Some 140 projects are listed in Current’s annual Pipeline survey, including its one-time addendum in December. Among the programs are noninstructional public TV projects one hour or longer in various stages of planning, fundraising and production that will debut nationally in January 2010 and beyond. For space reasons we excluded sequels and episodes of ongoing series that are 60 minutes or shorter.
Winter ’11
After the Hunt with Chef John Folse
Producing organization: Louisiana Public Broadcasting. Distributor: APT. Episodes: 26 x 30 (HD). Status: postproduction. Major funders: Baton Rouge Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism. E.p.: Clay Fourrier. Senior producer: Gary Allen. Host: John Folse. Contact: Bob Neese, bneese ![[ aht ]](https://i0.wp.com/current.org/pipeline/at12.gif?resize=11%2C12&ssl=1){kind=small}
lpb.org, 800-272-8161, ext. 4274. Chef John Folse heads to the woods and swamps of Louisiana, and to the studio, to prepare Cajun and Creole wild game recipes.
The Artist Toolbox
Producing organization: Moga | Jacobsen Productions. Presenting station: WTTW National Productions, Chicago. Distributor: APT. Episodes: 13 x 30 (HD). Status: postproduction. E.p.: Greg Moga. Producer: John Jacobsen. Host: John Jacobsen. Associate producer: Chris Oliver. Contact: Christina Pagones, cpagones wttw.com, 773-509-5638. Showcases leading visual and performing artists in America — talking about, thrashing out, recounting in one-on-one personal terms the challenges, passions and bliss involved in creating art. Web: www.theartisttoolbox.com.
Brain Fitness Peak Performance
Producing organization: Santa Fe Productions Inc. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 1 x 90 (HD). Status: postproduction. Budget: $200,000. Major funder: PBS. E.p.: Anthony Tiano. Producer: Lennlee Keep. Director: Eli Brown. Contact: Anthony Tiano, tony santafeproductions.com, 505-899-9655. Examines how our brains can be trained to achieve our best personal performance. Profiles musicians, baseball players, simultaneous translators and others who have built exceptional skills through a rigorous and consistent training of their brains.
Dinosaur Wars
Producing organization: WGBH/American Experience. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 1 x 60 (HD). Status: postproduction. Major funders: Liberty Mutual, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, PBS, CPB. E.p.: Mark Samels. Contact: Nicole Breaux, Nicole_Breaux wgbh.org, 617-300-2413.
Details the intense rivalry between Edward Drinker Cope and Othniel Charles Marsh, whose fossil discoveries in the American West propelled American science into the forefront of paleontology.
Downton Abbey
Producing organizations: Carnival Films, London, and WGBH/Masterpiece. Presented by WGBH/Masterpiece Classic. Episodes: 4 x 90 (HD). Status: postproduction. Executive producer for Masterpiece: Rebecca Eaton. Writer: Julian Fellowes. Actors: Michelle Dockery, Dan Stevens, Maggie Smith, Elizabeth McGovern and more. Host: Laura Linney. Contact: Steven Ashley, steven_ashley wgbh.org. Script by Oscar-winner Julian Fellowes (Gosford Park) depicts lives of the noble Crawley family and their staff in their Edwardian country house, 1912.
Eric Clapton Crossroads Guitar Festival 3 (w.t.)
Producing organization: Rhino Entertainment Company. Acquired by Thirteen in association with WNET.org for presentation on Great Performances. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 1 x 120 (HD). Status: postproduction. Major funders: PBS, NEA. Series producer: David Horn. Contact: Stephen Segaller, segaller wnet.org, 212-560-8282.
Hosted by Bill Murray, third gathering of “guitar gods” — Clapton, Jeff Beck, Robert Cray, Sheryl Crow, Vince Gill, Buddy Guy, B.B. King, Johnny Lang, John Mayer, Steve Winwood and Ron Wood — features blues, bluegrass, country, rhythm and blues.
Getting Back to Abnormal
Producing organization: Center for New American Media. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 1 x 90 (HD). Status: Production. Budget: $350,000. Major funders: ITVS, Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities, NEA. Producers: Louis Alvarez, Andrew Kolker, Paul Stekler, Peter Odabashian. Contact: Andrew Kolker, mail cnam.com. Inside look at New Orleans’ attempt to remake itself after Katrina, as told by a cast of locals with warmth, pathos and a lot of humor. Outreach includes digital game where players are city planners attempting to rebuild city.
Great American Seafood Cookoff 2010
Producing organization: Louisiana Public Broadcasting. Distributor: APT. Episodes: 1 x 30 (HD). Status: postproduction. Budget: $32,000. Major funders: Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. E.p.: Clay Fourrier. Senior producer: Gary Allen. Hosts: John Folse, Jeff Corwin. Contact: Bob Neese, bneese lpb.org, 800-272-8161, ext. 4274. Chefs from 15 states compete to see who has the best seafood recipe using seafood indigenous to their states.
Great Performances at The Met
Producing organization: The Metropolitan Opera. Acquired by Thirteen in association with WNET.org for Great Performances. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 7 x various lengths (HD). Status: preproduction. Major funders: PBS, NEA. Series producer: David Horn. Contact: Stephen Segaller, segaller wnet.org, 212-560-8282. The Metropolitan Opera season features international stars performing Nixon in China, Iphigenie en Turide, Lucia di Lammermoor.
The Greely Expedition
Producing organization: WGBH/American Experience. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 1 x 60 (HD). Status: production. Major funders: Liberty Mutual, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, PBS, CPB. E.p.: Mark Samels. Producer: Rob Rapley. Contact: Nicole Breaux, Nicole_Breaux wgbh.org, 617-300-2413. </p> <p>Tells harrowing tale of 1881 expedition to the high Arctic led by U.S. Army Lt. Adolphus Greely as part of the first International Polar Year.
Jeff Bridges: The Dude Abides (w.t.)
Producing organization: WNET/American Masters. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 1 x 90 (HD). Status: production. Major funders: PBS, NEA. Writer/director: Gail Levin. Producers: Neil Koenigsberg, Nikki Silver, Orly Weissman. E.p.: Susan Lacy. Contact: Susan Lacy, lacy thirteen.org. Bio of 2010 Best Actor Oscar-winner (Crazy Heart), whose first big show was The Last Picture Show, almost 40 years ago, and who will appear in a True Grit remake in January.
Kickstart Your Health with Dr. Neal Barnard
Producing organization: Detroit Public Television. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 1 x 60 (HD). Status: Fundraising, preproduction. Major funder: PBS. Host: Dr. Neal Barnard. E.p.: Jamie Westrick. Producer: Josette Marano. Contact: Lauren Smith, lsmith dptv.org, 248-305-3791. Pledge special reveals cutting-edge research on what it really takes to lose weight and regain optimal health, with emphasis on foods that can control appetites, burn calories and protect against certain diseases.
