Current’s annual survey of productions in the works for public TV

Pipeline 2014, Current’s latest preview of television productions slated for for future seasons on public TV, details more than 100 shows offered for broadcast by various distributors through fall 2016 and beyond.

The annual survey provides a snapshot of high-profile presentations coming from PBS signature series, one-off documentaries tackling both lighthearted and serious topics, and insights into how producers and programmers have responded to public TV’s success with British dramas and renewed focus on arts programming.

Following the popularity of Call the Midwife, PBS and producers of Masterpiece have pooled their funds to add a new historical medical drama to the lineup of British imports. Five different programs in the 2014 Pipeline focus on ballet — its performing organizations, most influential dancers and barriers to entry for dancers of color.

An extended slate of documentaries from Bob Chitester, the producer who introduced Milton Friedman to public TV viewers in 1980, will bring libertarian perspectives on contemporary issues to public TV stations. The Free To Choose Network, a production house founded by former pubcasting producer and station manager, has eight new programs in the works, several of which are to be released for public TV broadcast next year through Chicago’s WTTW and NETA.

For arts lovers — especially dance fans — programs from public TV stations and American Masters will look at the graceful world of ballet from distinct vantage points. Two historical overviews celebrate specific organizations: American Ballet Theatre (w.t.), produced by filmmaker Ric Burns for American Masters, and Fifty Years on Pointe: The Pennsylvania Ballet, from Philadelphia’s WHYY. PBS SoCaL is co-producing a biography of Mia Slavenksa, the expatriated artist who introduced Americans to ballet; and American Masters will profile Tanaquil LeClercq, the muse for choreographers George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins. Black Ballerina, from producer/director Frances McElroy, examines the puzzling lack of dancers of color in American ballet.

For PBS’s growing audience of British drama fans, Breathless is scheduled to debut on Masterpiece next season. It follows the lives of doctors and nurses working in a hospital gynecology unit in 1961 London. It debuts amongst a cornucopia of  British drama titles from Masterpiece, including the fourth season of the blockbuster costume drama Downton Abbey. Also returning are popular detective series Sherlock, Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot, the latter of which is to sunset with the final two mysteries adapted from Agatha Christie’s book series. PBS plans a pledge special sendoff, David Suchet: Being Poirot (w.t.), featuring the actor who portrayed the detective over two decades.

The list highlights productions planned as primetime, weekly or pledge-drive broadcasts for January 2014 and later. It comprises non-instructional public TV projects of one hour or longer, and excludes episodes of ongoing series that are 60 minutes or shorter.

Our thanks to producers and their distributors, who supplied most of the information.

Abbreviations: APT, American Public Television, Boston; ITVS, Independent Television Service, San Francisco; NETA, National Educational Telecommunications Association, Columbia, S.C.; NEA, National Endowment for the Arts; NEH, National Endowment for the Humanities; NSF, National Science Foundation; and PBS, Public Broadcasting Service. In production credits, “e.p.” means executive producer.

Is your program missing? If so, please complete our questionnaire by Jan. 10, 2014. Current will publish an addendum later that month.

WINTER ’14

1964

Producing organizations: An Insignia Films production for WGBH/American Experience. Distributor: PBS. Length: 1 x 120. Status: complete. Major funders: Liberty Mutual, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, PBS, CPB. E.p.: Mark Samels. Senior producer: Sharon Grimberg. Writer/director: Stephen Ives. Producer: Amanda Pollak. Contact: Lauren Prestileo, [email protected], 617-300-5329. ♦ Examines some of the most prominent figures of the year — Lyndon B. Johnson, Martin Luther King Jr., Barry Goldwater, Betty Freidan — and brings out from the shadows the actions of ordinary Americans whose frustrations, ambitions and anxieties began to turn the country onto a different course.

Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot

A production of ITV Studios in association with Agatha Christie Limited. Presented by Masterpiece and WGBH. Distributor: PBS. Length: 2 x 90. Status: postproduction. E.p. for Masterpiece: Rebecca Eaton. Contact: Olivia Wong, [email protected], 617-300-5349. ♦ David Suchet (Henry VIII, The Way We Live Now) returns in his signature role as suave Belgian sleuth Hercule Poirot in two new mysteries based on novels by Agatha Christie.

Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple

A production of ITV Studios in association with Agatha Christie Limited. Presented by Masterpiece and WGBH. Length:  3 x 90. Status: complete. E.p. for Masterpiece: Rebecca Eaton. Contact: Olivia Wong, [email protected], 617-300-5349. ♦ Acclaimed British actress Julia McKenzie (Cranford) returns as spinster detective in three new episodes of Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple series.

Alice Walker: Beauty in Truth

Producing organizations: Thirteen Productions, LLC/American Masters/Kali Films/ ITVS. Distributor: PBS. Presenting station: WNET. Length: 1 x 90. Status: complete. Major funders: NEH, Rosalind P. Walter, Cheryl and Philip Milstein Family, Blanche & Irving Laurie Foundation, Rolf and Elizabeth Rosenthal, Jack Rudin, Vital Projects Fund, André and Elizabeth Kertész Foundation. E.p.’s: Susan Lacy, Sally Jo Fifer, Babeth VanLoo, Eve Ensler, Regina Kulik Scully, Deborah Santana. Writer/producer/director: Pratibha Parmar. Producer: Shaheen Haq. Contact: Lesley Norman, [email protected], 212-560-2985; Julie Sacks, [email protected], 212-560-8702. ♦ Profiles the first African-American woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Literature, the daughter of sharecroppers whose life unfolded during the violent racism and seismic social changes of mid-20^th-century America, with poverty and participation in the civil rights movement becoming inherent themes in her writing.

The Amish: Shunned

A Five O’ Clock Films production for WGBH/American Experience. Distributor: PBS. Length: 1 x 120. Status: complete. Major funders: Liberty Mutual, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, PBS, CPB. E.p.: Mark Samels. Senior producer: Sharon Grimberg. Writer/producer/director: Callie Wiser. Contact: Lauren Prestileo, [email protected], 617-300-5329. ♦ Filmed over the course of a year, doc follows six former Amish community members as they reflect and struggle with their decisions to leave one of the most closed and tightly knit societies in the United States.

Breathless

A coproduction of ITV Studios and Masterpiece. Distributor: PBS. Presenting station: WGBH. Length: 1 x 120, 4 x 60. Status: postproduction. E.p. for Masterpiece: Rebecca Eaton. Contact: Olivia Wong, [email protected], 617-300-5349. ♦ Medical drama set in London in 1961, starring Jack Davenport (Smash) as a brilliant surgeon who believes he can make a difference in women’s lives.

Civil War: The Untold Story

Producing organization: Great Divide Pictures. Distributor: APT. Presenting station: WNPT, Nashville. Length: 5 x 60. Status: postproduction. Producer/director: Chris Wheeler. Narrator: Elizabeth McGovern. Contact: Joe Pagetta, [email protected]. ♦ Series covers Civil War through lens of the Western campaign, featuring background and insight on epic battles not often examined and extensive re-enactments shot on location at Shiloh, Chickamauga and other Civil War sites.

Dance of the Maize God

Producing organization: Night Fire Films. Length: 1 x 90 or 1 x 60. Status: postproduction. Budget: $600,000. Major funder: NEH. Director/editor/writer: David Lebrun. Producer: Rosey Guthrie. Contact: David Lebrun, [email protected], 310-821-9133; Rosey Guthrie, [email protected], 310-821-9133. ♦ With painted vases looted from ancient Maya tombs opening an extraordinary window on the past, doc explores Maya life and mythology and tangled issues surrounding looted art.

Death Comes to Pemberley

An Origin Pictures and Masterpiece co-production in association with LipSync Productions and Screen Yorkshire. Distributor: PBS. Presenting station: WGBH. Length: 3 x 60. Status: postproduction. E.p. for Masterpiece: Rebecca Eaton. Contact: Olivia Wong, [email protected], 617-300-5349 ♦ An adaptation of P.D. James’s continuation of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice that picks up the story six years after the marriage of Elizabeth and Darcy, when discovery of a corpse brings an abrupt halt to preparations for a ball at their Pemberley home.

Downton Abbey, Season 4

A Carnival/Masterpiece Co-production. Distributor: PBS. Presenting station: WGBH. Length: 2 x 120, 6 x 60. Status: postproduction. E.p. for Masterpiece: Rebecca Eaton. Contact: Olivia Wong, [email protected], 617-300-5349. ♦ As aristocrats cope with last season’s shocking finale, change is in the air as three generations of the Crawley family have conflicting interests in the estate. Guest stars include Paul Giamatti, Shirley MacLaine.

