveal what it really means to be American today. Episode 3 of 4. I Keep. Across America, people film themselves as they try to preserve or change long-standing traditions. Repeats Wed 1/20, 3pm; Sat 1/23, 11pm; Sun 1/24, 4pm 10:00 FRONTLINE: PRESIDENT BIDEN — Frontline presents the story of how crisis and tragedy prepared Joe Biden to become president, examining the moments that shaped him and what they reveal about how he will govern. 11:00 AMANPOUR AND COMPANY — Repeats tomorrow, 5pm

20 Wednesday 7:00 PBS NEWSHOUR — Repeats tomorrow, 7am 8:00 NATURE: THE ALPS — Discover how lynx, golden eagles, ibex and more thrive in Europe’s highest mountain range. Part 2 of 2. Winter’s Fortress. Experience the hostile and bitter cold ecosystems of the Alps, shaped by snow blizzards and avalanches. Repeats Thur 1/21, 3pm 9:00 NOVA: DECODING DA VINCI — Journey to Florence to discover how Leonardo da Vinci used science, from human dissections to innovative painting techniques, to

7:00 PBS NEWSHOUR — Repeats tomorrow, 7am 8:00 PRIME SUSPECT, SERIES 5: ERRORS OF JUDGMENT — Detective Superintendent Jane Tennison, sent to Manchester, investigates the murder of a drug runner. She soon encounters “The Street,” a corrupt reprobate who rules over the local crime scene. Believing him to be the prime suspect, she soon finds her every move in the investigation is anticipated by the criminal. Helen Mirren and Steven Mackintosh star. 11:30 AMANPOUR AND COMPANY — Repeats tomorrow, 5pm

22 Friday 7:00 PBS NEWSHOUR — Repeats tomorrow, 7am 8:00 WASHINGTON WEEK — WETA’s weekly production presents a roundtable discussion with award-winning journalists who provide reporting and analysis of the major news stories from the nation’s capital. Visit pbs.org/washingtonweek. Repeats Sat 1/23, 6am, 6:30pm; Mon 1/25, 7:30am 8:30 THE DAVID RUBENSTEIN SHOW: PEER TO PEER CONVERSATIONS, SERIES 3 — The renowned Washington, D.C.-based financier and philanthropist explores successful leadership through interviews with influential people in prominent fields of endeavor. Episode 3 of 15. Lorne Michaels, Saturday Night Live creator and executive producer. Repeats Sun 1/24, 6:30pm 9:00 IN CONCERT AT THE HOLLYWOOD BOWL: HECHO EN MEXICO (MADE IN MEXICO) — Mexican and Mexican American artists Rodrigo y Gabriela, Natalia Lafourcade and La Santa Cecilia, Los Angeles Azules with YOLA (Youth Orchestra Los Angeles) and Paolo Bortolameolli perform with Gustavo Dudamel and the LA Phil. 10:00 GREAT PERFORMANCES: THE MAGIC OF HOROWITZ — Experience legendary pianist Vladimir Horowitz’s 1986 Russian homecoming for a sold-out concert of personal favorites, featuring commentary from former manager Peter Gelb and virtuoso pianists Martha Argerich and Daniil Trifonov. 11:00 AMANPOUR AND COMPANY — Repeats Monday, 5pm

23 Saturday 6AM WASHINGTON WEEK — R 6:30 FIRING LINE WITH MARGARET HOOVER — R 7AM PBS NEWSHOUR — R 8AM-6PM See the Saturday, January 2 listings. 6:00 PBS NEWSHOUR WEEKEND 6:30 WASHINGTON WEEK — R 7:00 SECRETS OF THE DEAD: WOMAN IN THE IRON COFFIN — Follow a team of forensic experts as they investigate the preserved remains of a young African American woman from 19th-century New York and reveal the story of early America’s free Black communities. Repeats tonight; Sun 1/24, 11pm; Tue 1/26, 3pm 8:00 JAZZ — Ken Burns’s epic documentary film, created in partnership with WETA, continues. Part 3 of 10. Our Language (1924-1928). Louis Armstrong arrives in New York from Chicago where, during a brief stay with the Fletcher Henderson band, he amazes his fellow musicians and teaches the city to swing. Follow musicians Louis Armstrong, Bessie Smith, Bix Beiderbecke, Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, Sidney Bechet, Ethel Waters — and Duke Ellington, who begins his incomparable career as the preeminent composer in jazz history. Repeats tonight, 1am 10:00 TURMOIL AND TRIUMPH: THE GEORGE SHULTZ YEARS — Part 3 of 3. Swords into Plowshares. The Iran-Contra scandal grows. A summit meeting continues in Iceland as Reagan and Gorbachev meet each other face to face again to determine the future of a nuclear world.

12 JANUARY 2021 • Stream select programs via the free PBS Video App.

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26 Tuesday

Fridays at 9 p.m. starting January 15 on WETA PBS Six-episode series In Concert at the Hollywood Bowl presents iconic moments from the storied venue’s archives, featuring the best of live performances from the past 10 years at the Bowl.

Tempers flare as Shultz realizes that Reagan will not give up the Star Wars Space Defense Initiative even if Gorbachev agrees to destroy all Soviet nuclear weapons. 11:00 PBS AMERICAN PORTRAIT — Episode 3 of 4. I Keep. R 12M SECRETS OF THE DEAD: WOMAN IN THE IRON COFFIN —R

24 Sunday

7:00 PBS NEWSHOUR — Repeats tomorrow, 7am 8:00 FINDING YOUR ROOTS WITH HENRY LOUIS GATES, JR., SEASON 7 — In a new season of the WETA coproduction, scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr. uncovers the family histories of exciting new guests who are gamechangers in their fields. Episode 2 of 10. Against All Odds. Gates introduces media personality Andy Cohen and radio journalist Nina Totenberg to ancestors who were determined to survive. Repeats Sun 1/31, 3pm 9:00 PBS AMERICAN PORTRAIT — Intimate self-shot stories reveal what it really means to be American today. Episode 4 of 4. I Rise. First-person stories from across the country go inside the lives of people working to create an antiracist American future. Repeats Wed 1/27, 3pm; Sat 1/30, 11pm; Sun 1/31, 4pm 10:00 FRONTLINE: CHINA’S COVID SECRETS — Frontline explores the story of the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic and how China responded. Chinese scientists and doctors, international disease experts and health officials reveal missed opportunities to suppress the outbreak, and lessons for the world. 11:30 AMANPOUR AND COMPANY — Repeats tomorrow, 5pm