Maharaja of the Road
Producing organization: New Eye Media. Distributor: NETA. Episodes: 1 x 60 (HD). Status: postproduction. E.p.: Sean Newey. Contact: Sean Newey, sean neweye.com, 435-901-2301. Multimillionaire Bassam Abdallah takes his vintage collection of Mustangs and world’s top car designers on challenging adventure along famous Road of the Maharajahs, Bombay to Jodhpur.
Pioneers of Television, Season Two
Producing organization: Boettcher/Trinklein Television. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 4 x 60 (HD). Status: postproduction. Executive producers: Steve Boettcher, Mike Trinklein. Contact: Steve Boettcher, steve btmedia.us, 262-238-4336. Nearly 100 stars from TV’s formative years tell their stories in four episodes: Science Fiction, Westerns, Crime Dramas and Local Kids’ TV.
Robert E. Lee
Producing organization: A HiddenHill Productions film for WGBH/American Experience. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 1 x 90 (HD). Status: R&D. Major funders: Liberty Mutual, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, PBS, CPB, NEA. E.p.: Mark Samels. Series producer: Sharon Grimberg. Producer: Mark Zwonitzer. Contact: Nicole Breaux, Nicole_Breaux wgbh.org, 617-300-2413. Examines life of the preeminent Civil War general whose successes made him the scourge of the Union and hero of the Confederacy.
Roger Ebert Presents At the Movies
Producing organization: Ebert Productions. Presenting station: WTTW National Productions. Distributor: APT. Episodes: 52 x 30 (HD). Status: preproduction. Hosts: Christy Lemire, Elvis Mitchell. Guest critics: Kim Morgan. Omar Moore. Executive producers: Roger Ebert, Chaz Ebert. Contact: Frances J. Harth, fharth wttw.com. Pulitzer Prize–winning film critic Ebert comes home to public television with new version of Sneak Previews, once the highest-rated weekly entertainment show in public TV history. Web: www.rogerebertpresents.com.
The Skin Type Solutions with Leslie Baumann, M.D.
Producing organization and distributor: Santa Fe Productions Inc. Episodes: 1 x 90 (HD). Status: postproduction. Budget: $250,000. Major funder: Johnson & Johnson. E.p.: Anthony Tiano. Producer: Lennlee Keep. Director: Eli Brown. Contact: Anthony Tiano, tony santafeproductions.com, 505-899-9655. Details what skin-treatment solutions will and won’t work with each of 16 different skin types. Offers extensive product guide to name-brand cleansers, moisturizers, toners, sun blocks and foundations. Provides tips on preventing skin aging and “problem” skin.
The Triangle Fire
Producing organization: WGBH/American Experience. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 1 x 60 (HD). Status: postproduction. Major funders: Liberty Mutual, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, PBS, CPB. E.p.: Mark Samels. Producer: Jamila Wignot. Contact: Susan Bellows, Susan_Bellows wgbh.org. Recounts dramatic story of New York’s Triangle clothing factory fire, one of the deadliest industrial disasters in U.S. history.
Troubadours: James Taylor and Carole King (w.t.)
Producing organizations: StarCon LLC in association with WNET/American Masters. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 1 x 90 (HD). Status: production. Major funders: Concord Music Group, PBS, NEA. Producer: Eddie Schmidt. Writer/director: Morgan Neville. Executive producers: Sam Feldman, Michael Gorfaine, Lorna Guess. Executive producer for American Masters: Susan Lacy. Contact: Susan Lacy, lacy thirteen.org. Following the turbulent 1960s, a new style of song and songwriter arose, sharing vulnerable introspection, raw emotion and intimate thoughts and backed by a lone acoustic guitar or simple piano. Can air as pledge special.
Words on the Wind
Producing organization: Morning Light Films. Presenting station: WXXI, Rochester, N.Y. Distributor: APT. Episodes: 2 x 30 (SD 4:3). Status: postproduction. E.p.: Lou Angora. Contact: Lou Angora, langora morninglightfilms.com, 585-377-7020. Blends contemporary Native American film, music, sounds of the natural world and insights from Native writers.
Spring ’11
Airplay: The Rise and Fall of Rock Radio
Producing organization: Travisty Productions. Presenting station: Maryland Public Television. Distributor: APT. Episodes: 1 x 90 (HD). Status: postproduction. Executive producers/directors/writers: Chris Fox Gilson, Carolyn Travis. Contact: Phillip Guthrie, pguthrie mpt.org, 410-581-4187. Follows amazing 50-year struggle for the soul of music radio, as told by deejays and artists who rose to stardom.
BackStage Pass
Producing organization: WKAR-TV, East Lansing, Mich. Distributor: NETA. Episodes: 10 x 60, 2 x 30 (SD 4:3). Status: completed. Budget: $25,000. E.p.: Timothy W. Zeko. Contact: Jeanie Croope, Jeanie wkar.org, 517-432-3120. Mixes intimate performances, personal interviews and behind-the-scenes footage of Michigan’s most talented musicians.
Bears of the Last Frontier
Producing organizations: National Geographic Channel International and Thirteen in association with WNET.org. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 3 x 60 (HD). Status: production. Major funder: PBS. E.p.: Fred Kaufman. Contact: Stephen Segaller, segaller wnet.org, 212-560-8282. Follows adventurer/bear biologist Chris Morgan’s punishing 2,000-mile motorcycle odyssey into the Alaskan wilds to explore bears’ resiliency and adaptability in five ecosystems: coastal, urban, mountain, tundra and pack ice.
Billy Joel: Last Play at Shea — The Concert (w.t.)
Producing organizations: Maritime Music and Thirteen in association with WNET.org. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 1 x 90 (HD). Status: postproduction. Major funders: PBS, NEA. Series producer: David Horn. Contact: Stephen Segaller, segaller wnet.org, 212-560-8282. Captures backstage and on-stage excitement of two of the singer/pianist’s concerts, including a duet with Paul McCartney at Shea Stadium in 2008.
Black in Latin America (w.t.)
Producing organizations: Wall to Wall Television, Inkwell Films and WNET. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 4 x 60 (HD). Status: production. Major funders: CPB, PBS/CPB Challenge Fund, Ford Foundation. Series producers: Stephen Segaller, William Grant. Host: Henry Louis Gates. Contact: Stephen Segaller, segaller wnet.org, 212-560-8282. Third part of Henry Louis Gates’ trilogy about connection between Africa and the New World explains how Africa and Europe combined to create the vibrant cultures of Latin and South America.
Carnegie Hall at 120: An Anniversary Celebration (w.t.)