The Education of Harvey Gantt

Producing organization: South Carolina ETV. Distributor: APT. Length: 1 x 30. Status: complete. Major funders: Humanities Council, South Carolina; Self Family Foundation. E.p.: Amy Shumaker. Narrator: Phylicia Rashad. Contact: Amy Shumaker, [email protected]. ♦ Examines events surrounding Harvey Gantt’s enrollment at Clemson College in 1963, the first African-American accepted by the institution.

Great American Seafood Cook-off V

Producing organization: Louisiana Public Broadcasting. Distributor: APT. Length: 1 x 30. Status: postproduction. Budget: $34,000. Major funders: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Foundation for Excellence in Louisiana Public Broadcasting. Producer: Gary Allen. E.p.: Clay Fourrier. Contact: Margaret Schlaudecker, [email protected], 225-767-4276. ♦ Using seafood indigenous to their own states, 15 chefs from around the country compete to earn recognition as the nation’s best seafood chef.

Last Days in Vietnam

A Moxie Firecracker Films production for American Experience and WGBH. Distributor: PBS. Length: 1 x 120. Status: postproduction. Major funders: Liberty Mutual, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, PBS, CPB. E.p.: Mark Samels. Contact: Lauren Prestileo, [email protected], 617-300-5329. ♦ Documents 18 hours of April 29, 1975, when panic gripped Saigon as thousands of Americans and Vietnamese scrambled to designated departure points to flee the city about to fall to Communist forces.

Macau (w.t.)

Producing organization: Cam Bay Productions. Presented by Frontline and WGBH. Distributor: PBS. Length: 1 x 120. Status: production. Producers: Lowell Bergman, William Cran. Contact: Pam Johnston, [email protected], 617-300-5327; Patrice Taddonio, [email protected], 617-300-3500. ♦ Frontline teams up with the U-C Berkeley Investigative Reporting Program to examine how Las Vegas gambling tycoons grew their fortunes within the culture of corruption of the Chinese enclave of Macau, which historically has provided a haven for organized crime.

Mr. Selfridge, Season 2

A co-production of ITV Studios and Masterpiece. Distributor: PBS. Presenting station: WGBH. Length: 2 x 120, 6 x 60. Status: postproduction. E.p. for Masterpiece: Rebecca Eaton. Contact: Olivia Wong, [email protected], 617-300-5349. ♦ Second season of the series starring Jeremy Piven as flamboyant American founder of eponymous London department store is set in 1914, as Selfridge’s celebrates its fifth anniversary in business.

Neven Maguire: Home Chef

Producing organization: InProduction TV. Distributor: APT. Length: 13 x 30. Status: postproduction. Budget: $340,000. Major funders: Ballymaloe Relish, Kerrygold, Flahavan’s Oats, Tourism Ireland. E.p.: David Hare. Contact: Hope Reed, [email protected], 520-622-1393. ♦ Neven Maguire, Ireland’s most popular TV chef, re-creates a variety of dishes from his award-winning MacNean House & Restaurant in County Cavan. Web:  macneanrestaurant.com.

The Passions & Politics of Ed Edelman

Producing organization: Mari Edelman. Distributor: NETA. Presenting station: PBS SoCaL. Length: 1 x 60. Status: complete. Producer/writer/director: Mari Edelman. Narrator: Tom Brokaw. E.p. for PBS SoCaL: Brenda Brkusic. Contact: Brenda Brkusic, [email protected]. ♦ Documents life and career of Edmund D. Edelman, a member of the Los Angeles City Council from 1965 to 1974, and Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors from 1975 to 1994. Web: ededelmandocumentary.com.

The Poisoner’s Handbook

An Apograph Productions film for WGBH/American Experience. Distributor: PBS. Length: 1 x 120. Status: postproduction. Major funders: Liberty Mutual, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, PBS, CPB. E.p.: Mark Samels. Senior producer: Sharon Grimberg. Writer/producer/director: Rob Rapley. Contact: Contact: Lauren Prestileo, [email protected], 617-300-5329. ♦ Against backdrop of Jazz Age New York, two scientists turn forensic toxicology into an essential crime-fighting tool, forever changing how murder is investigated.

Sherlock, Series 3

A Hartswood Films Production for BBC Wales, co-produced with Masterpiece. Distributor: PBS. Presenting station: WGBH. Length: 3 x 90. Status: postproduction. E.p. for Masterpiece: Rebecca Eaton. Contact: Olivia Wong, [email protected], 617-300-5349. ♦ Sherlock Holmes stalks again in modern version of the Arthur Conan Doyle classic, starring Benedict Cumberbatch (The Fifth Estate) as the consulting detective in 21st-century London, and Martin Freeman (The Hobbit) as his loyal friend, Dr. John Watson.

Unlikely Heroes of the Arab Spring

Producing organization: Free To Choose Network. Distributor: NETA. Presenting station: WTTW, Chicago. Length: 1 x 60. Status: complete. Budget: $700,000. Major funders: John Templeton Foundation, Omidyar Network, Smith Richardson Foundation. Producers: Jim Taylor, Roger Brown, Barbara Potter. E.p.’s: Thomas Skinner, Bob Chitester. Contact: Thomas Skinner, [email protected], 231-883-1659. ♦ Three years after birth of “Arab Spring,” revolutions continue — with millions of businessmen locked out of the economic system at heart of unrest.

SPRING ’14

The Address

A co-production of Florentine Films and WETA. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 1 x 90. Status: postproduction. Major funders: Bank of America, Better Angels Society, CPB, PBS. Executive-in-charge for WETA: Dalton Delan. Project director: David Thompson. Producer/director/writer: Ken Burns. Contact: Kate Kelly, [email protected], 703-998-2072. ♦ A contemporary story grounded with the history, context and importance of President Abraham Lincoln’s famous speech, this documentary follows students at The Greenwood School in Putney, Vt., as they memorize and memorialize the Gettysburg Address.

Alive! In America’s Wetlands

Producing organization: Louisiana Public Broadcasting. Distributor: APT. Length: 6 x 30. Status: production. Budget: $480,000. Major funders: Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, Foundation for Excellence in Louisiana Public Broadcasting. Producers: Christina Melton. Liz Barnes. Al Godoy. Donna LaFleur. Narrator: John Goodman. Contact: Christina Melton, [email protected]. 800-272-8161. ♦ Series examines efforts to increase population of animals on brink of extinction — including whooping cranes and black bears —  enforce wildlife laws and protect endangered sea creatures.

Beautiful Sin

Producing organization: Azul Films, Latino Public Broadcasting. Distributor: PBS. Length: 1 x 60. Status: postproduction. Budget: $203,000. Major funders: MacArthur Foundation, Hewlett Foundation, Latino Public Broadcasting. Producer/director: Gabriela Quirós. Contact: Luis Ortiz, [email protected], 818-847-9656. ♦ Follows three infertile couples in Costa Rica as they cope with that country’s unique ban on assisted reproduction via in vitro fertilization.

Beyond the Light Switch

Producing organization: Detroit Public Television. Length: 1 x 60. Status: production. Director/co-writer: Ed Moore. Host/co-writer: David Biello. Producer/director of cinematography: Bill Kubota. Contact: Jamie Westrick, [email protected], 248-305-3726. ♦ Scientific American writer David Biello travels the country in search of our energy future, along the way examining the Army’s life-saving advances in green technology, the rapid electrification of our nation’s ports and whether the electric car will ever gain mass appeal. Web: beyondthelightswitch.com.

Coexist

Producing organization: Amazo Productions, Inc. Distributor: APT. Length: 1 x 60. Status: postproduction. Director: Adam Mazo. Director of photography: Scott Ippolito. Contact: Adam Mazo, [email protected], 617-524-5350. ♦ Rwanda’s social experiment in government-mandated reconciliation is revealed through the eyes of a diverse range of survivors: victims, perpetrators and those who bore witness to the 1994 genocide.

Cosplay! Crafting a Secret Identity

Producing organizations: WPBA, Public Broadcasting Atlanta. Distributor: APT. Length: 1 x 60. Status: complete. Producer: Dustin Lecate. Contact: Hilary Finkel Buxton, [email protected], 617-338-4455, ext. 154. ♦ A contraction of “costume play,” Cosplay! enters workshops and lives of people who have elevated fantasy costuming to professional level, examines huge conventions where costumes are worn, and describes art and skill that go into making the outlandish, complex outfits.

