Downton Abbey Returns In January; Blatchleys Back In Spring!

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PBS has announced that hit series Downton Abbey will return to Masterpiece Classic on January 5, 2014 – and The blatchley Circle will return for a second season as part of a Sunday drama block that will include season three of Call the Midwife and season two of Mr. Selfridge.

A three-part special dealing with the experiences of returning veterans, Coming Back With Wes Moore is slated for May 2014, and in fall 2014, PBS will premiere How We Got To Now with Steven Johnson – a six-part series exploring the legacy and power of great ideas.

For details, follow the jump.

DOWNTON ABBEY BACK IN JANUARY 2014!

Season 4 of the international hit finds aristocrats coping with last season’s shocking finale. Change is in the air as three generations of the Crawley family have conflicting interests in the estate. Paul Giamatti makes an appearance alongside the beloved returning ensemble, including Dame Maggie Smith, Elizabeth McGovern, Hugh Bonneville, Michelle Dockery, Jim Carter, Joanne Froggatt, guest star Shirley MacLaine and a host of others. Original Broadcast: 1/5/14 to 2/23/14

PBS ANNOUNCES NEW PROGRAMMING DURING SUMMER 2013 TCA SESSION

LOS ANGELES, CA; AUGUST 6, 2013 –  Today at the Television Critics Association meeting, PBS announced a new slate of programs to air in the fall of 2013 and beyond.  A brief synopsis of each program is listed below, along with links to the full press releases.

THE BLETCHLEY CIRCLE to Return to PBS for Second Season Bolstering Sunday Night Drama

THE BLETCHLEY CIRCLE is returning to PBS for a second season.  The four-part series will air on Sunday nights in spring 2014. A production of World Productions (United, “Line of Duty”) and distributed worldwide by Content Television, the series premiered in the U.S. last spring to critical acclaim. The show will top off an evening of destination drama on Sunday nights on PBS, including season three of CALL THE MIDWIFE at 8:00 p.m. and season two of MASTERPIECE “Mr. Selfridge” at 9:00 p.m.  Click for more information

COMING BACK WITH WES MOORE EXPLORES THE PERSONAL STORIES OF VETERANS’ RETURN TO LIFE AT HOME

PBS announced the premiere of COMING BACK WITH WES MOORE, a three-part special that personalizes the experiences of returning veterans and celebrates the lives of this group of exceptional people. The special, hosted by combat veteran and New York Times best-selling author Wes Moore, is slated to premiere in May 2014 on PBS.  The program tells the personal stories of returning U.S. veterans, the challenges they face readjusting to life at home and their courageous efforts to overcome obstacles in the quest to forge lives of meaningful service in their communities. The program adds touching and humanizing context to the reintegration process of our service men and women. Click for more information

 

HOW WE GOT TO NOW With Steven Johnson

PBS announced the premiere of HOW WE GOT TO NOW with Steven Johnson in fall 2014. The six-part series, to be produced for PBS by Nutopia and hosted by the popular American science author and media theorist, explores the power and the legacy of great ideas. Topics explored in the series include why and how ideas happen, and their sometimes unintended results, including how the search for clean water opened the way to invention of the iPhone, and how the nagging problem of overheating in a New York printing business led to the invention of air conditioning, which inspired mass migration and a political transformation.   Johnson explains how the answers to the questions he poses in each episode — such as “how do we make something cold?” or “how do we create light?”— have driven other discoveries through the web of ideas and innovations that made each finding possible. Click for more information

 

 

 

 

PBS NEWSHOUR NAMES GWEN IFILL AND JUDY WOODRUFF CO-ANCHORS AND MANAGING EDITORS

Gwen Ifill and Judy Woodruff will be co-anchors and managing editors for the PBS NEWSHOUR. Ifill and Woodruff will anchor the broadcast together Monday through Thursday each week. On Fridays, Woodruff will anchor solo as Ifill hosts WASHINGTON WEEK that evening. This will mark the first time a network broadcast has had a female co-anchor team. It was also announced that Hari Sreenivasan will serve as Senior Correspondent for the PBS NEWSHOUR with Gwen Ifill and Judy Woodruff, reporting several times a week from WNET’s Tisch Studios in New York, along with his duties anchoring PBS NEWSHOUR WEEKEND Saturdays and Sundays beginning September 7. Click for more information

Additional information was also shared today on two previously announced programs:

PBS Pays Tribute to President John F. Kennedy with Week of Special Programming

PBS announced today the details of a series of primetime special programs to commemorate the 50th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy’s death that airs November 11-13. The specials will offer new perspectives on the life and death of President John F. Kennedy, as well as provide audiences with a comprehensive examination of timely issues.  Click for more information

PBS ARTS FALL FESTIVAL 2013 Kicks Off October 18 Festival Spotlights Broadway Shows and Top-Flight Stars

The 2013 PBS Arts Fall Festival returns in October with seven weekly programs that highlight Broadway classics, music from around the country, and legendary superstar Barbra Streisand.  Underscoring PBS’ ongoing commitment to giving audiences a front row seat and a backstage pass to the best of the arts on-air and online, the series will be hosted by award-winning television, film and stage star Anna Deavere Smith (“Nurse Jackie,” “The West Wing”) starting Friday, October 18, 2013 at 9 p.m. ET (check local listings). Click for more information

For images and additional up-to-date information on this and other PBS programs, visit PBS PressRoom at pbs.org/pressroom.

About PBS
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Downton Abbey photo courtesy of ©Nick Briggs/Carnival Film and Television Limited 2013 for MASTERPIECE