Producing organizations: Carnegie Hall and WNET/Great Performances. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 1 x 90 or 120 (HD). Status: preproduction. Major funders: PBS, NEA. Series producer: David Horn. Contact: Stephen Segaller, segaller wnet.org, 212-560-8282. On May 5, 2011, Carnegie Hall will celebrate its 120th anniversary with gala concert by New York Philharmonic conducted by Alan Gilbert, featuring performances by Gil Shaham (violin), Yo-Yo Ma (cello), Emanuel Ax (piano) and Audra McDonald (vocal).
Discover Beethoven’s Fifth
Producing organization: The Discovery Orchestra Inc. Presenter/distributor: APT. Episodes: 1 x 60 (HD). Status: postproduction. Executive producer/director: Jeff Friedman. Artistic director: George Marriner Maull. Contact: Tom Davison, Tom_Davison APTonline.org, 617-338-4455. Artistic Director George Marriner Maull and the New Jersey-based Discovery Orchestra take viewers on musical journey exploring the first movement of Beethoven’s masterpiece.
Field Trip!
Producing organization: KRWG-TV, Las Cruces, N.M. Episodes: 13 x 30 (HD). Status: postproduction. Budget: $250,000. Major funders: New Mexico State University Cooperative Extension Service, New Mexico Department of Agriculture. Executive producers: Glen Cerny, Adrian Velarde. Contact: Glen Cerny, gcerny nmsu.edu, 575-646-2222. Takes entertaining look at agricultural production from seed to consumer, answering the question: “How did that get on the shelf?”
Forever Plaid
Producing organization: Forever Plaid LLC. Presenter/distributor: APT. Episodes: 1 x 60, 1 x 90 (HD). Status: postproduction. Creator/writer/director: Stuart Ross. Narrator: David Hyde Pierce. Musical director: David Snyder. Producer: Benni Korzen. E.p.: Ermanno Barone. Contact: Tom Davison, Tom_Davison APTonline.org, 617-338-4455. Pledge specials recorded in 2009 capture popular and critically acclaimed off-Broadway musical that pays affectionate homage to the close-harmony guy groups of the 1950s.
God Willing
Producing organization: About Time Productions. Presenting organizations: Latino Public Broadcasting, KNME in Albuquerque, N.M., ITVS. Distributor: NETA. Episodes: 1 x 60 (HD). Status: postproduction. Budget: $267,000. Major funders: Latino Public Broadcasting, ITVS. Director/producer: Evangeline Griego. Contact: Luis Ortiz, luis.ortiz lpbp.org, 818-847-9656. Follows the parallel stories of a group of parents struggling to extricate their grown children from a Bible-based nomadic cult.
The Hitman Returns: David Foster & Friends (w.t.)
Producing organizations: Warner Brothers Records and WNET/Great Performances. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 1 x 90 (HD). Status: preproduction. Major funders: PBS, NEA. Series producer: David Horn. Contact: Stephen Segaller, segaller wnet.org, 212-560-8282. Follow-up concert by the pop songwriter, arranger and record producer features performances by Michael Bolton, Charice, Natalie Cole, Lara Fabian, Chaka Khan, Kenny Loggins, Seal, Ruben Studdard and Donna Summer.
Jews and Baseball: An American Love Story
Producing organizations: Clear Lake Historical Productions and WETA, Washington, D.C. Distributor: APT. Episodes: 1 x 90 (HD). Status: postproduction. Executive producers for WETA: Dalton Delan, Karen Kenton. Director: Peter Miller. Writer: Ira Berkow. Contact: Kate Kelly, kkelly weta.org. Celebrates contributions of Jewish ballplayers to the national pastime and explores special meaning baseball has held for American Jews.
John Muir in the New World
Producing organizations: Global Village Media Inc. and WNET/American Masters. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 1 x 90 (HD). Status: postproduction. E.p.: Susan Lacy. Director: Catherine Tatge. Producer: Dominique Lasseur. Contact: Susan Lacy, lacy thirteen.org. Sierra Club’s Scottish-born founder influenced modern environmentalism and introduced generations to the majesty of the American landscape. Possible pledge special.
The Stonewall Uprising
Producing organization: Q-Ball Productions for WGBH/American Experience. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 1 x 90 (HD). Status: production. Major funders: Liberty Mutual, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, PBS, CPB. E.p.: Mark Samels. Producers: Kate Davis, David Heilbroner. Contact: Nicole Breaux, Nicole_Breaux wgbh.org, 617-300-2413. Eyewitness accounts and rare archival material bring to life the 1969 riots at New York City’s Stonewall Inn, pivotal event in gay civil rights movement.
The Storm That Swept Mexico
Producing organization: Paradigm Productions. Presenting organizations: Latino Public Broadcasting, ITVS. Episodes: 2 x 60 (HD). Status: postproduction. Budget: $1.2 million. Major funders: Latino Public Broadcasting, NEH, ITVS, PBS. Producer/director: Raymond Telles. Co-producer/writer/archivist: Kenn Rabin. Contact: Luis Ortiz, luis.ortiz lpbp.org, 818-847-9656. Tells story of the Mexican Revolution of 1910, the first major political and social revolution of the 20th century.
Suze Orman’s Money Class
Producing organization: tpt National Productions, Twin Cities Public Television. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 1 x 60 (HD). Status: preproduction. Major funder: PBS. E.p.: Gerry Richman. Contact: Elaine Powell, epowell tpt.org. Pledge special offers Suze’s expert advice on what people need to do in light of new economic conditions.
Upstairs Downstairs
Producing organizations: BBC Wales and WGBH/Masterpiece for Masterpiece Classics. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 3 x 60 (HD). Status: production. E.p. for Masterpiece: Rebecca Eaton. Writer: Heidi Thomas. Host: Laura Linney. Contact: Steven Ashley, Ashley_ashley wgbh.org. Jean Marsh reprises Emmy-winning role as Rose the parlor maid in sequel of series set at 165 Eaton Place in London, now between 1936 and WWII.
Women, War and Peace
Producing organizations: Thirteen and Fork Films in association with WNET.org. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 4 x 60, 1 x 90 (HD). Status: production/postproduction. Executive producers: Stephen Segaller, Pam Hogan. Contact: Stephen Segaller, segaller wnet.org, 212-560-8282. </p> <p>Examines how women suffer unprecedented casualties in today’s wars while they emerge as leaders in brokering lasting peace and forging new international laws governing conflict.
Summer ’11
Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot
Producing organizations: ITV Studios and WGBH/Masterpiece in association with Agatha Christie Ltd. for Masterpiece Mystery. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 3 x 90 (HD). Status: postproduction. Executive producer for Masterpiece: Rebecca Eaton. Contact: Steven Ashley, steven_ashley wgbh.org. David Suchet (The Way We Live Now) returns as suave Belgian super-sleuth Hercule Poirot in three new mysteries based on Agatha Christie novels.
Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple
Producing organizations: ITV Studios and WGBH/ Masterpiece in association with Agatha Christie Ltd. for Masterpiece Mystery. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 1 x 90 (HD). Status: postproduction. Executive producer for Masterpiece: Rebecca Eaton. Contact: Steven Ashley, steven_ashley wgbh.org. Acclaimed British actress Julia McKenzie (Cranford) stars as the beloved spinster sleuth Miss Marple in a new episode of Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple series.
Daniel O’Donnell Live from Nashville
Producing organizations: Detroit Public Television and Brockwell Ltd. Episodes: 1 x 60, 1 x 80 (HD). Status: fundraising, preproduction. Host: Daniel O’Donnell. Executive producers: Sean Reilly, Diane Bliss, Jamie Westrick. Producer: Josette Marano. Director: Ian McGarry. Contact: Lauren Smith, lsmith dptv.org, 248-305-3791. Pledge specials feature a compilation of country, gospel and Irish favorites, with (tentatively booked) Charlie Pride, Crystal Gayle, Irish vocalist Mary Duff and the Daniel O’Donnell Band.
Enemies of the People
Producing organizations: Old Street Films and Thet Sambath in association with American Documentary/POV. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 1 x 90 (HD). Status: postproduction. Major funders: EC Media Programme, Sundance Documentary Film Program, Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund, Screen South and Rife Lottery Funding, CBA-DFID Broadcast Media Scheme. Contact: Chris White, cwhite pov.org. Although the Khmer Rouge ran one of the 20th century’s most brutal regimes, the Killing Fields of Cambodia remain virtually unexplained. Now the men and women who perpetrated the massacres break a 30-year silence.
Granito
Producing organization: Skylight Pictures. Presenting organization: Latino Public Broadcasting. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 1 x 60 (HD). Status: postproduction. Budget: $487,000. Major funders: Latino Public Broadcasting, Guggenheim Foundation. Producer: Paco de Onís. Director: Pamela Yates. Contact: Luis Ortiz, luis.ortiz lpbp.org, 818-847-9656. Story of destinies joined by Guatemala’s past, and how a documentary film, intertwined with a nation’s turbulent history, emerged as an active player in the present.
Innovation You with Dr. Jeff DeGraff
Producing organization: Detroit Public Television. Episodes: 1 x 60 (HD). Status: Fundraising, preproduction. Host: Jeff DeGraff, Ph.D. E.p.: Jamie Westrick. Producer: Josette Marano. Contact: Lauren Smith, lsmith dptv.org, 248-305-3791. In pledge special, innovation specialist Jeff DeGraff shows how individuals can grow and prosper by applying many of the same groundbreaking principles and methods used in highly successful companies.
John Wooden: Values, Victory and Peace of Mind
Producing organization: Santa Fe Productions Inc. Episodes: 1 x 90 (HD). Status: postproduction. Budget: $200,000. Major funders: PBS, The Williams Companies, American Funds. Executive producers: Steve Jamison, Anthony Tiano. Producers: Jon Hock, Lennlee Keep. Director: Eli Brown. Contact: Anthony Tiano, tony santafeproductions.com, 505-899-9655. In pledge special taped in front of audience, legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden shares the origins, logic and evolution of his “Pyramid of Success.” Wooden died in June during his 100th year.
Keeping Score: Gustav Mahler
Producing organization: San Francisco Symphony. Presenting station: KQED, San Francisco. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 2 x 60 (documentaries), 2 x 60 (concerts) (HD). Status: postproduction. Budget: $2.5 million. Major funders: Evelyn and Walter Haas Jr. Fund, Nan Tucker McEvoy, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Executive producers: John Kieser, Michael Tilson Thomas. Host: Michael Tilson Thomas. Producer/directors: David Kennard, Joan Saffa. Director (performance programs): Gary Halvorson. Contact: Suzanne Romaine, Sromaine kqed.org, 415-553-2366. Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony explore triumphs and tragedies that shaped Mahler’s life and music. Web: www.keepingscore.org.
My Perestroika
Producing organization: Red Square Productions, Bungalow Town Productions and ITVS International, in association with YLE Jenny Westergård and American Documentary/POV. Presented by POV. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 1 x 90 (HD). Status: postproduction. Major funders: Ford Foundation, ITVS International, Sundance Documentary Fund, POV/American Documentary, Joukowsky Family Foundation, Patricia M. Cloherty, Erika & Lawrence Hessman, Barry Hershey, Marc and Rachel Polonsky. Director/cinematographer: Robin Hessman. Producers: Robin Hessman, Rachel Wexler. Contact: Chris White, cwhite pov.org. Follows five ordinary Russians living through an extraordinary transition from their sheltered Soviet childhood to the collapse of the Soviet Union during their teenage years and today’s landscape of post-Soviet Russia.
Out in America (w.t.)
Producing organization: Two Cats Productions. Presenting station: Oregon Public Broadcasting. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 1 x 90 (HD). Status: postproduction. Budget: $440,000. Major funders: PBS, Goldman Sachs. Director/E.p.: Andrew Goldberg. Executive in charge for OPB: David Davis. Contact: David Davis, Ddavis opb.org, 503-293-1959. Crosses regional, class, ethnic and gender lines with first-person narratives exploring what it means to be LGBT — lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender — in the United States today.
Placido Domingo: My Favorite Roles (w.t.)
Producing organization: Iambic Media Inc. Acquired by Thirteen in association with WNET.org for Great Performances. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 1 x 90 (HD). Status: postproduction. Major funders: PBS, NEA. Series producer: David Horn. Contact: Stephen Segaller, segaller wnet.org, 212-560-8282. In this performance documentary, Domingo looks back at his favorite roles in opera houses around the world.
Signs of the Time
Producing organization: Crystal Pix. Presenting station: WXXI, Rochester, N.Y. Episodes: 1 x 60 (HD). Status: postproduction. Executive producers: Ray Manard, Caroline Manard. Contact: Jill Kemp, jkemp wxxi.org. Explores the origins of baseball’s hand signals through interviews with baseball Hall of Famers, major league umpires and historians, with full-scale reenactments of early baseball. Narrator: Richard Dreyfuss. Web: www.
signsofthetimemovie.com.
Treasure Trackers
Producing organization and distributor: Santa Fe Productions Inc. Episodes: 1 x 90 (HD). Status: postproduction. Budget: $200,000. Major funders: PBS, The Williams Companies, American Funds. E.p.: Anthony Tiano. Producer: Lennlee Keep. Director: Eli Brown. Contact: Anthony Tiano,tony santafeproductions.com. Pledge special explores adventure, journey and discovery of geocaching, a game in which players roam the countryside using GPS devices to find hidden “geocaches.”