Daniel O’Donnell Stand Beside Me

Producing organization: Detroit Public Television. Distributor: PBS. Length: 1 x 60 program, 1 x 90 pledge event. Status: postproduction. Major funder: PBS. E.p.’s: Jamie Westrick, Sean Reilly. Producer: Josette Marano. Director: Ian McGarry. Contact: Lauren Smith-Jurcak, [email protected], 248-305-3791. ♦ Pledge special concert celebrates Irish, country, gospel, rock, and movie music plus long-time O’Donnell concert favorites, featuring O’Donnell’s singing partner of 26 years, Mary Duff. Premiums include program DVD, companion DVD, three-DVD set.

David Suchet: Being Poirot (w.t.)

Producing organizations: ITV Studios, Acorn Productions LTD, RLJ Entertainment, Inc. and Inky Dinky Worldwide, Inc. Distributor: PBS. Length: 1 x 90. Status: postproduction. Major funders: ITV Studios, Acorn Productions LTD, RLJ Entertainment, Inc. Creative director, ITV Studios: Mark Robinson. Coordinating producer, RLJ Entertainment: Dan Hamby. Producer/writer, Inky Dinky Worldwide: Bob Marty. Contact: Dan Hamby, [email protected], 301-608-2115, ext. 151. ♦ As his role as Agatha Christie’s sleuth comes to an end after more than two decades, actor David Suchet reveals mysterious appeal of great detective — and what it has been like to play him. Pledge special; premiums include program DVD, CD soundtrack, related merchandise.

E Haku Inoa: To Weave a Name

Producing organizations: ITVS, Pacific Islanders in Communications, PBS Hawaii Length: 1 x 60. Status: postproduction. Director: Christen Marquez. Contact: Sreedevi Sripathy, [email protected]. 415-356-8383, ext. 246. ♦ Filmmaker Christen Marquez’s drive to learn the meaning of her incredibly long and enigmatic Hawaiian name impels her to unite her scattered family and come to terms with her estranged, mentally ill mother. Web: hakuinoa.com.

Environmental & Chesapeake Bay Week

Producing organization and distributor: Maryland Public Television. Length: 60- and 30-minute programs. Status: various stages. Senior director, national distribution & marketing: Phillip Guthrie. Contact: Phillip Guthrie, [email protected], 410-581-4187. ♦ Library of programs aims to inspire conservation efforts and community activism by celebrating the natural beauty of waterways while exploring 21^st-century water-quality problems.

A Fierce Green Fire

Producing organizations: Thirteen Productions, LLC/American Masters/Mark Kitchell. Distributor: PBS. Presenting station: WNET. Length: 1 x 120. Status: complete. Major funders: Rosalind P. Walter, Cheryl and Philip Milstein Family, Blanche & Irving Laurie Foundation, Rolf and Elizabeth Rosenthal, Jack Rudin, Vital Projects Fund, André and Elizabeth Kertész Foundation, Michael & Helen Schaffer Foundation. E.p. for American Masters: Susan Lacy. E.p.: Mark Weiss. Producer: Mark Kitchell. Contact: Julie Sacks, [email protected], 212-560-8702. ♦ Doc provides first big-picture exploration of environmental movement — grassroots and global activism spanning 50 years, from conservation to climate change.

Fifty Years on Pointe: The Pennsylvania Ballet (w.t.)

Producing organization: WHYY, Philadelphia. Distributor: PBS. Length: 1 x 60. Status: production. Budget: $725,000. Major funders: Joseph and Marie Field, Janet and James Averill, Ford Foundation, Elizabeth R. Moran, PBS, Pew Charitable Trusts. E.p.: Trudi Brown. Producer: Molly McBride. Director: Matthew Diamond. Contact: Art Ellis, [email protected], 215-351-1262. ♦ Celebrates Pennsylvania Ballet’s golden anniversary with Company’s 50th anniversary performance, signature ballets from the past and present, short documentary segments recorded during rehearsals and interviews with founder Barbara Weisberger and Artistic Director Roy Kaiser.

Frederick Law Olmsted: Designing America

Producing organization: Western New York Public Broadcasting Association. Distributor: PBS. Presenting station: WNED, Buffalo, N.Y. Length: 1 x 90. Status: production. Major funders: NEH, Margaret L. Wendt Foundation, HSBC Bank, Tiffany & Company Foundation, C.E. and S. Foundation. E.p.: John Grant. Producers: Lawrence Hott, Diane Garey. Writer: Ken Chowder. Contact: John Grant, [email protected], 814-2334-5210; David Rotterman, [email protected], 716-845-7000. ♦ Doc about life, work and legacy of Frederick Law Olmsted, a journalist, social critic, public administrator and landscape designer, reveals much about our country’s history.

George Hirsch Lifestyle

Producing organization: Hirsch Media. Distributor: APT. Length: 13 x 30. Status: postproduction. Host: George Hirsch. Contact: Trish Bennett, [email protected], 631-725-8516. ♦ Celebrity chef Hirsch shares culinary knowledge and well-honed techniques for at-home cooks and better-living lifestyle enthusiasts. Web: chefgeorgehirsch.com/television.

Heart 411

Producing organization: Detroit Public Television. Length: 1 x 60 program, 1 x 90 pledge event. Status: preproduction. Major funder: Edwards Lifesciences. E.p.: Jamie Westrick. Producer: Lauren Smith-Jurcak. Talent: Steven Nissen, M.D.; Marc Gillinov, M.D. Contact: Lauren Smith-Jurcak, [email protected], 248-305-3791. ♦ In pledge special, Drs. Steven Nissen and  Marc Gillinov outline keys to preventing heart disease and stroke, uncover truth about current tests and treatments, and reveal future of cardiac surgery and care. Premiums include program DVD, companion book.

Hidden Pictures

Producing organization: Delaney Ruston. Presenting station: Oregon Public Broadcasting. Length: 1 x 60. Status: postproduction. E.p./producer: Delaney Ruston. E.p. for OPB: David Davis. Contact: David Davis, [email protected], 503-293-1959; Pat Kruis, [email protected], 503-293-1933. ♦ Examines mental health care around the world.

Inside Animal Minds (w.t.)

Producing organization: WGBH. Presented by Nova. Distributor: PBS. Length: 3 x 60. Status: production. Senior e.p.: Paula Apsell. Contact: Lisa Leombruni, [email protected], 617-300-4312. ♦ Mini-series explores how the science of animal cognition reveals how animals understand the world, uncovering their problem-solving abilities, communication and emotions through three iconic creatures: dogs, birds, dolphins.

Irish: The Musical

Producing organization: The Passionate Film and Music Group. Presenting station: Detroit Public Television. Length: 1 x 60 program, 1 x 90 pledge event. Status: fundraising. Producer: Kate Amesbury. Contact: Lauren Smith-Jurcak, [email protected], 248-305-3791. ♦ Pledge special production set in 1905 Dublin tells story of four Irish musicians who dream of becoming stars in America, with all musical numbers performed live without pre-recorded tracks. Premiums include program DVD, companion DC.

Janis Joplin: A Brief Brilliance

Producing organization: KQED, San Francisco. Length: 1 x 30. Status: postproduction. Budget: $100,000. E.p.: Becca King Reed. Producer: John Gregg. Contact: Lisa Landi, [email protected], 415-553-2221. ♦ Forty-three years after this original rock star began performing her trademark “wall-of-sound” vocals live, viewers will hear from friends and foes, critics and collaborators, about Joplin’s last three years in San Francisco.

Justice for My Sister

Producing organizations: Artevista Films, Women Make Movies, Latino Public Broadcasting. Distributor: PBS. Length: 1 x 60. Status: complete. Budget: $105,000. Major funders: Latino Public Broadcasting. Producer/director: Kimberly Bautista. Contact: Luis Ortiz, [email protected], 818-847-9656. ♦ One Guatemalan woman pits herself against her country’s notoriously machista justice system in search of answers about her sister’s brutal murder. Web: justiceformysister.com.

The Klondike Gold Rush

Producing organization: Western New York Public Broadcasting Association.  Distributor: PBS. Presenting station: WNED, Buffalo, N.Y. Length: 1 x 60. Status: production. Major funders: Cable Public Affairs Channel, Wilson Foundation, Rogers Biography Channel, Rogers Documentary Fund, Rogers Cable Network Fund. E.p.: John Grant. Producer: Karen Melvin. Director: Doug Arrowsmith. Contact: Sufana Wajed, [email protected], 716-845-7000. ♦ Chronicles wild stampede to the gold fields; harsh realities of life in the Yukon; and personal stories of success, failure, tragedy, glory and greed.

