All the Black History Month Programming on PBS
American Masters
- 1985-2026
- 40 seasons
- PBS
- Documentary
- TV-14
American Masters, committed to producing comprehensive film biographies about the broad cast of characters who comprise our cultural history.
- 1985-2026
- 40 seasons
- PBS
- Documentary
- TV-14
American Masters, committed to producing comprehensive film biographies about the broad cast of characters who comprise our cultural history.
The Biz: American Masters Rediscovers Bing Crosby
Whenever director Robert Trachtenberg tells people he's made a film about Bing Crosby, he says, "The overwhelming response is, 'He's the guy who hit his kids.'" The actor-crooner's Daddy Dearest image was shaped by the 1983 tell-all memoir from son Gary. But Trachtenberg believes Bing Crosby: Rediscovered, his latest project for American Masters (Tuesday at 8/7c on PBS), will remind viewers that despite his flaws, Crosby is one of the 20th century's most influential pop culture figures.
The Tuesday Playlist: Billie Jean King, Sons of Anarchy, Dance Finale
For nearly 30 years, PBS's great American Masters series has profiled overachievers in the arts and culture at large. It only makes sense than when the documentary series finally decided to do its first study of a sports superstar, it turned to tennis legend Billie Jean King. Masters (Tuesday, 8/7c; check tvguide.com listings) has always reflected personality through performance, so who better than a woman who says of her craft: "Every ball I hit has a consequence."
The Monday Playlist: Mel Brooks on Masters, Finales (Rectify, Bates Motel), Motive
At 86, Mel Brooks is still the life of the party, a consummate ham and peerless joke-spinning storyteller. "I've come to stop the show," announces the irrepressible comic dynamo as he does just that, breaking into song mid-interview and reinforcing why PBS' American Masters titled its latest must-see career profile Mel Brooks: Make a Noise (Monday, check tvguide.com listings). His brilliant career in TV (Your Show of Shows, Get Smart), the movies and Broadway makes him an overdue American Masters subject, and his unflagging comic energy keeps everyone amused — including an intrusively visible camera crew. "I'm head over heels in love with myself," Brooks says, only half-joking.
The Tuesday Playlist: That's a Wrap For Voice Blind Auditions, Cougar Town
The curtain comes down on the best part of TV's hottest singing competition, as the "blind auditions" portion of NBC's The Voice reaches its final act (Tuesday, 8/7c) with the selection of the last members of the four coaches' teams. Any fears that the show would lose its oomph this season with new bodies in the hot seats were quickly put to rest when Usher eased onto his swiveling throne with charismatic grace, adopting a signature "one leg up" posture that was parodied last weekend on Saturday Night Live, while Shakira proved a worthy adversary to the boys' club with her feisty attitude, passion and humor.
The Biz: King David: Inside the Life of a Showbiz Giant
Entertainment mogul David Geffen was pleased that the prestigious PBS documentary series American Masters wanted to feature him as a subject — until executive producer Susan Lacy told him he had to be interviewed on camera. Geffen likes to talk, but apparently not...
Monday TV: Remembering Johnny, Smash Finale, House
Imagine a TV world where the late-night comedy audience is not fragmented in a clutter of Dave or Jay or Stewart/Colbert, Conan, the Jimmys and Craig.
Cameron Crowe Gets Up Close and Personal With Pearl Jam
Even if you're not a fan of the band, Cameron Crowe's stellar Pearl Jam Twenty is worthy of a full-arena standing-o.
Critic's Guide to Weekend TV: Fringe, Primeval, A British Lunch and More!
FRIDAYDisorientation is nothing new for the loyal viewer — we hardy few — of Fox's fantastically bizarre Fringe (9/8c).
Matt's Guide to Weekend TV: Premieres of Once Upon a Time, Boss and More!
Once is not enough. Sometimes a second look, or a second episode, is necessary to convince a skeptic that a show is worth taking a risk on. So it is with ABC's dazzling but dauntingly precious Once Upon a Time (Sunday, 8/7c), which back when I was considering it for Fall Preview left me wondering: "Is this ambitiously whimsical fantasia the next Pushing Daisies cult fave or the next Eastwick insta-flop? (Either way, it will likely be an uphill climb to happily ever after.) It would be easier to love if it weren't so convoluted and campy."But then ABC made another episode (the third, airing Nov. 6) available for review, and I started to find myself enchanted and beguiled, ready to curl up with more chapters of this fractured fairy tale. First, though, you have to digest the premise, and the overstuffed and often overripe pilot is a lot to swallow. We begin in a lavishly rendered fairy-tale land ...
Matt's Picks: May 30-June 2
Gettysburg (History, 9/8c, Monday)Launching a four-year project to commemorate the Civil War, which is marking its 150th anniversary this year, History has commissioned action producers Tony and Ridley Scott to produce a two-hour feature documentary about one of the war's most legendary and costly battles. Airing on the night of Memorial Day, Gettysburg fuses CGI and action footage designed to render the conflict as real as...