Vienna Philharmonic Summer Night Concert 2011 (w.t.)
Producing organization: Wiener Philharmonicer. Acquired by Thirteen in association with WNET.org for Great Performances. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 1 x 90 (HD). Status: preproduction. Major funders: PBS, NEA. Series producer: David Horn. Contact: Stephen Segaller, segaller wnet.org, 212-560-8282. n Led by guest conductor Valery Gergiev, the renowned Vienna Philharmonic presents an open-air concert in gardens of Austria’s Schönbrunn Palace.
You Unstuck: Mastering the New Rules of Risk-taking in Work and Life
Producing organization and distributor: Santa Fe Productions Inc. Episodes: 1 x 90 (HD). Status: postproduction. Budget: $200,000. Major funders: PBS, The Williams Companies, American Funds. Executive producers: Anthony Tiano, Libby Gill. Producer: Lennlee Keep, Mickey Pierce. Director: Eli Brown. Contact: Anthony Tiano, tony santafeproductions.com. In pledge special, executive coach, motivational speaker and best-selling author Libby Gill gives viewers the hope and the tools to overcome their sticking points and get on track to the lives they want.
Zen
Producing organization: Left Bank Pictures. Co-producers: WGBH/Masterpiece, Ingenious, BBC, Mediaset and ZDF in association with Lipsync Productions and BBC Worldwide. Presented by Masterpiece Mystery. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 3 x 90 (HD). Status: postproduction. Executive producer for Masterpiece: Rebecca Eaton. Contact: Steven Ashley, steven_ashley wgbh.org. Rufus Sewell (The Eleventh Hour, Middlemarch, John Adams) stars as Italian detective Aurelio Zen. Based on popular mysteries by the late Michael Dibdin.
Fall ’11
America’s Veterans: A Musical Tribute 2011
Producing organization: Maryland Public Television. Distributor: APT. Episodes: 1 x 60 (HD). Status: preproduction. Major funder: Booz Allen Hamilton. E.p.: Kenneth Day. Contact: Philip Guthrie, pguthrie mpt.org, 410-581-4187. n Star-studded musical tribute honors our bravest heroes by celebrating the significant contributions made by the men and women serving in the U.S. military.
America’s Wine: The Legacy of Prohibition
Producing organization: The Bancroft Library for the Regents of the University of California. Presenting station: KQED, San Francisco. Episodes: 1 x 60 (SD 16:9). Status: postproduction. Director/producer/writer: Carla D. Worfolk. Producer/writer: Kari Birdseye. Narrator/writer: Larry Woods. Contact: Suzanne Romaine, sromaine kqed.org, 415-553-2366. Documents the rebuilding of the American wine industry, which was decimated by Prohibition (1920–1933) and the enduring impact of Prohibition on American life since its repeal.
America in Prime Time
Producing organizations: The Documentary Group and WETA in association with the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 4 x 60 (HD). Status: postproduction. Major funder: CPB Program Challenge Fund. Executive producer for The Documentary Group: Tom Yellin. Executive producers for WETA: Dalton Delan, David S. Thompson. Producer/director: Lloyd Kramer. Contact: Kate Kelly, kkelly weta.org. Chronicles history of television from its inception to today’s multichannel universe.
America on Stage (w.t.)
Producing organizations: Robert Levi Films and WETA Washington, D.C. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 1 x 60 (HD). Status: fundraising. Major funder: PBS. Executive-in-charge for WETA: Dalton Delan. Project director: David S. Thompson. Producer/director: Robert Levi. Contact: Kate Kelly, kkelly weta.org. Follows development of new plays funded by NEA in workshops, rehearsals and performances across the country, culminating in staged readings at Washington D.C.’s Arena Stage.
The American Revolution
Producing organization: Lichtenstein Creative Media. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 1 x 83 (HD). Status: production. Budget: $800,000. Major funders: Mass Humanities, Dan Beach, Mitchell Kertzman, SmartOps. Producer/director: Bill Lichtenstein. Director of photography: Boyd Estus. Archivist/associate producer: David Bieber. Associate producer: Jay Rooney. Contact: Bill Lichtenstein, Bill LCMedia.com, 617-682-3708. Looks back at early underground progressive rock radio station WBCN-FM in Boston, examining dramatic political and cultural changes that it covered and promoted. Web: www.WBCNthefilm.com.
Animal
Producing organization: Two Cats Productions. Presenting station: Oregon Public Broadcasting. Episodes: 1 x 120 (HD). Status: production. Budget: $2 million. Major funders: Marc and Diane Spilker Foundation, Hermine and David Heller Foundation, Goldman Sachs, Kraus Foundation. E.p.: Andrew Goldberg. Producer: Douglas Chang. Executive in charge of production: David Davis. Contact: David Davis, Ddavis opb.org, 503-293-1959. A look at how humans use animals and animal products in their daily lives. How do people and institutions make decisions about animal use and what are the ethics involved?
The Aviators
Producing organization: FourPoints Television Production, Toronto. Distributor: NETA. Episodes: 13 x 30 (HD). Status: production. Executive producer and narrator: Anthony Nalli. Other producers: Lisa Charney, Lori Massini. Hosts: Kurtis Arnold, Jeff Lewis, Anthony Nalli, Raeleen Ranger, Sara Rependa. Contact: Anthony Nalli, anthony theaviators.tv, 877-773-5988, ext. 701. Weekly magazine-style series, approaching its second season. Interesting people, the latest aircraft, the coolest technology and the best fly-in destinations. Series on DVD published by Sound Media, also available for pledge. Soundtrack on CD featuring major PBS musical act. Classroom kit will be available. Web: www.theaviators.tv.
Being Helen Keller
Producing organizations: Straight Ahead Pictures, WETA andWNET/American Masters. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 1 x 90 (HD). Status: production. Major funders: NEH, PBS, NEA. Producer/director: Laurie Block. Executive producers: Dalton Delan, Karen Kenton, Susan Lacy. Contact: Susan Lacy, lacy thirteen.org. Keller’s imageis frozen at age seven in The Miracle Worker, when she signed the word “w-a-t-e-r” into Anne Sullivan’s hand. But she lived into her 80s, teaching all over the world.
Bill T. Jones: A Good Man
Producing organizations: A Good Man LLC and WNET/American Masters. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 1 x 90 (HD). Status: postproduction. E.p.: Susan Lacy, Sally Jo Fifer. Producer: Joanna Rudnick. Directors: Gordon Quinn, Bob Hercules. Contact: Susan Lacy, lacy thirteen.org. </p><p>With consummate artistry and musicality, Jones, a socially conscious dancer-choreographer, tackled complex subjects — race, sexuality, terminal illness — throughout his 30-year career. Over the course of a year, he now creates a new piece about Abraham Lincoln, on camera.