Marthas

Producing organizations: Undocumented Films Ind., Latino Public Broadcasting, ITVS. Distributor: PBS. Length: 1 x 60. Status: postproduction. Budget: $390,000. Major funders: ITVS, Latino Public Broadcasting. Producer/director: Cristina Ibarra. Co-producer: Erin Ploss-Campoamor. Contact: Luis Ortiz, [email protected], 818-847-9656. ♦ Follows year-long preparations by Mexican-American teens in Laredo, Texas, for their social debuts at the exclusive 113-year-old Society of Martha Washington Colonial Pageant and Ball.

Nine to Ninety

Producing organizations: Nine to Ninety LLC, ITVS. Length: 1 x 30. Status: postproduction. Producer: Juli Vizza. Director: Alicia Dwyer. Co-producer: Michael Dwyer. Contact: sreedevi sripathy, [email protected]. 415-356-8383, ext. 246. ♦ In intimate portrait of three generations of an Italian-American family, 89-year-old Phyllis Sabatini realizes that sometimes the best way to say “I love you” is to say “goodbye.”

Normandy Invasion (w.t.)

Producing organization: WGBH. Presented by Nova. Distributor: PBS. Length: 1 x 120. Status: production. Senior e.p.: Paula Apsell. Contact: Lisa Leombruni, [email protected], 617-300-4312. ♦ As 1944 D-Day invasion created the world’s largest archeological site on the seabed of the Bay of Seine, Nova follows dive teams, submersibles and robots to discover sunken Allied craft.

Ocean Frontiers: The Dawn of a New Era in Ocean Stewardship

Producing organization: Green Fire Productions. Distributor: APT. Presenting station: Oregon Public Broadcasting. Length: 1 x 60. Status: postproduction. Major funder: Keith Campbell Foundation for the Environment. E.p./producer: Karen Myers. E.p. for OPB: David Davis. Contact: David Davis, [email protected], 503-293-1959; Pat Kruis, [email protected], 503-293-1933. ♦ Documents inspiring voyages to seaports and watersheds across the country — from busy shipping lanes of Boston Harbor to a small fishing community in the Pacific Northwest; from coral reefs in the Florida Keys to the premier U.S. seafood nursery in the Mississippi Delta. Web: ocean-frontiers.org.

Paley on Park Avenue: New York City

Producing organization: WXXI, Rochester, N.Y. Distributor: APT. Length: 1 x 60. Status: postproduction. Major funders: Elaine P. and Richard U. Wilson Foundation, Ames Amzalak Memorial Trust. E.p.: Todd McCammon. Contact: Kristin Tutino, [email protected], 585-258-0253; Todd McCammon, [email protected], 585-258-0241. ♦ Charts the installation of 13 sculptures created by world-renowned metal sculptor Albert Paley for a public art exhibit on New York City’s Park Avenue. Web: WXXI.org/paleynyc.

Prison Nation: Million Dollar Block (w.t.)

Producing organization: Mongoose Pictures. Presented by Frontline and WGBH. Distributor: PBS. Length: 1 x 90. Status: production. Producer/director: Daniel Edge. Contact: Pam Johnston, [email protected], 617-300-5327; Patrice Taddonio, [email protected], 617-300-3500. ♦ With a disproportionate number of 2.3 million Americans in jails and prisons coming from a very few neighborhoods in the biggest U.S. cities, doc examines how mass incarceration has altered American society and what is being done to change things.

Rhythm Abroad

Producing organization: Joi Productions, LLC. Distributor: APT. Presenting station: KQED, San Francisco. Length: 4 x 30. Status: postproduction. Major funder: Baggallini, Inc. Host/e.p.: Brittany Pierce. Producer: Julie Rosendo. Contact: Brittany Pierce, [email protected]; Julie Rosendo, [email protected]. ♦ Producers of the Emmy-winning series Joseph Rosendo’s Travelscope present new travel series in which host Brittany Pierce explores the world while connecting with people through dance and music. Web: rhythmabroad.com.

Ruben Salazar: Man in the Middle

Producing organization: City Projects LLC. Distributor: PBS. Length: 1 x 60. Status: complete. Budget: $602,000. Major funders: CPB, PBS, Latino Public Broadcasting Cal Humanities, California Community Foundation, Southwest Airlines. Director/producer: Phillip Rodriguez. Producer: Jennifer Kobzik. Videographer/animator: Claudio Rocha. Contact: Jennifer Kobzik, [email protected], 323-481-4632; Mary Lugo, [email protected], 770-623-8190; Luis Ortiz, [email protected], 818-847-9656. ♦ Chronicles life and mysterious death of Salazar, a prominent 20^th-century Mexican-American journalist.

Sacred Journeys

Producing organizations: WGBH and Maya Vision International. Distributor: PBS. Length: 6 x 60. Status: scripting. Major funders: PBS, CPB, Pew Charitable Trusts, Arthur Vining Davis Foundation, Curious George Foundation. E.p.: Laurie Donnelly. Maya Vision e.p.: Rebecca Dobbs. Senior program producer: Anne Adams. Series director: Leo Eaton. Producers: Sally Thomas, Jeremy Zipple. Contact: Laurie Donnelly, [email protected], 617-300-2688; Anne Adams, [email protected], 617-300-3838. ♦ Hosted by writer/adventurer Bruce Feiler, series examines future of faith by taking viewers back into ancient history and traveling through sacred landscapes, joining contemporary pilgrims on ancient pilgrimage routes and at holy sites that remain vibrant and relevant today.

Space Racers

Producing organization: Space Race LLC. Distributor: APT. Presenting station: Maryland Public Television. Length: 26 x 30. Status: postproduction. Budget: $3.75 million. Director: Mark Risley. Senior director, national distribution & marketing: Phillip Guthrie. Program coordinator: Donna Hunt. Contact: Philip Guthrie, [email protected], 410-581-4187. ♦ Animated series takes children on scientific adventures that teach exploration, investigation, observation and collaboration, with NASA experts evaluating content to ensure accuracy of the technology lessons. Web: spaceracers.tv.

The Story of the Jews with Simon Schama

Producing organizations: Oxford Film and Television, Thirteen Productions LLC Distributor: PBS. Presenting station: WNET. Length: 5 x 60. Status: postproduction. E.p.’s: Stephen Segaller, Julie Anderson, Martin Davidson, Nick Kent. Contact: Rachel Hartman, [email protected], 212-560-3059. ♦ Noted historian, author and critic Schama explores story of Jewish experience from ancient times to present day.

Suze Orman: Preserve, Protect, Prosper!

Producing organization: Twin Cities Public Television. Distributor: PBS. Length: 1 x 120 pledge special. Status: preproduction. E.p.: Gerry Richman. Producer: Phyllis Gellar. Contact: Elaine Powell, [email protected], 651-592-8503; Heidi Van Heel, [email protected]. ♦ In pledge special filmed before live audience in Washington, D.C., Orman presents powerful insights with plenty of frank, down-to-earth advice and compassionate and humorous Q&A. Premiums include program DVD, companion book.

The Trials of Muhammad Ali

Producing organization: ITVS. Presented by Independent Lens. Distributor: PBS. Length: 1 x 90. Status: postproduction. Director: Bill Siegel. E.p.’s: Leon Gast, Justine Nagan, Gordon Quinn. Co-producer: Rachel Pikelny. Contact: Sreedevi Sripathy, [email protected]. 415-356-8383, ext. 246. ♦ Covers Ali’s toughest bout: his battle to overturn the five-year prison sentence he received for refusing U.S. military service.

Unsung Heroes: The Story of America’s Female Patriots

Producing organization: Eleventh Day Entertainment. Distributor: APT. Length: 2 x 60. Status: complete. Budget: $500,000. Producer: Ron Howard. Writer/director: Frank Martin. Producer: Richard Rosetti. Contact: Frank Martin, [email protected], 818-219-1251. ♦ Focuses on accomplishments and advancements achieved by women serving in all branches of military service throughout American history. Web: unsungheroespresentation.com.

A Walk in the Park with Nick Mollé: Birds Without Borders

Producing organization: Nick Mollé Productions. Distributor: APT. Length: 1 x 60. Status: complete. Producers: Nick Mollé, John Goerner, Sean Doherty. Contact: Tom Davison, [email protected], 617-338-4455, ext.160. ♦ Chronicles how researchers at two “sister” locales — Monteverde, Costa Rica, and Estes Park, Colorado — are studying and protecting species of birds that migrate annually between them. Web: rockymountainchannel.com.