27 Wednesday

6AM-12N See the Sunday, January 3 & 10 listings. 12N THE WETA MOVIE: THE APARTMENT — In Billy Wilder’s 1960 Best Picture-winning comedy, Jack Lemmon plays a go-getting office worker who tries to rise in his company by letting its executives use his apartment for trysts, but complications and a romance of his own ensue. Shirley MacLaine and Fred MacMurray co-star. 2:05 NOVA: DECODING DA VINCI — R 3:00 FINDING YOUR ROOTS WITH HENRY LOUIS GATES, JR., SEASON 7 — Episode 1 of 10. To the Manor Born. R 4:00 PBS AMERICAN PORTRAIT — Episode 3 of 4. I Keep. R 5:00 THE CHAVIS CHRONICLES — Episode 4. Host Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr. speaks to national NAACP President Derek Johnson about how the nation’s largest civil rights organization is wielding power at the ballot box. 5:30 A SEAT AT THE TABLE, SERIES 1 — Episode 13. Black Feminism…Is That a Real Thing? The series’ three hosts examine layers of feminism. 6:00 PBS NEWSHOUR WEEKEND — Repeats Mon 1/25, 7am 6:30 THE DAVID RUBENSTEIN SHOW: PEER TO PEER CONVERSATIONS, SERIES 3 — Episode 3 of 15. Lorne Michaels, Saturday Night Live creator and executive producer. 7:00 LUCY WORSLEY’S ROYAL MYTHS & SECRETS — Episode 2 of 3. Queen Anne: The Mother of Great Britain. Worsley explores how Anne’s role in forging Great Britain was overshadowed by gossip about her love life. 8:00 MISS SCARLET & THE DUKE ON MASTERPIECE — Part 2 of 6. The Woman in Red. A man is caught with a bloodied knife at a murder scene. Eliza is hired to prove his innocence, even though he has confessed. Also, she is about to be evicted. 9:00 ALL CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL ON MASTERPIECE — Part 3 of 7. James is put to the test with an ailing racehorse. Tristan faces a familiar temptation. Siegfried angles for a prestigious client. 10:00 AGATHA CHRISTIE’S ENGLAND — Retrace the famed mystery author’s footsteps to see the real places that inspired her literary universe. Learn how Christie drew on her surroundings throughout her life, immortalizing in her work the people and locations she encountered. 11:00 SECRETS OF THE DEAD: WOMAN IN THE IRON COFFIN —R 12M AUSTIN CITY LIMITS

7:00 PBS NEWSHOUR — Repeats tomorrow, 7am 8:00 NATURE: OCTOPUS: MAKING CONTACT — Follow an Alaskan professor as he raises and studies a pet octopus in his home, making remarkable discoveries about its extraordinary intelligence, personality and skills. Octopuses are able to recognize faces and interact with other individuals. Repeats Thur 1/28, 3pm 9:00 NOVA: FORGOTTEN GENIUS — NOVA presents the remarkable life story of Percy Julian — not only one of the great African American scientists of the 20th century, but an industrialist, self-made millionaire, humanitarian and civil rights pioneer. The grandson of Alabama slaves won worldwide acclaim for his research in chemistry and broke the color barrier in American science. Repeats Fri 1/29, 3pm 11:00 AMANPOUR AND COMPANY — Repeats tomorrow, 5pm

28 Thursday 7:00 PBS NEWSHOUR — Repeats tomorrow, 7am 8:00 PRIME SUSPECT, SERIES 6: THE LAST WITNESS — Detective Superintendent Jane Tennison’s investigations run afoul of the politics of her high police rank. Now overseeing all murder investigations in London, she takes a hands-on role investigating the brutal killing of a young Bosnian refugee. As the quest for justice becomes increasingly complicated, her career is imperiled. Helen Mirren stars alongside Clare Holman, Ben Miles, Mark Strong, Robert Pugh and others. 11:30 AMANPOUR AND COMPANY — Repeats tomorrow, 5pm

7:00 PBS NEWSHOUR — Repeats tomorrow, 7am 8:00 ANTIQUES ROADSHOW: VINTAGE TUCSON 2021 — Hour 1. Revisit tremendous Tucson treasures first appraised 15 years ago; one is now valued at $90,000-$115,000. 9:00 ANTIQUES ROADSHOW RECUT: NEWPORT, RI 9:30 POV: THE MOLE AGENT — In this documentary film, follow a private investigator hired to go undercover inside a nursing home as he struggles to balance his assignment with his increasing involvement in the lives of other residents. 11:00 AMANPOUR AND COMPANY — Repeats tomorrow, 5pm

AP IMAGES

25 Monday

Wednesday, January 27 at 9 p.m. on WETA PBS NOVA: Forgotten Genius presents the life story of Dr. Percy Julian, an industrialist, humanitarian and civil rights pioneer who was one of the great African American scientists of the 20th century.

For full schedules and program information, visit weta.org. 13

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COURTESY HEYDAY TELEVISION/CARLOS RODRIGUEZ

Hop begins to catch on at dance halls. The reminiscences of two of Harlem’s great dancers, Frankie Manning and Norma Miller, inform the episode. As swing dancing catches on, a new kind of big band jazz begins to emerge. Repeats tonight, 1am 10:00 MARRINER ECCLES: FATHER OF THE MODERN FEDERAL RESERVE — As the Chairman of the Federal Reserve under Presidents Roosevelt and Truman, Marriner Eccles was integral to the economic policies of the 1930-40s; he was a staunch advocate for the independence of the nation’s central bank, and a voice of the New Deal. 11:00 PBS AMERICAN PORTRAIT — Episode 4 of 4. I Rise. R 12M SECRETS OF THE DEAD: THE NERO FILES — R

31 Sunday Sundays at 10 p.m. starting January 31 on WETA PBS The Long Song on Masterpiece follows the hardships and survival of plantation slave July and her odious mistress Caroline during the final days of slavery in 19th-century Jamaica. Based on the novel by Andrea Levy, the drama stars Tamara Lawrance and Hayley Atwell.