Charles and Ray Eames (w.t.)
Producing organizations: The Catticus Corp. in association with WNET/American Masters. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 1 x 90 (HD). Status: production. Major funders: NEH, PBS, NEA. Producer/director: Bill Jersey. Producer/writer: Jason Cohen. Executive producer for American Masters: Susan Lacy. Contact: Susan Lacy, lacy thirteen.org. This husband-and-wife team, considered America’s most important and influential designers, produced furniture, architecture and other works that influenced 20th-century modernism.
Cruz Reynoso: Sowing the Seeds of Justice
Producing organization: Ginzberg Productions. Presenting organization: Latino Public Broadcasting. Episodes: 1 x 60 (HD). Status: postproduction. Budget: $495,000. Major funders: Latino Public Broadcasting, Wallace Alexander Gerbode Foundation, Levi Strauss Foundation, SF Foundation, ABA Commission on Diversity in the Profession, Fenwick & West LLP. Producer/director: Abby Ginzberg. Contact: Luis Ortiz, luis.ortiz lpbp.org, 818-847-9656. Chronicles life and work of Cruz Reynoso, including his commitment and struggle for equality and justice, working in the fields as a youth and presiding on the California Supreme Court.
Designing Healthy Cities: Balancing Public Space with Public Health
Producing organization: The Media & Policy Center. Presenting station: Oregon Public Broadcasting. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 2 x 60 or 4 x 60 (HD). Status: postproduction. Budget: $1 million. Major funders: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Kresge Foundation, Kaiser Foundation. Producers: Dale Bell, Harry Willand. Executive Producer for OPB: David Davis. Contact: David Davis, Ddavis opb.org, 503-293-1959. Examines how buildings and public spaces affect human health and well being and efforts to create healthier cities.
The Dust Bowl (w.t.)
Producing organizations: Florentine Films and WETA Washington, D.C. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 2 x 120 (HD). Status: production. Major funders: Bank of America, Arthur Vining Davis Foundations, Wallace Genetic Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, CPB, PBS. Executive-in-charge for WETA: Dalton Delan. Project director: David S. Thompson. Producer/director: Ken Burns. Writer: Geoffrey C. Ward. Contact: Kate Kelly, kkelly weta.org. Story of the decade-long natural catastrophe of the 1930s, the worst manmade ecological disaster in U.S. history and an epic of both human suffering and perseverance.
Essential Pépin
Producing organization: KQED, San Francisco. Distributor: APT. Episodes: 26 x 30 (HD). Status: production. Major funders: Kitchenaid, OXO, C. Donatiello Winery. Host: Jacques Pépin. Series producer: Tina Salter. Director: Bruce Franchini. Contact: Sandy Schonning, sschonning kqed.org. Pépin shares more than 125 of the best recipes of his legendary career, with assistance from his daughter, Claudine, on four shows, and best friend, chef and pastry specialist Jean-Claude Szurdak, on three others. Web: kqed.org/food/jacquespepin/.
Faith & America’s Founders
Producing organizations: Groberg Films Inc. and WETA, Washington, D.C. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 1 x 90 (HD). Status: postproduction. Major funders: GFC Foundation, Dana and Chris Doggett, Alan and Jeanne Hall, Garfield and Margo Cook, Larry H. and Gail Miller Family Foundation, The One Foundation, Annenberg Foundation. Executive producers for WETA: Dalton Delan, Karen Kenton. Producer: Lee Groberg. Writers: Douglas Brinkley, Ken Chowder. Co-writer: Julie Fenster. Contact: Kate Kelly, kkelly weta.org. Examines how the nation’s founders’ religious backgrounds and beliefs moved American society toward religious freedom and tolerance, and the separation of church and state. Companion photo book features reenactments.
Forgiveness: A Time to Love, A Time to Hate
Producing organizations: WETA, Washington, D.C., and Helen Whitney Productions. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 2 x 120 (HD). Status: postproduction. Budget: Major funders: Fetzer Institute, Templeton Foundation, ClearView Foundation. Executive producers for WETA: Dalton Delan, David S. Thompson. E.p.: Paul Dietrich. Producer/director: Helen Whitney. Contact: Kate Kelly, kkelly weta.org. Explores forgiveness in even the most tragic of circumstances, following the stories of individuals facing such choices.
Give Us Your Retired, Your Rich, Your Americans
Producing organization: Impacto Films. Presenting organization: Latino Public Broadcasting. Episodes: 1 x 60 (HD). Status: postproduction. Budget: $347,000. Major funder: Latino Public Broadcasting. Producer/director: Anayansi Prado. Co-producer/director of photography: Victor Mares. Contact: Luis Ortiz, luis.ortiz lpbp.org, 818-847-9656. Explores situation on Panama’s island of Bocas del Toro, where inhabitants struggle to redefine the area’s identity amid a rapid in-migration of American retirees and developers.
Grace Paley: Collected Shorts
Distributor: NETA. Episodes: 1 x 57 (SD). Status: postproduction. Budget: $180,000. Producer/director: Lilly Rivlin. Co-producer: Margaret Murphy. Editor: Pola Rapaport. Associate producer/associate editor: Laura D’Antoni. Readings: Grace Paley. Contact: Lilly Rivlin, lilith att.net. Without narration, film presents the life and writing of the peace activist, author and teacher in colorful short takes, both in Paley’s own voice and in warmly told recollections by literary critics, family and writer friends such as Allan Gurganas and Alice Walker. Web: www.
gracepaleythefilm.com.
Hazard Ahead: At the Crossroads of Driving and Dementia (w.t.)
Producing organization: Terra Nova Films. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 1 x 60 (SD 4:3). Status: fundraising. Budget: $125,000. E.p.: James Vanden Bosch. Producer: Ed Menaker. Contact: Ed Menaker, ed terranova.org. Explores sensitive issues that arise when family or physicians ask a person diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease to stop driving — a capability that represents for many their last vestige of independence.
Hiroko’s Rules (w.t.)
Producing organization: Resolution Pictures. Distributor: APT. Episodes: 13 x 30 (HD). Status: fundraising. Budget: $700,000. Host: Hiroko Shimbo. Producer: Matt Cohen. Director: Joel Colblenz. Producer: Betty Cammisa. Contact: Matt Cohen, mattcohen resolutionpictures.com, 610-285-4746. Chef Hiroko Shimbo challenges nine young chefs to master the basics of Japanese cuisine, and three finalists finish contest in Japan.