Walter Williams: Suffer No Fools

Producing organization: Free To Choose Network. Distributor: NETA. Presenting station: WTTW, Chicago. Length: 1 x 60. Status: postproduction. Budget: $700,000. Major funders: Dunns Foundation, Searle Freedom Trust, Donors Trust, Hickory Foundation, William Cody, Besch Foundation, Woodford Foundation for Limited Government. Producer: Anthony Machi. E.p.’s: Thomas Skinner, Bob Chitester. Contact: Thomas Skinner, [email protected], 231-883-1659. ♦ Portrait of Walter Williams, a black American teacher, author and columnist who believes deeply in the U.S. Constitution but does not believe in affirmative action or the Civil Rights Act. Web: freetochoose.net.

SUMMER ’14

American Jerusalem

Co-produced by Actual Films and Switchback Films. Presenting station: KQED, San Francisco. Length: 1 x 60. Status: complete. E.p.: Jackie Krentzman. Director: March Shaffer. Contact: Jackie Krentzman, [email protected], 510-524-7499. ♦ Narrates story of the pioneer Jews of San Francisco, who came to California from Germany during the Gold Rush and were instrumental in building the city.

The Boomer List (w.t.)

Producing organizations: Thirteen Productions, LLC/American Masters/Perfect Day Films Distributor: PBS. Presenting station: WNET. Length: 1 x 90. Status: preproduction. Major funders: Rosalind P. Walter, Cheryl and Philip Milstein Family, Blanche & Irving Laurie Foundation, Rolf and Elizabeth Rosenthal, Jack Rudin, Vital Projects Fund, André and Elizabeth Kertész Foundation, Michael & Helen Schaffer Foundation. Contact: Lesley Norman, [email protected], 212-560-2985; Julie Sacks, [email protected], 212-560-8702. ♦ As the last members of the baby-boom generation turn 50, doc profiles 18 remarkable American Masters, one born in each year between 1946 and 1964.

Dorothea Lange: Grab a Hunk of Lightning (w.t.)

Producing organizations: Thirteen Productions, LLC/American Masters/Katahdin Productions/Raven Rouge. Distributor: PBS. Presenting station: WNET. Length: 1 x 90. Status: postproduction. Major funders: NEH, Rosalind P. Walter, Cheryl and Philip Milstein Family, Blanche & Irving Laurie Foundation, Rolf and Elizabeth Rosenthal, Jack Rudin, Vital Projects Fund, André and Elizabeth Kertész Foundation, Michael & Helen Schaffer Foundation. E.p.’s Susan Lacy, Roberta Grossman, Lisa Thomas. Contact: Lesley Norman, [email protected], 212-560-2985; Julie Sacks, [email protected], 212-560-8702. ♦ With more than four decades of 20^th-century America reflected through the prism of her photographic lens, Lange’s powerful images from the Great Depression — particularly her haunting “Migrant Mother” — remain emblematic of that period.

Freedom Summer

A Firelight Films production for American Experience/WGBH. Distributor: PBS. Length: 1 x 120. Status: postproduction. Major funders: Liberty Mutual, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, NEH, PBS, CPB. E.p.: Mark Samels. Contact: Lauren Prestileo, [email protected], 617-300-5329. ♦ Chronicles 10 weeks during the summer of 1964 when more than 700 student volunteers went to Mississippi to join organizers and local African-Americans in the historic effort to shatter foundations of white supremacy in nation’s most segregated state.

Getting Back to Abnormal

Producing organizations: Center for New American Media/Midnight Films. Presented by POV. Distributor: PBS. Length: 1 x 90. Status: complete. Budget: $350,000. Major funders: ITVS, NEA, Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities. Producers/directors: Louis Alvarez, Andrew Kolker, Peter Odabashian, Paul Stekler. Contact: Andrew Kolker, [email protected], 212-630-9971. ♦ Documents election in New Orleans, with corruption, racism, dancing in the streets and one in-your-face pol trying to get re-elected.

Mia, A Dancer’s Odyssey

Producing organizations: Slavenska Dance Preservation, Inc., and PBS SoCaL. Length: 1 x 60. Status: postproduction. Major funders: NEA, Women in Film Foundation, Herman Lissner Foundation, Peter Tcherepnine Foundation, W.S Scharff Family Foundation. Producer: Brenda Brkusic. Producer/director: Maria Ramas. Director: Kate Johnson. Voice-over: Blythe Danner. Contact: Brenda Brkusic, [email protected]. ♦ Profiles Mia Slavenksa, an expatriated artist who changed the face of American culture in 20^th century by introducing Americans to ballet.

 FALL ’14

The American Revolution

Producing organization: Lichtenstein Creative Media. Distributor: PBS. Length: 1 x 87. Status: postproduction. Budget: $500,000. Major funders: Mass Humanities, Kickstarter, RAGS Foundation, Mitchell Kertzman. Producer/director: Bill Lichtenstein. Director of photography: Boyd Estus. E.p.: Kathryn Dietz. Consulting Producer: Peter Miller. Contact: Bill Lichtenstein, [email protected], 617-682-3708. ♦ Producers of West 47^th Street chronicle free-form radio station WBCN-FM and Boston’s other underground media, from 1968 to 1974, through the original sights, sounds and stories.

The Anthropologist

Producing organization: Ironbound Films, Inc. Distributor: PBS. Length: 1 x 90. Status: postproduction. Budget: $870,000. Major funder: NSF. Producers/directors: Seth Kramer, Daniel Miller, Jeremy Newberger. Contact: Daniel Miller, [email protected], 845-424-3700. ♦ Examines indigenous communities hardest hit by climate change through eyes of a cultural anthropologist and her teenage daughter.

The Art and Life of James McNeill Whistler (w.t.)

A production of Film Odyssey, Inc., in association with WETA. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 1 x 60. Status: postproduction. Major funders: NEH, NEA, the Lunder Foundation, Lewis Culman, Annenberg Foundation and PBS. Executive-in-charge for WETA: Dalton Delan. Project director: David Thompson. Producer/director: Karen Thomas. Contact: Kate Kelly, [email protected], 703-998-2072. ♦ The first biographical documentary about the man who created “Whistler’s Mother,” one of the most recognizable paintings in all of America.

August Wilson (w.t.)

Producing organizations: Thirteen Productions, LLC/American Masters/WQED (Pittsburgh). Distributor: PBS. Presenting station: WNET. Length: 1 x 90. Status: production. Major funders: PNC Foundation, NEH. Heinz Endowments, Rosalind P. Walter, Cheryl and Philip Milstein Family, Blanche & Irving Laurie Foundation, Rolf and Elizabeth Rosenthal, Jack Rudin, Vital Projects Fund, André and Elizabeth Kertész Foundation, Michael & Helen Schaffer Foundation. E.p. for American Masters: Susan Lacy. E.p. for WQED: Darryl Ford-Williams. Producer/director: Sam Pollard. Contact: Lesley Norman, [email protected], 212-560-2985; Julie Sacks, [email protected], 212-560-8702. ♦ Biography of man with ambition to write a play reflecting each decade of the African-American experience in the 20th century through the microcosm of The Hill — known as Pittsburgh’s Little Harlem — where Wilson was born in 1945.

Black Ballerina (w.t.)

Producing organization: Shirley Road Productions. Length: 1 x 60. Status: production. Budget: $300,000. Major funder: NEA. Producer/director: Frances McElroy. Contact: Frances McElroy, [email protected], 610-667-9348. ♦ Through touching stories of several black ballerinas from different generations, doc explores why even in 2013 dancers of color are largely absent from American ballet.

Children of Giant

Producing organizations: Galan Productions Inc., Latino Public Broadcasting. Distributor: PBS. Length: 1 x 60. Status: production. Budget: $505,000. Major funders: Sundance Documentary Fund, Catapult Film Fund, Ford Foundation, Latino Public Broadcasting. Producer/director: Hector Galan. Contact: Luis Ortiz, [email protected], 818-847-9656. ♦ Explores cross-section of events and emotions regarding de facto segregation in small west Texas town of Marfa in 1956 before, during and after month-long production of George Stevens’s feature film Giant.

Half the Sky: The Americas

Producing organization: ITVS. Distributor: PBS. Length: 2 x 120. Status: production. Producers: Maro Chermayeff, Jamie Gordon. Contact: Sreedevi Sripathy, [email protected]. 415-356-8383, ext. 246. ♦ In sequel to Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide, celebrity advocates and two journalists witness stories of women and girls in the U.S., Latin America and Caribbean fighting to overcome gender-related challenges.