WETA Television

29 Friday 7:00 PBS NEWSHOUR — Repeats tomorrow, 7am 8:00 WASHINGTON WEEK — WETA’s weekly production presents a roundtable discussion with award-winning journalists who provide reporting and analysis of the major news stories from the nation’s capital. Visit pbs.org/washingtonweek. Repeats Sat 1/30, 6am, 6:30pm; Mon 2/1, 7:30am 8:30 THE DAVID RUBENSTEIN SHOW: PEER TO PEER CONVERSATIONS, SERIES 3 — The renowned Washington, D.C.-based financier and philanthropist explores successful leadership through interviews with influential people in prominent fields of endeavor. Episode 4 of 15. Charles Schwab, Chairman & Founder, Charles Schwab. Repeats Sun 1/24, 6:30pm 9:00 IN CONCERT AT THE HOLLYWOOD BOWL: JAZZ AT THE HOLLYWOOD BOWL — See Dianne Reeves perform with Brazilian musician Ivan Lins, as well as Chucho Valdes, Kamasi Washington and Cecile McLorin Salvant. Watch Herbie Hancock, Carlos Santana, Wayne Shorter, Marcus Miller and Cindy Blackman Santana (a.k.a. Mega Nova) jam. 10:00 LIDIA CELEBRATES AMERICA: A SALUTE TO FIRST RESPONDERS — Celebrity Chef Lidia Bastianich travels across the country visiting the men and women serving on the front lines, from firefighters in rural California battling wildfires, to medical workers fighting the coronavirus pandemic on the outskirts of New York City. Lidia meets first responders who’ve worked quietly in the shadows and now find themselves thrust into the spotlight by crises facing the country. 11:00 AMANPOUR AND COMPANY — Repeats Monday, 5pm

30 Saturday 6AM WASHINGTON WEEK — R 6:30 FIRING LINE WITH MARGARET HOOVER — R 7AM PBS NEWSHOUR — R 8AM-6PM See the Saturday, January 2 listings. 6:00 PBS NEWSHOUR WEEKEND 6:30 WASHINGTON WEEK — R 7:00 SECRETS OF THE DEAD: THE NERO FILES — Learn about the life and legend of Nero, the infamous Roman emperor, as a forensics profiler explores what history may have gotten wrong about his alleged tyranny. Repeats tonight; Sun 1/31, 11pm 8:00 JAZZ — Ken Burns’s epic documentary film, created in partnership with WETA, continues. Part 4 of 10. The True Welcome (1929-1935). Amid the Depression, the Lindy

6AM-12N See the Sunday, January 3 & 10 listings. 12N THE WETA MOVIE: YOURS, MINE AND OURS — In Melville Shavelson’s 1968 comedy, lonely, widowed nurse Helen North meets up with widower Frank Beardsley, and the two fall in love and plan to marry. But Helen has eight children, and Frank has 10 more of his own, presenting quite a challenge. Lucille Ball, Henry Fonda, Van Johnson and Tom Bosley star. 2:00 NATIONAL PHILHARMONIC: MUSIC THAT CELEBRATES HOME — WETA presents a National Philharmonic Chamber Concert Series performance at AMP by Strathmore, featuring instrumentalists performing works by Alexandra Gardner, Philip Glass, Adolphus Hailstork, Caroline Shaw, Cécile Chaminade and Harold Arlen. The compositions express the strength of home and articulate the power of where you are — and the acceptance and importance of now. 3:00 FINDING YOUR ROOTS WITH HENRY LOUIS GATES, JR., SEASON 7 — Episode 2 of 10. Against All Odds. R 4:00 PBS AMERICAN PORTRAIT — Episode 4 of 4. I Rise. R 5:00 THE CHAVIS CHRONICLES — Episode 5. COVID-19 has laid bare America’s need to combat health disparities, especially the disproportionate death toll in communities of color. Host Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr. explores this issue with two leading public health physicians. 5:30 A SEAT AT THE TABLE, SERIES 1 — A talk show series gives voice to African American women, exploring their diverse experiences, perspectives and challenges. Episode 1. Career Code Switching. Hosts Denene Millner, Monica Pearson and Christine White discuss how women of color navigate the workplace. 6:00 PBS NEWSHOUR WEEKEND 6:30 THE DAVID RUBENSTEIN SHOW: PEER TO PEER CONVERSATIONS, SERIES 3 — Episode 4 of 15. Charles Schwab, Chairman & Founder, Charles Schwab. R 7:00 LUCY WORSLEY’S ROYAL MYTHS & SECRETS — Episode 3 of 3. Marie Antoinette, The Doomed Queen. Find out why Marie Antoinette is often blamed for causing the French Revolution by saying “let them eat cake” to her starving subjects. Worsley uncovers the myths and secrets that led the doomed queen to the guillotine. 8:00 MISS SCARLET & THE DUKE ON MASTERPIECE — Part 3 of 6. Deeds Not Words. The Duke hires Eliza to spy on suffragettes. Going beyond her instructions, she gets involved in Britain’s biggest plot since Guy Fawkes. 9:00 ALL CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL ON MASTERPIECE — Part 4 of 7. While Tristan gives Tricki-Woo the spa treatment, James deals with Helen’s champion bull. Siegfried makes a decision about Tristan. 10:00 THE LONG SONG ON MASTERPIECE — In a drama based on the novel by Andrea Levy, follow the hardships and survival of plantation slave July (Tamara Lawrance) and her odious mistress Caroline (Hayley Atwell) during the final days of slavery in Jamaica. Part 1 of 3. In early 1800s Jamaica, Caroline adopts the child slave July as her personal maid. July grows up to witness the Christmas Rebellion and the radical transformation of her world. 11:00 SECRETS OF THE DEAD: THE NERO FILES — R 12M AUSTIN CITY LIMITS

WETA Magazine is published monthly by the Greater Washington Educational Telecommunications Association for its members. Three dollars of each member’s dues are designated for its subscription. WETA occasionally exchanges member names with other organizations. If you wish that your name not be exchanged, please call Audience Services at 703-998-2724. ©2021 by Greater Washington Educational Telecommunications Association. All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may be reproduced in any form without written permission. Periodical postage paid at Arlington, VA 22210 and additional offices. Send address changes to WETA, 3939 Campbell Avenue, Arlington, Virginia 22206. Volume 34, Number 1. ISSN No. 1041-2700. PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER

Publisher Mary Stewart Editor Jeff Giese Design MANIFEST LLC Editorial and Advertising Offices 3939 Campbell Ave. Arlington, VA 22206

14 JANUARY 2021 • Stream select programs via the free PBS Video App.

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26.3 Over the Air Via Antenna Comcast 266, 1147 Cox 801 Fios 472 RCN 38

The WETA PBS Kids channel offers a safe haven for young viewers, presenting educational programming 24 hours each day, seven days a week.