Inspector Lewis, Series IV
Producing organizations: ITV Studios Productions and WGBH/Masterpiece. Presented by Masterpiece Mystery. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 4 x 90 (HD). Status: production. Executive producer for Masterpiece: Rebecca Eaton. Contact: Steven Ashley, steven_ashley wgbh.org. Kevin Whately as Inspector Lewis, with his young partner, Det. Sgt. Hathaway (Laurence Fox),solves more cases in Oxford’s seemingly perfect academic haven.
Immigrant Nation! The Battle for the Dream
Producing organization: Un Sueño Americano LLC. Presenting organization: Latino Public Broadcasting. Episodes: 1 x 60 (HD). Status: postproduction. Budget: $148,000. Major funders: Latino Public Broadcasting, National Museum of Mexican Art, Woods Fund, Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, Playboy Foundation. Director/writer/producer: EsaúMeléndez. Contact: Luis Ortiz, luis.ortiz lpbp.org, 818-847-9656. Follows the journey of immigrant Elvira Arellano from her initial arrest and sanctuary in a storefront Chicago church to her re-arrest and deportation to Mexico.
The Iranian Americans
Producing organization: Two Cats Productions. Presenting station: KOCE, Huntington Beach, Calif. Episodes: 1 x 60 (HD). Status: fundraising. Budget: $560,000. Major funders: Y&S Nazarian Foundation, Moinian Foundation. Director/E.p.: Andrew Goldberg. Executive in charge for KOCE: Ed Miskevich. Contact: Ed Miskevich, Emiskevich koce.org, 714-861-4320. First-person narratives offer windows into the Iranian American experience, including the early years of immigration from Iran, the 1979 revolution and the present.
Joe Papp in Five Acts
Producing organizations: WNET/American Masters, The Papp Project and ITVS. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 1 x 90 (HD). Status: postproduction. Major funders: ITVS, CPB, LuEster Mertz Charitable Trust, PBS, NEA. Producer/directors: Tracie Holder, Karen Thorsen. Executive producers: Susan Lacy, Sally Jo Fifer. Contact: Susan Lacy, lacy thirteen.org. As founder and presiding spirit of New York City’s Public Theater and Free Shakespeare Festival, Papp believed that everyone needs theater . . . and made very certain that everyone got a chance to have it.
Life Beyond Earth (w.t.)
Producing organization: WGBH/Nova. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 2 x 60 (HD). Status: production. Senior E.p.: Paula Apsell. E.p.: Howard Swartz. Contact: Pamela Rosenstein, Pamela_rosenstein wgbh.org. A trip through the solar system in search of the conditions that make life possible.
Panama Canal
Producing organization: Insignia Films for WGBH/American Experience. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 1 x 90 (HD). Status: R&D. Major funders: Liberty Mutual, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, PBS, CPB, NEA. E.p.: Mark Samels. Producer: Stephen Ives. Contact: Nicole Breaux, Nicole_Breaux wgbh.org, 617-300-2413. Tells epic story of one of the great engineering triumphs of all time — and one of the most expensive in terms of both money and lives.
Prohibition
Producing organizations: Florentine Films and WETA, Washington, D.C. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 3 x 120 (HD). Status: postproduction. Budget: Major funders: Bank of America, CPB, PBS. Executive-in-charge for WETA: Dalton Delan. Project director: David S. Thompson. Producers/ directors: Ken Burns, Lynn Novick. Contact: Kate Kelly, kkelly weta.org. Chronicles the years of Prohibition — perhaps America’s greatest social experiment. The saga goes beyond gangsters and speakeasies to reveal a complicated and divided nation.
The Restoration of The Boynton House
Producing organization: WXXI, Rochester, N.Y. Distributor: APT. Episodes: 1 x 60 (HD). Status: production. E.p.: Todd McCammon. Contact: Todd McCammon, tmcammon wxxi.org, 585-258-0241. Details the resuscitation of the only Frank Lloyd Wright–designed home in Rochester, which new owners vow to restore to its original beauty.
Skip Gates’ America (w.t.)
Producing organizations: Kunhardt Productions, Inkwell Films and WNET. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 10 x 60 (HD). Status: fundraising, preproduction. Major funders: PBS, CPB. Series producers: Stephen Segaller, William Grant. Contact: Stephen Segaller, segaller wnet.org, 212-560-8282. Henry Louis “Skip” Gates follows his successful Faces of America with a weekly series that will broaden his exploration of the American identity.
The Song of Lunch
Producing organization: to be determined. Presented by WGBH/Masterpiece Contemporary. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 1 x 60 (HD). Status: postproduction. Executive producer for Masterpiece: Rebecca Eaton. Contact: Steven Ashley, steven_ashley wgbh.org. Dramatization of Christopher Reid’s narrative poem stars Alan Rickman and Emma Thompson as a book editor and his former lover who meet for a nostalgic lunch.
Superheroes!
Producing organization: Ghost Light Films. Presenting station: Oregon Public Broadcasting. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 3 x 60 (HD). Status: fundraising. Budget: $4 million. Major funders: NEH, NEA. Series producer: Michael Kantor. Executive producer for OPB: David Davis. Contact: David Davis, ddavis opb.org, 503-293-1959. Explores comic book art and characters as a uniquely American art form with a lasting impact on American arts and culture.
The Walking Cure (w.t.)
Producing organizations: Living the Gift and tpt National Productions, Twin Cities Public Television. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 1 x 60 (HD). Status: production. Producer/director: Denny Mahoney. Managing producer: Emily Stevens. Contact: Elaine Powell, epowell tpt.org. Traces the advances in organ transplantation in the United States, with dramatic, inspirational stories of transplant donors, recipients, doctors and families. Community engagement content partners will include American Liver Foundation, National Kidney Foundation, Donate Life America and Chris Klug Foundation.
The War of 1812
Producing organizations: WNED-TV, Buffalo, N.Y., and Florentine Films/ Hott Productions, in association with WETA-TV, Washington. Presenting stations: WNED and WETA. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 1 x 120. Status: postproduction. Budget: $2.1 million. Major funders: NEH, Wilson Foundation, Warren Goldring, Phil Lind, CPB, Arthur Vining Davis Foundations, Annenberg Foundation. E.p.: John Grant. Producer: Lawrence Hott. Writer: Ken Chowder. Contact: John Grant, jagrant aol.com, 814-234-5210. Explores the war from opposing viewpoints, with leading historians, battle re-enactors and historic images bringing to life this defining conflict.
William Still: Freedom’s Man (w.t.)
Producing organizations: WNED-TV, Buffalo, N.Y., and 90th Parallel Productions, Toronto. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 1 x 60 (HD). Status: production. E.p.: John Grant. Producer for 90th Parallel Productions: Gordon Henderson. Contact: John Grant, jagrant aol.com, 814-234-5210. William Still, among the most significant opponents of slavery, was so devoted to abolition that when he died, in 1902, the New York Times called him the “Father of the Underground Railroad.”