In Defense of Food

Producing organization: Kikim Media. Distributor: PBS. Presenting station: KQED, San Francisco. Length: 1 x 120. Status: production. Major funder: NSF. Producer/director: Michael Schwarz. Co-producer/director: Edward Gray. E.p.: Kiran Kiki Kapany. Contact: Michael Schwarz, [email protected], 650-617-0550. ♦ In this program based on (and named after) his bestselling book, Michael Pollan takes viewers around the world to explore one of the most perplexing questions of our time: What should I eat?

The Italian Americans

A co-production of WETA and Ark Media. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 2 x 120. Status: completed. Major funders: DelGrosso Foods, NEH, Arthur Vining Davis Foundations, Program Challenge Fund, PBS Distribution. E.p.’s for WETA: Jeff Bieber, Dalton Delan. Producers: John Maggio, Muriel Soenens, Barak Goodman. Contact: Kate Kelly, [email protected], 703-998-2072. ♦ Chronicles four generations of Italian Americans from the late 19th century to today — their departures and reunions, divided identities between homeland and America, and entry into labor, entertainment, politics and war.

A Latin Tribute to Michael Jackson

Producing organization: Mixtura Productions. Distributor: PBS. Presenting station: Oregon Public Broadcasting. Length: 1 x 120. Status: R&D. Budget: $1 million. E.p./producer: Tony Succar. E.p. for OPB: David Davis. Contact: David Davis, [email protected], 503-293-1959. ♦ Features all-star lineup of Latin musicians and performers in staged tribute to Michael Jackson and his music performed in Miami.

Martin Yan: Taste of Vietnam

Producing organization: Yan Can Cook, Inc. Distributor: APT. Presenting station: KQED, San Francisco. Length: 26 x 30. Status: production. Host: Martin Yan. Contact: Stephanie Jan, [email protected], 650-341-0701. ♦ Master chef Martin Yan embarks on journey of personal discovery to explore and share sights, sounds and tastes of Vietnam.

The Mystery of Matter: Search for the Elements (w.t.)

Producing organization: Moreno/Lyons Productions LLC. Distributor: PBS. Presenting station: Oregon Public Broadcasting. Length: 3 x 60. Status: postproduction. Budget: $1.8 million. Major funder: NSF. E.p./director/writer/producer: Stephen Lyons. Director: Muffie Meyer. Contact: Stephen Lyons, [email protected], 617-789-3900. ♦ Tells the human story behind development of the Periodic Table, with key discoveries in history of chemistry reenacted by Broadway actors portraying figures such as Lavoisier, Priestley, Curie, Mendeleev and Seaborg.

Nerds 3: Big Data with Bob Cringely

Producing organizations: Thirteen Productions LLC. Presenting station: WNET. Length: 3 x 60. Status: R&D. E.p.: Julie Anderson. Contact: Rachel Hartman, [email protected], 212-560-3059. ♦ Mini-series explores how Google, Facebook and Amazon track every mouse click and store the data, who can access it and what this means for society.

Off the Menu: Asian America

Producing organizations: KQED, San Francisco and Center for Asian American Media. Distributor: PBS. Length: 1 x 60. Status: production. Budget: $409,200. Major funder: CPB. E.p. for KQED: Louise Lo. E.p. for Center for Asian American Media: Donald Young. Producer/director: Grace Lee. Co-producer: Eurie Chung. Contact: Donald Young, [email protected], 415-863-0814, ext. 105. ♦ Journeys from Texas’ Gulf Coast to Manhattan’s Lower East Side to examine how Asian-Americans are shaping how we think about food, culture and community.

Now En Español

Producing organizations: Migratory Patterns, International Documentary Association, Latino Public Broadcasting. Distributor: PBS. Length: 1 x 60. Status: postproduction. Budget: $380,000. Major funders: California Council for the Humanities, National Association of Latino Arts and Culture, Latino Public Broadcasting. Producer/director: Andrea Meller. Contact: Luis Ortiz, [email protected], 818-847-9656. ♦ Chronicles the ups and downs of Latina actresses in Hollywood through the lives of the five women who dub Desperate Housewives into Spanish for American audiences. Web: nowenespanol.org.

The Pilgrims

A production of Steeplechase Films and WETA in Washington, D.C., for American Experience. Distributor: PBS. Length: 1 x 120. Status: production. Major funders: Liberty Mutual, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, NEH, BBC, Lilly Foundation, Arthur Vining Davis Foundations, Annenberg Foundation, PBS, CPB. E.p.: Mark Samels. Senior producer: Sharon Grimberg. Writer/producer/director: Ric Burns. Contact: Lauren Prestileo, [email protected]. ♦ Recounts deep history, origins and harrowing first decade of the Pilgrims’ colony in North America — a seminal chapter in the making of America.

Power to the People

Producing organization: Free To Choose Network. Distributor: NETA. Presenting station: WTTW, Chicago. Length: 1 x 60. Status: preproduction. Budget: $660,000. Major funders: L.E. Phillips Family Foundation, Melvin S. Cohen Foundation. Producers: Jim Taylor, Barbara Potter. E.p.’s: Thomas Skinner, Bob Chitester. Contact: Thomas Skinner, [email protected], 231-883-1659. ♦ While each potential future source of energy comes with its own set of problems, doc explores how greatest problem may be the impact of energy shortages. Web: freetochoose.net.

Rick Steves’ Europe 800

Producing organization: Back Door Productions. Distributor: APT. Presenting station: Oregon Public Broadcasting. Length: 13 x 30. Status: production. Producers for OPB: Cheri Arbini, Pat Kruis. Contact: Cheri Arbini, [email protected]. ♦ Rick Steves transports viewers to Europe’s bustling cities, quaint villages and picturesque countryside — with special in-depth look at the Holy Land that is to be released as either a separate hour-long special or two half-hours in regular season.

Ride the Tiger: Bipolar in America (w.t.)

Producing organization: Detroit Public Television. Length: 1 x 60. Status: fundraising. Director: Ed Moore. Producer: Sophia Kruz. Advisor: Dr. Thomas Insel. Contact: Ed Moore, [email protected]; 248-305-3726; Jamie Westrick, [email protected]. ♦ By profiling highly accomplished individuals diagnosed as bipolar and subverting stereotypes about people with mood disorders, doc weaves together compelling stories with narrative of scientists and scholars on cusp of latest discoveries in brain science.

The Roosevelts: An Intimate History

A co-production of Florentine Films and WETA. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 7 x 120. Status: completed. Major funders: Bank of America, CPB, Jack C. Taylor, Arthur Vining Davis Foundations, NEH, Rosalind P. Walter, PBS, Better Angels Society, Pfeil Foundation, Joan Wellhouse Newton, Bonnie and Tom McCloskey, the Golkin family. Executive-in-charge for WETA: Dalton Delan. Project director: David Thompson. Producers/directors: Ken Burns, Paul Barnes, Pam Baucom. Writer: Geoffrey Ward. Contact: Kate Kelly, [email protected], 703-998-2072. ♦ Producers of The National Parks present Theodore, Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt as they have never been seen before: the most prominent members of the most important family in U.S. history.

Tanaquil LeClercq: Afternoon of a Faun

Producing organizations: Thirteen Productions LLC/American Masters/Augusta Films. Distributor: PBS. Presenting station: WNET. Length: 1 x 90. Status: complete. Major funders: Rosalind P. Walter, Cheryl and Philip Milstein Family, Blanche & Irving Laurie Foundation, Rolf and Elizabeth Rosenthal, Jack Rudin, Vital Projects Fund, André and Elizabeth Kertész Foundation, Michael & Helen Schaffer Foundation. E.p. for American Masters: Susan Lacy. Producer: Nancy Buirski. Contact: Lesley Norman, [email protected], 212-560-2985; Julie Sacks, [email protected], 212-560-8702. ♦ Profiles Tanaquil LeClercq, a ballerina of uncommon style and beauty, full of candor, passion and humor, love object of arguably the two leading 20^th-century choreographers working in America: George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins.

This Place Matters

Producing organization: Cindy Convery. Presenting station: Oregon Public Broadcasting. Length: 6 x 60. Status: R&D. Budget: $3 million. E.p./producer: Cindy Convery. E.p. for OPB: David Davis. Contact: David Davis, [email protected], 503-293-1959. ♦ Series explores places that define Americans as individuals and as a nation, with each hour produced by one of the country’s best documentary filmmakers.

Ultimate Restorations

Producing organization: Kailuna Enterprises LLC. Distributor: APT. Presenting station: KQED, San Francisco. Length: 8 x 60. Status: postproduction. Director: Terry Strauss Contact: Terry Strauss, [email protected], 415-519-8346. ♦ Series documents the rescue of some of American history’s greatest treasures, including the famed World War II Lysander airplane, Sierra #3 locomotive and world’s largest pipe organ.