WEEKDAYS ON WETA PBS • Hero Elementary, 8am • Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum, 8:30am • Curious George, 9am • Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, 9:30am, 10am • Elinor Wonders Why, 10:30am • Sesame Street, 11am • Pinkalicious & Peterrific, 11:30am • Dinosaur Train, 12n • Clifford the Big Red Dog, 12:30pm • Sesame Street, 1pm • Elinor Wonders Why, 1:30pm • Hero Elementary, 2pm • Let’s Go Luna!, 2:30pm

Odd Squad

New episodes air Jan. 18-22, 1:30 p.m. on WETA PBS Kids

T

he multiple Emmy Award-winning live-action series Odd Squad is designed to help children ages 5-8 learn math and problem-solving skills. The show focuses on the young agents of the Odd Squad, a kid-run organization whose mission is to save the day whenever something unusual happens. A math concept is embedded in each of their cases, and the agents work together to crack the problem and set things right in each episode. The series, produced by Sinking Ship Entertainment and The Fred Rogers Company, this month premieres new episodes titled “The End of the Road,” airing the week of January 18-22 at 1:30 p.m. on WETA PBS Kids. In the new programs, team leader The Big O and the agency’s Mobile Unit head “Down Under” as they join forces with two Australian agents to stop “The Shadow” from causing worldwide oddness. The Odd Squad agents are left wondering “is this the end of the road?” in a case that sends them back to class for a lesson in taking down villains.

Major funding for Odd Squad is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting & the U.S. Department of Education.

9 STORY MEDIA GROUP

Visit weta.org/kids for complete WETA PBS Kids listings.

COURTESY DARREN GOLDSTEIN

WETA PBS KIDS • Splash and Bubbles, 6am (Caillou on Sat/Sun) • WordWorld, 6:30am (Clifford on Sat/Sun) • Peg + Cat, 7am (Esme & Roy on Sat/Sun) • Peep and the Big Wide World, 7:30am • Sid the Science Kid, 8am • Super WHY!, 8:30am • Pinkalicious & Peterrific, 9am • Clifford the Big Red Dog, 9:30am • Let’s Go Luna!, 10am • Dinosaur Train, 10:30am • The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That!, 11am • Martha Speaks, 11:30am • Nature Cat, 12n • Ready Jet Go!, 12:30pm • Arthur, 1pm • Odd Squad, 1:30pm • Cyberchase, 2pm • Molly of Denali, 2:30pm • Pinkalicious & Peterrific, 3pm • Elinor Wonders Why, 3:30pm • Sesame Street, 4pm • Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, 4:30pm • Curious George, 5pm, 5:30pm • Wild Kratts, 6pm, 6:30pm • Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum, 7pm • Molly of Denali, 7:30pm • Hero Elementary, 8pm • Odd Squad, 8:30pm • Arthur, 9pm • WordGirl, 9:30pm • Cyberchase, 10pm • WETA PBS Kids Family Night airs Fridays, 7-10pm

SUNDAYS ON WETA PBS • Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, 6am • Arthur, 6:30am • Molly of Denali, 7am • Wild Kratts, 7:30am • Hero Elementary, 8am • Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum, 8:30am

Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum, inspired by the children’s book series “Ordinary People Change the World,” airs weekdays at 8:30 a.m. on WETA PBS and 7 p.m. on WETA PBS Kids. The series follows the adventures of three children as they tackle everyday problems by traveling back in time to learn from real-life inspirational figures.

For full schedules and program information, visit weta.org/kids. 15

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26.2 Over the Air Via Antenna Comcast 265, 1146 Cox 800 Fios 474 RCN 39, 602

British Television at Its Best The WETA UK channel is devoted to the best in British television programming, presenting beloved classics and contemporary series around the clock, seven days a week. WETA UK offers a full schedule of fine entertainment programming — featuring drama, mystery, comedy and documentary series — all delivered with an accent from the Isles. Visit wetauk.org for a complete schedule and program descriptions.

JANUARY P.M. PROGRAMMING ON WETA UK VISIT WETA.ORG/SCHEDULE FOR A COMPLETE PROGRAM LINEUP. SUNDAY

12pm

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

The Great Tours: England, Scotland and Wales

Last of the Summer Wine

Last of the Summer Wine

Last of the Summer Wine

Last of the Summer Wine

Last of the Summer Wine (exc 1/1)

Death in Paradise, Series 9

As Time Goes By

As Time Goes By

As Time Goes By

As Time Goes By

As Time Goes By (exc 1/1)

Escape to the Country, Series 2

A Place to Call Home (next ep airs tomorrow)

A Place to Call Home (next ep airs tomorrow)

A Place to Call Home (next ep airs tomorrow)

A Place to Call Home (next ep airs tomorrow)

A Place to Call Home (next ep airs Mon) (exc 1/1)

Father Brown, Series 8 & 7

The Great Tours: England, Scotland, Wales

Pie in the Sky, Series 4 & 5

Agatha Christie’s Poirot

Midsomer Murders, The Mallorca Files Series 12 (exc 1/1)

• Midsomer Murders, Series 12 • Agatha Christie Special Programming: 1/24 & 1/31, 3:30pm-8pm

Escape to the Country, Series 2

All Creatures Great and Small (two episodes)

A Place to Call Home, Series 1 (except 1/24, 1/31)

Escape to the Country, Series 2

Masterpiece: Cranford + Return to Cranford (except 1/24, 1/31)

BBC World News Outside Source

BBC World News Outside Source

BBC World News Outside Source

BBC World News Outside Source

BBC World News Today

BBC World News America

BBC World News America

BBC World News America

BBC World News America

BBC World News America

Foyle’s War, Series 3 (except 1/24, 1/31)

’Allo, ’Allo!

’Allo, ’Allo!

’Allo, ’Allo!

’Allo, ’Allo!

’Allo, ’Allo!