Matt's Picks: February 28-March 3
The Chicago Code (Monday, 9/8c, Fox)As often happens in the best crime dramas, the bad guy often gets some of the meatiest material. And Ronin Gibbons, the Chicago Alderman played so deliciously by Delroy Lindo, is no ordinary adversary. We get a better sense of what makes him tick in this episode, when the powerful politician is confronted by an armed teenage robber, causing Gibbons to look back on his own upbringing, back before he became so cynical about the city's corrupt ways. In another storyline, a bomber blows up a city building and promises more mayhem, putting a ticking clock on Jarek and Caleb's efforts to track down the culprit. This situation is not unlike the dilemma on ABC's Castle an hour later (10/9c), in the conclusion of a tense two-parter that finds Beckett and Castle teaming up with a fed (Adrian Pasdar) to avert a terrorist calamity....
Matt's TV Week in Review
"Why does fun always have a price?" These are the words of Poor Sue Heck — I can never refer to this scene-stealing character (played brilliantly by Eden Sher) without adding the word "poor" in front of her name — in another hilarious episode of ABC's underappreciated The Middle. Yes, the show is fun, but with the sting of truth. Living in the shadow of the marvelous Modern Family (which offered up another farcical hoot this week), ABC's Wednesday ...
Tonight's TV Hot List: Monday, Nov. 22, 2010
Skating with the Stars9:11/8:11c ABC Worried about undergoing withdrawal now that Dancing with the Stars approaches the end of another season? The premiere of this new reality competition should help ease some of that pain. The concept is familiar: Six celebrities are paired up with professional ice skaters, and their fates are determined by a combination of judges' and viewers' votes. Vince Neil, Bethenny Frankel and Sean Young are among the stars who signed on to hit the ice, and Olympian Johnny Weir is on the panel of judges. — Jennifer SankowskiRead on for previews of Chelsea's Big Interview Special, Monday Night Football, American Masters, Two and a Half Men, The Real Story of Thanksgiving and Public Speaking.
Tonight's TV Hot List: Wednesday, July 21
America's Got Talent9 pm/ET NBC Season 5 of the sunny summer series rolls on, as do the live performance showcases featuring disparate acts vying for top-talent honors and a cool $1 million prize. Last night, 12 more acts from the Top 48 took the stage, and now their offbeat skills will be rated in the season's second results installment. Four victorious acts will advance and join last week's winners in the longed-for Top 24. Meanwhile, the innovative theatrical collective Cirque du Soleil performs a routine from the show Kà, and it's full steam ahead for the rock band Train when they deliver the song "Hey, Soul Sister." — Dean MaurerRead on for previews of Hot in Cleveland, Fabulous Beekman Boys, America Masters, Pros vs. Joes and more!
Tonight's TV Hot List: Wednesday, May 12, 2010
American Idol9/8c FoxIt's lights, camera and action for our fab four, who were the reel deal last night by performing songs of the cinema, with actor Jamie Foxx guiding them along with his mentorship. But Idol viewers are the final critic, and now Crystal Bowersox, Lee DeWyze, Casey James and Michael Lynche anxiously await America's thumbs-up or thumbs-down in this results installment. Alas, one will end up on the cutting-room floor. Providing the soundtrack are performers Bon Jovi and Daughtry, fronted by Season 5's Chris Daughtry.Read on for previews of America's Next Top Model, Mercy, American Masters, Top Chef Masters and Music by Prudence.
Tonight's TV Hot List: Monday, Jan. 11, 2010
How I Met Your Mother8/7c CBS The 100th episode calls for something really special, and that would be a... wait for it (more later). Barney meets a beautiful bartender, played by Stacy Keibler, who makes him decide between her and his trademark suits, and the dilemma leads to (OK, now it's time)... a big musical number! Barney takes to the streets, along with the rest of the cast, to perform "Nothing Suits Me Like a Suit," and Harris is well-suited for the inspired number with his Broadway background. Rachel Bilson and Tim Gunn also guest star.Read on for previews of House, Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, Fantasia for Real and American Masters.
Tonight's TV Hot List: Wednesday, July 1, 2009:Edited By SK
Edited by SKAmerica's Got Talent9 pm/ET NBC The good, the bad and the ugly. That's essentially what is going down in these early star-search audition shows. But the good acts will slowly separate from the others, leaving them behind to advance to the "Vegas Verdicts" and a chance to score the ultimate $1 million prize. Tonight the colorful hopefuls showcase their talents in the fourth audition installment.Read on for previews of American Masters, Primetime: Crime, RENO 911! and New Adventures of Old Christine.
Tonight's TV Hot List: Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Letters to the President8 pm/ET HBO2 When a nation plays it as close to the vest as Iran, it's hard to know what goes on behind its borders, but a trio of documentaries seek to give at least a glimpse of what makes the country tick. The first is Letters to the President, a look at Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's correspondence with the populace. It's followed by The Queen and I on June 17 (8 pm/ET), a chronicle of a former revolutionary's relationship with the Shah's widow, and Be Like Others: Transsexuals in Iran on June 24 (8 pm/ET).Read on for previews of Top Chef Masters, American Masters, Real World/Road Rules Challenge and Mythbusters.
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