Today at the Television Critics Association Press Tour, PBS announced new initiatives and programs launching in late 2019 and throughout 2020. A brief synopsis of each is listed below. Please click the links to download the full press releases.
PBS Partners with YouTube TV, Secures Streaming for Local Stations Across the Nation
PBS announced that it has secured carriage for its member stations on YouTube TV’s live TV and on-demand subscription service. Launching later this year, YouTube TV will livestream all PBS member stations that choose to participate.
This is the first digital partnership of its kind for PBS and represents an important step as PBS expands its digital footprint to engage viewers where, when and how they consume content.
The most ambitious television chronicle of the Asian American story in the United States will launch during Asian Pacific American Heritage Month
PBS and WETA announced ASIAN AMERICANS, a new five-part documentary series currently in production and expected to broadcast in May 2020 on PBS. The series examines what the 2010 U.S. Census identifies as the fastest growing racial/ethnic group in the United States. Told through individual lives and personal histories, ASIAN AMERICANS explores the impact of this group on the country’s past, present, and future.
PBS and AMERICAN EXPERIENCE announced “W,” a two-part biography on the life and presidency of George W. Bush. The newest production in the AMERICAN EXPERIENCE Peabody Award-winning collection The Presidents, “W” features interviews with historians, journalists and several members of the president’s inner circle, including chiefs of staff Andy Card and Josh Bolten, speechwriter David Frum, press secretary Ari Fleischer and others. Written, directed and produced by Barak Goodman and executive produced by Mark Samels, the film will premiere in the spring of 2020 on PBS.
PBS and THIRTEEN announced a new documentary about the EGOT-winning entertainer Rita Moreno slated to premiere in 2020. AMERICAN MASTERS “Rita Moreno: The Girl Who Decided to Go For It” (w.t.) will show the star’s rich, decades-long career using vérité footage of Moreno today, archival footage of her roles and appearances, reenactments of her childhood, interviews with Moreno, those close to her and performers she influenced, and animation. Film interviewees include Norman Lear, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Gloria and Emilio Estefan, Morgan Freeman, Mitzi Gaynor, Whoopi Goldberg, Eva Longoria, Justina Machado, Terrence McNally, and Chita Rivera. Her most notable roles include “The Electric Company” (PBS), the Broadway and feature film versions of “The Ritz,” “The Four Seasons,” “Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego?” “Oz” and, most recently, “One Day at a Time.”
PBS and WTTW CHICAGO Announce PREHISTORIC ROAD TRIP
New Three-Part Natural History Series about Exploring Prehistoric Life in the Western U.S. to Premiere in Summer 2020
Hosted by Emily Graslie, Chief Curiosity Correspondent at the Field Museum and Creator of YouTube Series “The Brain Scoop”
PBS and WTTW Chicago announced PREHISTORIC ROAD TRIP, a new three-part natural history series that combines science, culture and history and brings viewers along for an unforgettable expedition through hundreds of millions of years of history. PREHISTORIC ROAD TRIP is hosted by popular YouTube personality Emily Graslie, Chief Curiosity Correspondent at the Field Museum. The adventure begins on PBS stations around the country in summer 2020.
PBS KIDS
New Season of Animated Preschool Hit to Feature 20 Episodes with Relatable New Themes and New Friends in the Neighborhood of Make-Believe – Summer 2020
From the Neighborhood of Make-Believe to neighborhoods across the U.S., a new season of DANIEL TIGER’S NEIGHBORHOOD, the top-rated, Emmy-winning PBS KIDS series from Fred Rogers Productions, will premiere next summer. Featuring 20 engaging episodes, including a half-hour special, Season 5 of the hit series will address key universal themes for preschoolers and their parents, including managing sibling rivalry, maintaining calm at mealtimes, missing loved ones, growing up, coping with accidents, and more through the show’s hallmark musical strategies. In addition, three of the series’ most popular strategies will be revisited through brand-new stories. Plus, Daniel will get to meet fun new neighbors who are sure to become viewer favorites, too.
PBS KIDS is ringing in the school year with an exciting line-up of new programming from award-winning series, and resources for families and teachers. Starting August 5, families from coast-to-coast can tune in together to fun and educational PBS KIDS programming, including the premiere of PINKALICIOUS & PETERRIFIC: A Pinkaperfect Birthday, the first one-hour special from the series; back-to-back brand-new episodes of DINOSAUR TRAIN; and a special DANIEL TIGER’S NEIGHBORHOOD “Family Week,” featuring the debut of five episodes.
About PBS
PBS, with more than 330 member stations, offers all Americans the opportunity to explore new ideas and new worlds through television and digital content. Each month, PBS reaches over 120 million people through television and 26 million people online, inviting them to experience the worlds of science, history, nature and public affairs; to hear diverse viewpoints; and to take front row seats to world-class drama and performances. PBS’ broad array of programs has been consistently honored by the industry’s most coveted award competitions. Teachers of children from pre-K through 12th grade turn to PBS for digital content and services that help bring classroom lessons to life. Decades of research confirms that PBS’ premier children’s media service, PBS KIDS, helps children build critical literacy, math and social-emotional skills, enabling them to find success in school and life. Delivered through member stations, PBS KIDS offers high-quality educational content on TV – including a 24/7 channel, online at pbskids.org, via an array of mobile apps and in communities across America. More information about PBS is available at www.pbs.org, one of the leading dot-org websites on the internet, or by following PBS on Twitter, Facebook or through our apps for mobile and connected devices. Specific program information and updates for press are available at pbs.org/pressroom or by following PBS Pressroom on Twitter.
For images and additional up-to-date information on PBS programs and announcements, visit PBS PressRoom at pbs.org/pressroom.
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