Open All Hours

Open All Hours

Open All Hours

Open All Hours

Open All Hours

All Creatures Great and Small (except 1/24, 1/31) (next ep airs Saturdays, 7pm)

Last of the Summer Wine

Last of the Summer Wine

Last of the Summer Wine

Last of the Summer Wine

Last of the Summer Wine

As Time Goes By

As Time Goes By

As Time Goes By

As Time Goes By

As Time Goes By

The Great Tours: England, Scotland and Wales

Pie in the Sky, Series 4 (Series 5 starts 1/18

Professor T

Midsomer Murders, Series 12

• The Coroner, Series 1

Escape to the Country, Series 2

All Creatures Great and Small (two episodes)

Foreign Favourites • Professor T, 8pm

Masterworks Showcase • Foyle’s War, 8pm • Cranford, 9pm (1/1) • Return to Cranford, 9pm (1/8, 1/15, 1/22) • Van der Valk, 9pm (2hrs, starts 1/29) • Durrells in Corfu, Series 4, 10pm (through 1/8) • Man in an Orange Shirt, 10pm (2hrs, 1/15) • Child in Time, 10pm (90 min, 1/22)

12:30pm

1pm

MONDAY

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

London New Year’s Day Celebration 2021 Jan. 1 at 6am, 8:30am, 11am & 1:30pm

The Mallorca Files

1:30pm

2pm

• SS-GB (starts 1/23)

2:30pm

3pm 3:30pm

4pm

5:30pm

6pm 6:30pm

7pm 7:30pm

8pm

Foyle’s War, Series 3

Death in Paradise, Series 9

Father Brown, Series 8 & 7 (exc 1/1)

Pie in the Sky, Series 4 & 5

• Durrells in Corfu, Series 4

Doc Martin, Series 1 & 2

EastEnders

Escape to the Country, Series 2 (Return to Cranford; 2hrs, 1/16)

• Cranford (starts 1/20)

4:30pm

5pm

Death in Paradise, Series 9

The Mallorca Files

• Line of Separation, Series 2, 10pm

Agatha Christie’s Poirot

Silent Witness, Series 21

BBC World News

BBC World News

BBC World News

BBC World News

BBC World News (later on 1/15, 1/22)

Father Brown, Series 8 & 7

Professor T

Midsomer Murders, Series 12

• The Coroner, Series 1

Foyle’s War, Series 3 (later on 1/15, 1/22)

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

9:30pm

10pm

EastEnders

• SS-GB (starts 1/21)

8:30pm

9pm

Escape to the Country, Series 2

• Modus, Series 1, 9pm (starts 1/5)

10:30pm

11pm

Yes Minister (Series 2 starts 1/10)

11:30pm SUNDAY

MONDAY

C2-00-00-C4_WETA_January2021_new.indd 16

• The Coroner, Series 1

TUESDAY

• SS-GB (starts 1/21)

FRIDAY

Durrells in Corfu, Series 4 (Return to Cranford, 1/16-1/30) A Place to Call Home, Series 1

All Creatures Great and Small (next ep airs Sundays, 7pm) Father Brown, Series 8 (Series 7 starts 1/16)

Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries, Series 2

Summer of Rockets (starts 1/2)

Doc Martin, Series 1 & 2

SATURDAY

12/16/20 2:35 PM


WETA UK Highlights A

SS-GB

Thursdays at 8 p.m. starting Jan. 21 on WETA UK

SID GENTLE FILMS LTD/BBC

dapted from Len Deighton’s bestselling thriller by the writers of SPECTRE and Skyfall, the six-part drama SS-GB turns World War II history on its head and merges a spy tale, a love story and a conspiracy thriller with global implications. In the gripping series, the Battle of Britain has ended in victory for Hitler’s Germany, and invasion, and the population of 1940s Britain struggles to adjust to life under Nazi occupation. Nine months on, a skilled Scotland Yard detective, Douglas Archer (portrayed by Sam Riley) is caught between his brutal new SS bosses and a ruthless British resistance movement while investigating what looks to be a black market-related murder. With the world he once knew crumbling around him, Archer pursues the truth, determined to uphold the law and protect those he loves from two sides prepared to go to any lengths to win. As he proceeds, the sleuth — a decent man with hopes of a better future — must ultimately make a choice. Co-starring are Kate Bosworth as an American reporter, Maeve Dermody as Archer’s secretary and lover, James Cosmo as Archer’s police colleague, and Rainier Bock and Lars Eidinger as German officers.

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Summer of Rockets

Saturdays at 10 p.m. starting Jan. 2 on WETA UK COURTESY LITTLE ISLAND PRODUCTIONS/BBC

oby Stephens and Keeley Hawes lead a stellar cast in a six-part 2019 Cold War thriller from BAFTA- and Emmy-winning writer Stephen Poliakoff. In 1958 Britain, a Russian émigré, inventor Samuel Petrukin is determined to integrate his young family into the establishment. So when Samuel meets the captivating Kathleen Shaw and her husband Richard — a war-hero and Member of Parliament — he’s dazzled by their upper-class glamor. But are his new friends all they seem? When MI5 agents blackmail Samuel into spying on the Shaws, he’s drawn into a dark web of deception. As Samuel’s private life becomes tangled with his mission, he makes disturbing discoveries. These shadowy government operatives could be tempting him into a deadly trap. He must decide who might be planning to betray the nation, and his decision could have consequences for the country. The Cold War has swept old certainties aside, and history hinges on a pivot. Samuel’s — and Britain’s — future are shrouded in doubt. Who can he trust?

COURTESY WALTER PRESENTS

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Modus

Tuesdays at 9 p.m. starting January 5 on WETA UK

oining the lineup of European presentations on WETA UK’s Tuesday–night Foreign Favourites showcase is eight-part psychological thriller Modus, in which psychologist and ex-FBI profiler Inger Johanne Vik (Melinda Kinnaman) finds herself and her autistic daughter, Stina, drawn into an investigation surrounding a series of disturbing deaths in Stockholm. Working with local detective Ingvar Nyman (Henrik Norlén) to find the culprit, a pattern becomes evident as the number of murders increase. The 2015 series, in Swedish with English subtitles, was adapted by Emmy Award-winning screenwriters Mai Brostrom and Peter Thorsboe from the book by Anne Holt. A second eight-part Modus series was filmed in 2017, with Kim Cattrall and Greg Wise among the cast. Both Series 1 and 2 are currently available on WETA Passport.