SOMETIME IN ’14

Limited Partnership

Producing organizations: ITVS, International Documentary Association. Length: 1 x 60. Status: production. Producer: Kirk Marcolina. Director: Thomas Miller. Co-producer: Karen Hori. Associate producer: Rebecca Louisell. Contact: Sreedevi Sripathy, [email protected]. 415-356-8383, ext. 246. ♦ Forty-three–year love story follows Richard Adams and Tony Sullivan, legally married in 1975, who filed first federal lawsuit in U.S. history seeking equal treatment for a same-sex marriage.

WINTER ’15

American Ballet Theatre (w.t.)

Producing organizations: Thirteen Productions, LLC/American Masters/ Steeplechase Films. Presenting station: WNET. Length: 1 x 90. Status: production. E.p.: Susan Lacy. Writer/director: Ric Burns. Contact: Julie Sacks, [email protected], 212-560-8702. ♦ Juxtaposes archival and contemporary elements to chart history, evolution and bracingly improvised modus operandi of American Ballet Theatre from 1940 to the present.

Building Wonders (w.t.)

Producing organizations: WGBH, Nova. Distributor: PBS. Length: 3 x 60. Status: production. Senior e.p.: Paula Apsell. Contact: Lisa Leombruni, [email protected], 617-300-4312. ♦ Mini-series uses hands-on experiments to investigate three engineering mysteries of the ancient world: Turkey’s Hagia Sophia, Jordan’s Lost City of Petra and Rome’s Colosseum.

Farewell, Ferris Wheel

Producing organizations: Kola Pictures, Independent Feature Project, Latino Public Broadcasting. Distributor: PBS. Length: 1 x 60. Status: postproduction. Budget: $282,000. Major funders: Independent Feature Project, ITVS, Tribeca Film Institute, Latino Public Broadcasting.  Co-director/co-editor: Miguel Martinez. Co-director/co-producer/co-editor: Jamie Sisley. Supervising editor: Sean Kelly. Co-producer: Sam Baker. Contact: Luis Ortiz, [email protected], 818-847-9656. ♦ Examines the endangered American carnival and the effects that its decline has on the Mexican town of Tlapacoyan, which provides one-third of U.S. carnival labor.

Making Viva Max

Producing organizations: Three Cord Media, Latino Public Broadcasting. Distributor: PBS. Length: 1 x 60. Status: production. Budget: $363,000. Major funder: Latino Public Broadcasting. Director/writer: Jim Mendiola. Producer: Faith Radle. Contact: Luis Ortiz, [email protected], 818-847-9656. ♦ Covers plight of Hollywood crew in 1969 making Viva Max, a comedy about Mexicans retaking the Alamo, and their fight with Daughters of the Republic of Texas for permission to shoot film on historic site.

No Más Bebés Por Vida (No More Babies for Life)

Producing organizations: Moon Canyon Films, ITVS, Latino Public Broadcasting. Distributor: PBS. Length: 1 x 60. Status: postproduction. Major funders: ITVS, Chicken & Egg Pictures, University of California Faculty Grants, California Council for Humanities, Latino Public Broadcasting. Producer/director: Renee Tajima-Peña. Producer: Virginia Espino. Contact: Luis Ortiz, [email protected], 818-847-9656. ♦ Investigates riveting history of Mexican-American women unwillingly sterilized at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center during late 1960s and 1970s.

How We Got to Now – With Steven Johnson

Producing organization: Nutopia. Distributor: PBS. Presenting station: Oregon Public Broadcasting. Length: 6 x 60. Status: production. Budget: $5 million. Major funder: CPB/PBS Program Challenge Fund. Executives in charge of production: Peter Lovering, Jane Root, Steven Johnson, Michael Jackson. E.p.: Paul Senn. E.p. for OPB: David Davis. Contact: David Davis, [email protected], 503-293-1959. ♦ Series hosted by writer Steven Johnson explores how innovation has shaped our world, from the sinking of the Titanic to the rise of Twitter.

The State of Arizona

Producing organizations: Camino Bluff Productions, Inc., Latino Public Broadcasting. Distributor: PBS. Length: 1 x 90. Status: postproduction. Budget: $866,000. Major funders: ITVS, MacArthur Foundation, Sundance Institute, Latino Public Broadcasting. Producers/directors: Carlos Sandoval, Catherine Tambini. Contact: Luis Ortiz, [email protected], 818-847-9656. ♦ Examines the explosive emotions and tragic toll behind Arizona’s struggle with illegal immigration.

The Third Root: Morocco

Producing organization: Putrabumi Productions, Latino Public Broadcasting. Distributor: PBS. Length: 1 x 60. Status: postproduction. Budget: $266,000. Major funder: Latino Public Broadcasting. Co-producer/co-writer/director/director of photography: Reed Rickert. Co-producer/co-writer/music director/conductor: Camilo Nu. Contact: Luis Ortiz, [email protected], 818-847-9656. ♦ Follows Mexican guitarist Camilo Nu as he discovers rich culture in under-recognized roots of Morocco in Mexican music.

The Valley That Shook the World (w.t.)

Producing organization: Kikim Media. Distributor: PBS. Presenting station: KQED, San Francisco. Length: 3 x 60. Status: production. Major funder: Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Producer/director: Michael Schwarz. E.p.: Kiran Kiki Kapany. Contact: Michael Schwarz, [email protected], 650-617-0550. ♦ Series examines how and why Silicon Valley has maintained its position as a wellspring of innovation for more than a century, revealing secret ingredients that fueled its success.

Walt Disney

Producing organizations: A Sarah Colt Productions film for American Experience/WGBH. Distributor: PBS. Length: 1 x 120. Status: production. Major funders: Liberty Mutual, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, PBS, CPB. E.p.: Mark Samels. Senior producer: Sharon Grimberg, Producer/director: Sarah Colt. Contact: Lauren Prestileo, [email protected].♦ Biopic unravels life and legacy of enigmatic figure whose movies, books, merchandise and parks hold a commanding place in American life.

World Without Bosses

Producing organization: Free To Choose Network. Distributor: NETA. Presenting station: WTTW, Chicago. Length: 1 x 60. Status: fundraising. Budget: $550,000. Producers: Ted Balaker, Courtney Balaker. E.p.’s: Thomas Skinner, Bob Chitister. Contact: Thomas Skinner, [email protected], 231-883-1659. ♦ Explores how revolutionary ideas of “bottom-up” management and application of spontaneous order are successfully applied in two major American companies.

SPRING ’15

CANCER: The Emperor of All Maladies (w.t.)

A production of Florentine Films, Laura Ziskin Pictures and WETA in association with Ark Media. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 3 x 120. Status: production. Major funders: Genentech, Cancer Treatment Centers of America, David H. Koch, and Siemens. Outreach partners: Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C), a program of the Entertainment Industry Foundation; the American Association for Cancer Research; and the American Cancer Society. E.p.: Ken Burns.  E.p.’s for WETA: Dalton Delan and David Thompson.  Senior producer: Barak Goodman. Writers: Barak Goodman, David Blistein, Ken Burns and Geoffrey Ward. Contact: Kate Kelly, [email protected], 703-998-2072. ♦ This “biography” of cancer, based on the Pulitzer Prize–winning book by Dr. Siddhartha Mukherjee, spans cancer’s first documented appearances thousands of years ago through the epic battles in the 20^th century and cutting-edge research of today.

Class of 2025

Producing organization: Oregon Public Broadcasting. Length: 3 x 120. Status: R&D. Producer: David Davis. Series Producer: Irene Taylor Brodsky. Contact: David Davis, [email protected], 503-293-1959. ♦ Follows members of the class of 2025 as they progress from first grade through high school graduation in a low-income neighborhood of Portland, Ore.

Humans: The Miracle Species (w.t.)

Producing organizations: Nova, WGBH. Distributor: PBS. Length: 3 x 60. Status: preproduction. Senior executive producer: Paula Apsell. Contact: Lisa Leombruni, [email protected], 617-300-4312. ♦ Anthropologist Niobe Thompson explores how modern Homo sapiens survived geological catastrophes, climatic change and disasters.

The Ornament of the World

Producing organization: Kikim Media. Distributor: PBS. Length: 1 x 120. Status: postproduction. Major funder: NEH. Producer/director: Michael Schwarz. E.p.: Kiran Kiki Kapany. Author: Maria Rosa Menocal. Contact: Michael Schwarz, [email protected], 650-617-0550. ♦ Chronicles 800-year period in medieval Spain when Muslims, Jews, and Christians created a common culture that often transcended their religious identities.

