PBS slates “Broadway or Bust,” “Half the Sky” for fall

May 16, 2012 by Barry Walsh

American public broadcaster PBS has several major documentary programs in the pipeline for the fall, including the premiere of Ken Burns’ The Dust Bowl; Half the Sky, featuring New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof; and three-part doc series Broadway or Bust.

The network also revealed projects slated for the upcoming seasons of doc strands ‘Independent Lens’ and ‘POV.’ The latter strand will remain in its Thursday time slot from September 20 to October 25, making its move to Monday nights in its 2013 season.

The fall season for ‘POV’ will feature such acclaimed docs as Jonathan Demme’s I’m Carolyn Parker: The Good, The Mad and the Beautiful; El Velador (The Night Watchman); Tribeca 2011 audience award winner Give Up Tomorrow (pictured); Sun Kissed; and IDA best feature award winner Nostalgia for the Light.

‘Independent Lens,’ meanwhile, will feature such projects as As Goes Janesville, a portrait of an American town struggling through the economic crisis; and The Waiting Room, a cinema vérité examination of a California city hospital.

The strand will also feature Half the Sky, a special two-night, four-hour presentation featuring New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof and “celebrity advocates” America Ferrera, Diane Lane, Eva Mendes, Meg Ryan, Gabrielle Union and Olivia Wilde as they travel to 10 countries to examine how oppression against women and girls is being tackled around the world.

Monday nights will also see the debut of Market Warriors, following a new season of PBS staple Antiques Roadshow.

Other documentary projects set for fall on PBS include Broadway or Bust, a three-part doc series airing over Sundays in September which follows America’s top high school musical performers as they compete in the National High School Musical Theatre Awards, also known as “The Jimmy Awards.”

Ken Burns’ The Dust Bowl airs in November. The two-part doc, a realscreen MIPTV Pick, chronicles the environmental catastrophe that engulfed the American Great Plains.

‘American Experience,’ meanwhile, will present Ric Burns’ Death and the Civil War on September 18 to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Antietam, known as the bloodiest day of battle to occur on American soil.

‘Frontline’ will present a look at the candidates for the upcoming U.S. presidential election in The Choice, airing October 9.

Details about the upcoming seasons of ‘Nature’ and ‘NOVA’ also emerged. The wildlife and natural history strand will begin its fall season on October 10 and will feature Siberian Tiger Quest (w/t); Magic of the Snowy Owl (w/t); Animal Odd Couples (w/t) and Ducks: Wings on Water (w/t).

The new season of ‘NOVA,’ also kicking off on October 10, will feature Secrets of the Viking Sword; Mystery of Easter Island; Ancient Computer (w/t); Forensics on Trial; and Mars Curiosity (w/t). Science magazine series NOVAscienceNOW, hosted by New York Times writer David Pogue, also returns in October.

‘American Masters,’ meanwhile, will feature doc specials on American music industry legend David Geffen and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Carl Sandburg.

Tags: David Geffen, Give Up Tomorrow, Half the Sky, Independent Lens, Nicholas D. Kristof, PBS, POV