Also this month: Tune in January 1 for London New Year’s Day Celebration 2021, featuring parade performers from around the world, music, dance, floats, balloons and more. Timings are on page 16. Tune in as well for special Agatha Christie programming, including Poirot double features, on Sundays, Jan. 24 & 31, 3:30-8 p.m. On Fridays on Masterworks Showcase, WETA UK presents the Cranford sequel series Return to Cranford starting Jan. 8 at 9 p.m.; Man in an Orange Shirt, Jan. 15 at 10 p.m.; Child in Time, Jan. 22 at 10 p.m.; and three-episode mystery miniseries Van der Valk, starting Jan. 29 at 9 p.m. For full schedules and program information, visit weta.org. 17

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26.4 Over the Air Via Antenna Comcast 270, 1148 Cox 802 Fios 475 RCN 37

Real Stories from Around the World The WETA World channel is a 24/7 news and public affairs service devoted to fact-based non-fiction programming, sharing broad perspectives, stories and ideas. WETA World informs and educates, presenting award-winning documentaries, and domestic and international news broadcasts. The channel features a slate of original programs that examine issues with a diversity of voices and illuminate conflicts, movements and cultures around the globe.

JANUARY EVENINGS ON WETA WORLD VISIT WETA.ORG/SCHEDULE FOR A COMPLETE PROGRAM LINEUP. SUNDAY

5pm 5:30pm

6pm 6:30pm

7pm 7:30pm

8pm 8:30pm

9pm 9:30pm

10pm 10:30pm

11pm 11:30pm

MONDAY

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

America ReFramed: Personal Statement (1/3); Exit Music (1/10 to 6:30); The Invisible Patients (1/17 to 6:30); The Area (1/24); Shell Shocked (1/31)

DW News

DW News

DW News

DW News

DW News

To the Contrary with Bonnie Erbe

BBC World News America

BBC World News America

BBC World News America

BBC World News America

BBC World News America

Washington Week

Place to Stand (1/3); (6:30) Employm. Matters (1/10); (6:30) Poetry in America (1/17); My Neighborhood: Pilsen (1/24); Parkland: Healing (1/31)

France 24

France 24

France 24

France 24

France 24

DW Focus on Eurozone

NHK NewsLine

NHK NewsLine

NHK NewsLine

NHK NewsLine

NHK NewsLine

Migrant Kitchen

• Our Kids: Narrow- • Cyberwork and the American ing the OpportuDream (1/4) nity Gap (Pt 1, 1/3; Pt 2, 1/10; Pt 3, • POV: Happy Win1/17; Pt 4, 1/24) ter (1/11) • 1964: The Fight for a Right (1/18) • Marriner Eccles: Father of the • Voces on PBS: Modern Federal The Pushouts Reserve (1/31) (1/25)

• Independent Lens: My Country No More (1/5) • POV: Farmsteaders (1/12) • Independent Lens: Cooked: Survival By Zip Code (1/19) • POV: Grit (1/26)

• Independent Lens: Rat Film (1/6) • POV Shorts: Money Rules (1/13 to 7:30) • (7:30) Independent Lens: A Day in the Life of America (1/13 to 9pm) • One Night in March (1/20 to 7:30) • (7:30) POV: Raising Bertie (1/20 to 9pm) • POV: The Mole Agent (1/27 to 8:30pm)

• NOVA: Prediction By the Numbers (1/7)

• Vernon Jordan: Make It Plain (1/2)

• Battleground (1/28)

• Louisa May Alcott: American Masters (1/1 to 8:30pm) • Across the Pacific (Pt 1, 1/8) • Reel South: Saint Cloud Hill (1/15) • Against All Odds: The Fight for a Black Middle Class (1/22) • Building the American Dream (1/29)

Nature: • Cold Warriors: Wolves and Buffalo (1/3) • A Squirrel’s Guide to Success (1/10) • The Alps (Pt 1 of 2) (1/17) • The Alps (Pt 2 of 2) (1/24) • Octopus: Making Contact (1/31)

• Company Town (1/4)

America ReFramed: • Exit Music (1/5 to 9:30) • The Invisible Patients (1/12 to 9:30) • The Area (1/19) • Shell Shocked (1/26)

• Independent Lens: A Woman’s Work: The NFL’s Cheerleader Problem (1/6)

• When Disaster Strikes: Pt 1: A Perfect Storm (1/7); Pt 2: The Silent Killer (1/14); Pt 3: Paradise Lost (1/21) • Tightrope: Americans Reaching for Hope (1/28 to 10pm)

• (8:30) Laura Ingalls Wilder: American Masters (1/1 to 11pm) • Across the Pacific (Pt 2, 1/8) • Frontline: Growing Up Poor in America (1/15) • Boss: The Black Experience in Business (1/22 to 10pm) • East Lake Meadows: A Public Housing Story (1/29 to 10pm)

• Sammy Davis, Jr.: American Masters (1/2 to 10pm)

• Nature: Snowbound: Animals of Winter (1/3) • Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr.: Breaking the Silences (1/10); Coming to America (1/17); Season 7: To the Manor Born (1/24); Season 7: Against All Odds (1/31)

• Local, USA: My Everyday Hustle (1/4) • Poetry in America: Robert Hayden (1/11) • Local, USA: Metcalfe Park: Black Vote Rising (1/18) • Me & My Robot (1/25) • Stories from the Stage: What We Wear (1/4); Pride (1/11); At the Scene (1/18); Mi Familia (1/25)

• (9:30) Employment • Frontline: American Voices: Matters (1/5, 1/12) A Nation in Turmoil (1/6) • My Neighborhood: Pilsen (1/19) • Frontline: Plastic

• Across the Pacific (Pt 3, 1/8)

• POV: American Promise (1/16 to 10pm)

• The Codebreaker: American Experience (1/15)

• How It Feels to Be Free: American Masters (1/23 to 10pm)

• Parkland: Healing a Community and a Nation (1/26)

• Frontline: President Biden (1/20)

• Prehistoric Road Trip: Pt 1: Welcome to Fossil Country (1/7); Pt 2: We Dig Dinosaurs (1/14); Pt 3: Tiny Teeth, Fearsome Beasts (1/21)

• In Money We Trust? (1/3)

PBS NewsHour

PBS NewsHour

PBS NewsHour

PBS NewsHour

PBS NewsHour

• Personal Statement (1/2) • Exit Music (1/9 to 11:30pm) • The Invisible Patients (1/16 to 11:30pm) • The Area (1/23 to 11:30pm) • Shell Shocked (1/30)

DW The Day

DW The Day

DW The Day

DW The Day

DW The Day

BBC World News

BBC World News

BBC World News

BBC World News

BBC World News

• Place to Stand (1/2) • (11:30) Employment Matters (1/9, 1/16) • My Neighborhood: Pilsen (1/23) • Parkland: Healing (1/30)

• Roadtrip Nation: Rerouting (1/11) • Ripple of Hope (1/18) • Codeswitching: Race and Identity in the Suburban Schoolhouse (1/25)