SUMMER ’15

Animal

Producing organizations: Two Cats Productions. Distributor: PBS. Presenting station: Oregon Public Broadcasting. Length: 1 x 120. Status: production. Budget: $1 million. Major funders: Marc and Diane Spilker Foundation, David and Hermine Heller Foundation. E.p.: Andrew Goldberg. Executive in charge of production: David Davis. Contact: David Davis, [email protected], 503-293-1959; Karla Miele, [email protected], 212-929-2085. ♦ Explores relationship between humans and animals, focusing on ethical and moral implications of human “use” of more than 10 billion animals per year in the U.S.

Poland Rising

Producing organization: Free To Choose Network. Distributor: NETA. Presenting station: WTTW, Chicago. Length: 1 x 60. Status: R&D. Budget: $700,000. Producers: James Tusty, Maureen Tusty. E.p.’s: Thomas Skinner, Bob Chitester. Contact: Thomas Skinner, [email protected], 231-883-1659. ♦ Documents the rise of Poland from the ashes of World War II and its Communist era as it developed into one of Eastern Europe’s economic powerhouses.

Rebels for Freedom: Lives of the Signers

Producing organization: Free To Choose Network. Distributor: PBS. Presenting station: WTTW, Chicago. Length: 1 x 90. Status: fundraising. Budget: $1.2 million. Producer: David de Vries. E.p.’s: Thomas Skinner, Bob Chitester. Contact: Thomas Skinner, [email protected], 231-883-1659. ♦ Documents fates of 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence, some of whom were hunted down as traitors by the British Crown.

FALL ’15

Jackie Robinson (w.t.)

A co-production of Florentine Films and WETA. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 2 x 120. Status: production. Major funders: Bank of America, Arthur Vining Davis Foundations, Better Angels Society, CPB, PBS. Executive-in-charge for WETA: Dalton Delan. Project director: David Thompson. Producers/directors: Ken Burns, David McMahon, Sarah Burns. Writer: David McMahon. Contact: Kate Kelly, [email protected], 703-998-2072. ♦ Chronicles the life and times of Jack Roosevelt Robinson, who in 1947 became the first African American to play in Major League Baseball.

Jacques Pepin Heart and Soul

Producing organizations: KQED, San Francisco. Distributor: APT. Length: 26 x 30.  Status: fundraising. Major funder: KitchenAid. E.p.: Michael Isip. Series producer: Tina Salter. Contact: Tina Salter, [email protected]. ♦ In the celebrity chef and cookbook author’s last series — to be taped in fall 2014 — Pepin will continue to teach solid technique and delicious recipes as he visits local haunts with family and friends and reflects on his long life in the kitchen.

Making North America (w.t.)

Producing organizations: WGBH, Nova. Distributor: PBS. Length: 3 x 60. Status: preproduction. Senior e.p.: Paula Apsell. Contact: Lisa Leombruni, [email protected], 617-300-4312. ♦ Mini-series presents sweeping biography of our continent, spanning the close to 4 billion years of geological forces that gave rise to America’s diverse landscapes.

Money and Morality

Producing organization: Free To Choose Network. Distributor: NETA. Presenting station: WTTW, Chicago. Length: 1 x 60. Status: R&D. Budget: $750,000. Producers: Jim Tusty, Maureen Tusty. E.p.’s.: Thomas Skinner, Bob Chitester. Contact: Thomas Skinner, [email protected], 231-883-1659. ♦ Big thinkers offer evidence that the accumulation of wealth does not necessarily lead to corruption and cronyism.

Unintended Consequences: Evils of the Welfare System

Producing organizations: Free To Choose Network. Distributor: NETA. Presenting station: WTTW, Chicago. Length: 1 x 60. Status: R&D. Budget: $700,000. E.p.’s: Thomas Skinner and Bob Chitester. Contact: Thomas Skinner, [email protected], 231-883-1659. ♦ Program explores how, despite its good intentions, the welfare state has created a welfare ideology.

 SOMETIME IN ’15

Almost There

Producing organization: ITVS. Length: 1 x 60. Status: production. Producers/directors: Dan Rybicky, Aaron Wickenden. Contact: Sreedevi Sripathy, [email protected]. 415-356-8383, ext. 246. ♦ Portrait of outsider artist Peter Anton, 82, who has obsessively chronicled his life into a massive illustrated autobiography and will let nothing — not poverty, isolation or crippling disabilities — stop him from seeing it published.

Deej

Producing organization: ITVS. Length: 1 x 60. Status: production. Producer/director: Robert Rooy. Producer/writer: David James Savarese. Contact: Sreedevi Sripathy, [email protected]. 415-356-8383, ext. 246. ♦ Chronicles life of DJ “Deej” Savarese, a gifted young writer and advocate for nonspeaking autistics.

Sacred

Producing organization: WLIW21, Long Island, N.Y. Presenting station: WNET. Length: 1 x 90.  Status: production. E.p.’s: Stephen Segaller, William Baker, Julie Anderson. Contact: Rachel Hartman, [email protected], 212-560-3059. ♦ Takes viewers on journey through 365 days of religious life on earth, chronicling the celebration of major religious holidays, lesser-known holy days and daily rituals.

SPRING ’16

Four Fish

Producing organization: Kikim Media. Distributor: PBS. Length: 1 x 120. Status: fundraising. Producer/director: Michael Schwarz. E.p.: Kiran Kiki Kapany. Contact: Michael Schwarz, [email protected], 650-617-0550. ♦ Adaptation of fisherman Paul Greenberg’s probing book examines global fisheries through the lens of our historical relationship with four fish: cod, bass, salmon and tuna.

 FALL ’16

La Batalla

Producing organization: Souvenir Pictures. Distributor: PBS. Presenting station: Oregon Public Broadcasting. Length: 1 x 60. Status: production. Budget: $800,000. Major funders: CPB Diversity Fund, Latino Public Broadcasting Consortium. E.p./producer: Myléne Moreno. E.p. for OPB: David Davis. Contact: Luis Ortiz, [email protected], 818-847-9656; David Davis, [email protected], 503-293-1959. ♦ Chronicles Latino experience during Vietnam War, in combat and at home.

Vietnam: The War and the War Against the War (w.t.)

A co-production of Florentine Films and WETA. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 7 x 120. Status: production, postproduction. Major funders: Bank of America, Arthur Vining Davis Foundations, Park Foundations, Better Angels Society, CPB, PBS. Executive-in-charge for WETA: Dalton Delan. Project director: David Thompson. Producers/directors: Ken Burns, Lynn Novick. Writer: Geoffrey Ward. Contact: Kate Kelly, [email protected], 703-998-2072. ♦ Producers of The War examine the history and meaning of the Vietnam War by exploring the military, political, cultural, social and human dimensions of “the war of lost illusions.”

2018 AND BEYOND

Country Music (w.t.)

A co-production of Florentine Films and WETA. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 7 x 120. Status: production. Major funders: Bank of America, Arthur Vining Davis Foundations, Annenberg Foundation, Better Angels Society, CPB, PBS. Executive-in-charge for WETA: Dalton Delan. Project director: David Thompson. Producers/directors: Ken Burns, Dayton Duncan. Writer: Dayton Duncan. Contact: Kate Kelly, [email protected], 703-998-2072. ♦ From rural honky-tonks to Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry, this series chronicles the evolution of country music, a uniquely American art form, over the course of a century.

Ernest Hemingway (w.t.)

A co-production of Florentine Films and WETA. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 1 x 120. Status: preproduction. Major funders: Bank of America, Arthur Vining Davis Foundations, Annenberg Foundation, Better Angels Society, CPB, PBS. Executive-in-charge for WETA: Dalton Delan. Project director: David Thompson. Producers/directors: Ken Burns, Lynn Novick. Contact: Kate Kelly, [email protected], 703-998-2072. ♦ A two-part biographical film examining the life and work of one of America’s greatest writers, a man who changed the course of literature.

TO BE DETERMINED

Rochester–Tailor Made: The History of Rochester’s Garment Industry (w.t.)

Producing organization: WXXI, Rochester, N.Y. Distributor: APT. Length: 1 x 60. Status: R&D. E.p.: Todd McCammon. Contact: Kristin Tutino, [email protected], 585-258-0253; Todd McCammon, [email protected], 585-258-0241. ♦ Showcases the rich history of the clothing industry in Rochester, N.Y., from Michaels-Stern and Co. to Hickey Freeman, which is still one of the country’s oldest and most prestigious clothiers.