• (8:30) Frontline: China´s COVID Secrets (to 10pm) (1/27)

Wars (1/13)

• NOVA: Secrets in Our DNA (1/14) • NOVA: Decoding da Vinci (1/21)

• Doc World: No Country for the Poor (1/31)

SUNDAY

MONDAY

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TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

• Lorraine Hansberry: American Masters (1/9 to 10pm)

• NOVA: Forgotten Genius (1/30 to 10pm)

• Frontline: A Thousand Cuts (1/10 to 12m)

• Closing the Gap: 50 Years Seeking Equal Pay (1/3) • POV: And She Could Be Next (Pt 1, 1/17 to 12m; Pt 2, 1/24 to 11:30) • (11:30) Local, USA: Metcalfe Park: Black Vote Rising (1/24) • POV: Singing with Angry Bird (1/31)

• PBS American Portrait (Pt 1: I Dream, 1/9) (Pt 2: I Work, 1/16) (Pt 3: I Keep, 1/23) (Pt 4: I Rise, 1/30)

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

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WETA World Highlights East Lake Meadows: A Public Housing Story

WETA co-production airs Friday, Jan. 29 at 8 p.m. on WETA World

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mong WETA World themes in January is income inequality, and a collection of films explores its effects. This WETA and Florentine Films co-production, executive-produced by Ken Burns and written, produced and directed by Sarah Burns and David McMahon, chronicles the history of East Lake Meadows, a former public housing community in Atlanta that opened in 1970. Over the next 25 years, thousands of low-income Atlantans, mostly African American, would call it home. Shoddy construction, a lack of funding and other issues left the project in disrepair and led to a rapid decline in the quality of life. Although East Lake Meadows became nearly uninhabitable, residents nonetheless found ways to overcome violence and neglect, raise kids, find work, and create moments of joy. Stories from former residents reveal hardship and resilience, and raise critical questions about race, poverty, and who is deserving of public assistance.

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Local, USA: Metcalfe Park— Black Vote Rising Monday, January 18 at 9 p.m. on WETA World

COURTESY WGBH

n this installment of Local, USA — a series featuring the stories of diverse people — motherdaughter team Danell Cross and Melody McCurtis are determined to prevent what America witnessed during Wisconsin’s April 7th primary election from happening again. It is estimated that the primary, held despite Covid fears, disenfranchised a substantial number of Black voters in Milwaukee, the largest city in a key swing state. The episode follows Danell and Melody as they organize their community of Metcalfe Park not just to prepare for reduced polling stations and see through disinformation campaigns but to find a way to vote amid the challenges of job loss, furloughs, school closure, and illness.

America ReFramed: The Area

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Tuesday, January 19 at 8 p.m. on WETA World

COURTESY WGBH

n The Area, the series America ReFramed explores the odyssey of a South Side Chicago neighborhood where hundreds of Black American families are being expelled from their homes by a multi-billion-dollar freight company. The documentary film follows homeowner-turned-activist Deborah Payne, who vows to be “the last house standing,” as she and her neighbors fight the displacement that looms ahead. Other Tuesday-night America Reframed broadcasts this month include Exit Music (January 5), which offers a meditation on the end of life, following the final months of a terminally ill young man; The Invisible Patients (January 12), which follows a nurse and her homebound patients to illuminate healthcare issues; and Shell Shocked (January 26), which examines a teen murder epidemic and its impact on lives in New Orleans.

Doc World: No Country for the Poor

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Sunday, January 31 at 10 p.m. on WETA World

COURTESY WGBH

his month, Doc World presents the film No Country for the Poor, preempted from its anticipated airing in November 2020. In Hungary, the government has slashed social benefits and criminalized homelessness, but a group including activists, the homeless, and middle-class individuals is confronting authorities to defend social justice and citizen rights. After the tragic death of two of its founding members, the group feels that Hungary is growing more hostile and the struggle is more important than ever. In the documentary, despite the challenges, the activists are sustained by their community — a mini-society with democracy and solidarity at its heart, and an island of hope, belonging and dignity in a society gradually shifting the other way. For full schedules and program information, visit weta.org. 19

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Classical WETA 90.9 FM New Releases

on Choral Showcase Sundays at 9 p.m.

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By Bill Bukowski, Midday On-Air Host

NICK RUTTER

his month on Classical WETA’s Choral Showcase, Sundays at 9 p.m., we’ll explore recent choral releases, beginning January 3 with Stabat Mater, a celebration of the calming and contemplative music of Arvo Pärt by Gloria Dei The Tallis Scholars Cantores; and Sir Edward Elgar’s life-affirming ode, The Music Makers, part of an ongoing series of Elgar recordings by Vasily Petrenko and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic. Next, a recording project of all 19 masses by Renaissance master Josquin des Prez was recently concluded by The Tallis Scholars under Peter Phillips, who notes that “each mass has its own individual sound world…designed to explore all the potential within the form, as Beethoven later did with the symphony.” From their final recordings, on January 10 we present two very different masses: the Missa Mater Patris, and the Missa Hercules Dux Ferrarie. “What if our departed loved ones are not truly gone, but are closer than we think? How can we mourn those we have lost while still moving forward?” Charles Anthony Silvestri’s struggle to come to terms with the loss of his wife Julia to cancer in 2005 becomes a universal journey towards healing in Eric Whitacre’s The Sacred Veil. We’ll hear it on January 17, along with expressive new works by Jake Runestad exploring grief, joy and enlightenment. We celebrate the story of St. Ludmila of Bohemia, patron saint of the Czech Republic with Antonín Dvořák’s oratorio, Saint Ludmila, on January 24. The grandmother of St. Wenceslas, of “Good King Wenceslas” fame, is credited with converting her people from paganism to Christianity. Last, on January 31, we present Dame Ethel Smyth’s last major work, which she wrote at age 72, increasingly deaf and conscious of her own mortality. The Prison features a metaphysical dialog between a prisoner and his soul, facing eternity and coming to terms with his own life and deeds.

on Front Row Washington Mondays at 9 p.m.

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By John Banther, On-Air Host and Producer

e dive into 2021 on Front Row Washington with exciting performances ranging from solo piano to full symphony orchestra. We begin on January 4 with a performance of pianist Aaron Diehl at the Trio con Brio Phillips Collection. Diehl is a unique musician, having bridged the gap Copenhagen between the classical and jazz world. Out of high school he toured Europe with jazz legend Wynton Marsalis, has performed with orchestras like the New York Philharmonic and Los Angeles Philharmonic, and has collaborated with American composer Philip Glass. In this concert he weaves us through several styles with music by composers such as Sir Roland Hanna, Sergei Prokofiev, Thelonious Monk, Philip Glass, JS Bach, and many others. National Philharmonic, an acclaimed local orchestra, is featured January 11 in an all-Mozart program from the Music Center at Strathmore. They play music from the composer’s final opera, The Magic Flute, and his final symphony, No. 41. Under the direction of Music Director Piotr Gajewski, National Philharmonic has been performing in Montgomery County, Maryland for decades. Musicians in long-running ensembles often consider each other family, but that is taken literally for Trio con Brio Copenhagen, as we’ll hear on our January 18 program. This highly celebrated piano trio is comprised of two sisters, Soo-Jin Hong (violin) and Soo-Kyung Hong (cello), and Jens Elvekjaer (piano), who is married to Soo-Kyung. Together they perform contemporary composer Per Nørgård’s Spell and Maurice Ravel’s Piano Trio in A minor. The month’s final program on January 25 features another critically acclaimed local ensemble, the Grammynominated Inscape Chamber Orchestra. It’s a concert of music by 20th-century German composer, Paul Hindemith, who wrote a sonata for just about every single instrument. Inscape performs his Sonata for Clarinet and Piano and his ballet Hérodiade, which made its premiere in 1944 at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. NIKOLAJ LUND

Classical WETA 90.9 FM

Local Concerts

VivaLaVoce on vivalavoce.org

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Stream audio at classicalweta.org

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Classical for Washington January Met Operas

on Classical WETA Opera House

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By Linda Carducci, Morning On-Air Host

KEN HOWARD/METROPOLITAN OPERA

Saturdays at 1 p.m.

he Metropolitan Opera season of radio broadcasts is underway with spectacular recordings from the Met’s archives, presented each Saturday afternoon on Classical WETA Opera House. Here is the line-up for January: Marina Poplavskaya & A rare presentation of Satyagraha by Philip Glass is scheduled for January 2. Jonas Kaufmann in Faust Composed in 1979 as part of Glass’s Portrait Trilogy, this innovative work is a series of three historical tableaux based on Mahatma Gandhi’s philosophy of nonviolent resistance to combat injustice. In this performance from 2011, tenor Richard Croft is cast in the role of Gandhi. The Barber of Seville, an enduring favorite by Gioachino Rossini, airs January 9. In this madcap caper, Count Almaviva resorts to trickery and disguises to win the heart of Rosina, assisted by everyone’s favorite barber, Figaro. Lawrence Brownlee and Joyce DiDonato star in this 2007 production. One of Giuseppe Verdi’s greatest achievements, La Traviata, is presented on January 16. Aleksandra Kurzak is the courtesan Violetta in the heartbreaking tale of thwarted love and sacrifice. Verdi is again showcased on January 23 in a special tribute to legendary singers Leontyne Price and Franco Corelli: a 1961 performance of Giuseppe Verdi’s Il Trovatore to celebrate the 60th anniversary of those singers’ Met debut. French opera closes out the month on January 30 with Charles Gounod’s Faust from 2011, conducted by the Met’s Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin. Renowned tenor Jonas Kaufmann sings the role of Faust, the legendary figure whose bargain with Méphistophélès to gain pleasure and power results in tragedy. Tune in to Classical WETA Opera House, Saturdays at 1 p.m.

From Chaos to Serenity on NSO Showcase

Wednesday, January 6 at 9 p.m. on Classical WETA & streaming on classicalweta.org January 7-31

Hector Berlioz, daydreaming?

WIKIMEDIA COMMONS/GALLICA DIGITAL LIB./PUBLIC DOMAIN

hat better symbol for 2021 than Chaos? January’s NSO Showcase begins with the sounds of chaos — French Baroque composer Jean-Féry Rebel’s idea of the Big Bang. Le Cahos, the overture to his suite, Les Elemens, is the first known tone cluster in music history, with all 12 notes sounding at once — you have to hear it to believe it. The program continues with psychological chaos — the opium-induced dream of an artist obsessed with a beautiful actress. The protagonist in Hector Berlioz’ Symphonie fantastique shares with us a nightmare that takes us from his passionate daydreams, to a ball, to his own execution (you can actually hear his head roll) and even to his macabre wake attended by a variety of ghouls and witches. As the composer Charles Gounod commented: “with Berlioz, every impression, every sensation is extreme; he only knows joy and sorrow as states of delirium.” In real life, Berlioz eventually married the object of his obsession — and as you can imagine, the marriage did not live up to the fantasy. But this is a new year, and hope is on the horizon. Dvořák’s magnificent Cello Concerto featuring cellist Nicolas Altstaedt will definitely lift our spirits. Dvořák’s time in America (1892-1895) was productive and inspired, giving us such masterpieces as the “New World Symphony” (voted no.1 in WETA’s recent Classical Countdown), and the “American” String Quartet and Quintet, as well as the Cello Concerto. Brahms, on hearing the concerto famously said: “Why on earth didn’t I know one could write a cello concerto like this?”. Dvořák beat him to it, creating one of the most personal works made even more poignant with a musical remembrance of his dying first love. January’s NSO Showcase features Baroque music expert Ton Koopman conducting Rebel’s Le Cahos, and Edward Gardner leading the NSO in Dvořák’s Cello Concerto and Berlioz’ Symphonie fantastique. All performances were recorded live at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

Classical WETA 90.9 FM

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By Nicole Lacroix, Afternoon On-Air Host

Classical WETA: 90.9 FM Greater Washington; 88.9 FM Frederick; WGMS 89.1 FM Hagerstown

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WETA Passport Stream Masterpiece dramas and much more with WETA Passport, our popular member benefit that provides you with access to an extensive library of the best public television programs! You’re ready to activate now at pbs.org/passport if you see a four-word activation code above your name and address at left; or go to weta.org/passport to make your qualifying donation of $60 (or $5 monthly) to start enjoying WETA Passport today.

WELCOME TO WETA METRO!

The exciting new WETA television channel presents PBS favorites and spotlights life in the DMV.

Stream anywhere, anytime at weta.org/livestream and on the PBS Video App or YouTube TV or tune in 26.5 over the air via HD antenna or on Fios 470 & RCN 599 Learn more inside about this new WETA service!

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