Sometime in ’11
Fabric of the Cosmos
Producing organization: WGBH/Nova. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 4 x 60 (HD). Status: production. Major funders: NSF, Sloan, CPB/PBS Challenge Fund, Arte, National Geographic, Department of Energy. Senior E.p.: Paula S. Apsell. Host: Brian Greene. Contact: Pamela Rosenstein, Pamela_rosenstein wgbh.org. In sequel to The Elegant Universe, Brian Greene embarks on another tour of the universe, piecing together the most complete picture yet of space and time.
Making Stuff
Producing organizations: WGBH/Nova and Powderhouse Productions. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 4 x 60 (HD). Status: production. Major funder: NSF. Senior E.p.: Paula S. Apsell. Host: David Pogue. Contact: Pamela Rosenstein, Pamela_rosenstein wgbh.org. Explores today’s most exciting materials-science breakthrough, from carbon nanotubes to self-repairing materials, offering a vision of what the future holds. Extensive outreach planned in partnership with Materials Research Society.
Top of Their Game
Producing organization: WXXI, Rochester, N.Y. Episodes: 1 x 60 (HD). Status: R&D. E.p.: Elissa Orlando. Contact: Elissa Orlando, eorlando wxxi.org, 585-258-0349. A hospital CEO and an insurance company president who encountered devastating personal challenges have changed the way they view themselves, the health care system and the doctor-patient relationship.
Winter ’12
The Amish
Producing organization: WGBH/American Experience. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 2 x 90 (HD). Status: preproduction. Major funders: Liberty Mutual, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, PBS, CPB. E.p.: Mark Samels. Producer: David Belton. Contact: Susan Bellows, Susan_Bellows wgbh.org. Intercuts historical analysis with contemporary footage to provide unprecedented look at a highly private, utterly unique community whose beliefs raise important questions about religious liberty in American life.
Clinton
Producing organization: WGBH/American Experience. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 2 x 120 (HD). Status: production. Major funders: Liberty Mutual, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, PBS, CPB. Series producer: Susan Bellows. Contact: Susan Bellows, Susan_Bellows wgbh.org. Latest of the American Experience presidential bios explores the public battles and private peccadilloes of one of the most fascinating, contradictory, larger-than-life figures to occupy White House.
Custer’s Last Stand
Producing organization: WGBH/American Experience. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 1 x 90 (HD). Status: preproduction. Major funders: Liberty Mutual, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, PBS, CPB. E.p.: Mark Samels. Producer: Steve Ives. Contact: Susan Bellows, Susan_Bellows wgbh.org.
Based on Nathaniel Philbrick’s critically acclaimed book about the Battle of the Little Bighorn. Tells an archetypal, haunting story of the American West.
Dambusters (w.t.)
Producing organization: WGBH/Nova. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 2 x 60 (HD). Status: production. Senior E.p.: Paula S. Apsell. E.p.: Howard Swartz. Contact: Pamela Rosenstein, Pamela_rosenstein wgbh.org. Epic World War II tale of the engineering challenges involved in destroying two gigantic dams in Germany’s heartland.
Drop-Out Nation: Death of the American Dream
Producing organization: WCNY, Syracuse, N.Y. Episodes: 1 x 120 (HD). Status: fundraising. Executive producer: Peter Spartano. Contact: Peter Spartano, Peter_spartano wcny.org, 315-453-2424, ext. 237. Addresses problem of high school dropouts: no job, little cultural exposure and a huge cost to the U.S. in lost productivity.
Field Mice
Producing organizations: DMC Productions and the Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University. Presenting station: Oregon Public Broadcasting. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 13 x 30 (HD). Status: fundraising. Budget: $5.4 million. Executive producer for OPB: David Davis. Executive producers: Michele McDonough Dellinger, Francesco Marciuliano. Co-producer: Robert Jackson. Contact: Michele McDonough Dellinger, michele.dellinger gmail.com. Children’s series features three animated “secret agent” field mice who roam the planet on secret missions, giving kids ages 4–7 a unique look at ecosystems from a rodent perspective.
Jessie Owens
Producing organization: WGBH/American Experience. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 1 x 60 (HD). Status: preproduction. Major funders: Liberty Mutual, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, PBS, CPB. Series producer: Susan Bellows. Contact: Susan Bellows, Susan_Bellows wgbh.org. Bio recounts the life of one of world’s most celebrated athletes who captured four gold medals at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin.
Lost in Loop
Producing organization: WGBH. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 20 x 30 (HD). Status: fundraising. Senior E.p.: Kate Taylor. E.p.: Marisa Wolsky. Head writer: Kathy Waugh. Contact: Kate Taylor, kate_taylor wgbh.org, 617-300-3892. Animated series designed to improve the environmental literacy of children ages 6–9, following comedic adventures of five kids trapped in a video game. Outreach includes live-action videos showing real kids exploring ecosystems in their neighborhoods and a “Get to Know Your World” initiative with hands-on science activities and camp curriculum.
Many Rivers to Cross: A History of the African-American People (w.t.)
Producing organizations: Kunhardt Productions, Inkwell Films and WNET. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 8 x 60 (HD). Status: fundraising, preproduction. Major funder: CPB/PBS Challenge Fund. Series producer: Stephen Segaller. Contact: Stephen Segaller, segaller wnet.org, 212-560-8282. Series designed to be most ambitious and exciting treatment of the black experience charts internal complexity, tensions and diversity that have been part of African American life for more than three centuries.
Peak Demand
Producing organization: KQED, San Francisco. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 10 x 10–12 (HD). Status: fundraising. E.p.: Sue Ellen McCann. Managing editor: Paul Rogers. TV series producer: Josh Rosen. Series manager: Sandy Schonning. Contact: Sue Ellen McCann, smccann kqed.org, 415-553-2869. Examines leading options for meeting the world’s energy needs in the next 25 years — the science, politics and economics of tomorrow’s alternative energy. Also producing radio program and online content (slide shows, photo sets, media-rich blog).
Show Me the Banjo
Producing organization: The Banjo Project. Presenting station: Oregon Public Broadcasting. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 1 x 60 (HD). Status: fundraising, postproduction. Budget: $300,000. Writer/producer/director: Marc Fields. E.p.: Michael Kantor. Co-producer/music director: Tony Trischka. Narrator: Steve Martin. Contact: Marc Fields, marcfields thebanjoproject.org. History of America’s quintessential musical instrument from its African roots to the 21st century, featuring performances and commentary from contemporary masters such as Pete Seeger, Earl Scruggs, Bela Fleck, Taj Mahal, Mike Seeger, Ralph Stanley and the Carolina Chocolate Drops.
Slavery by Another Name
Producing organization: tpt National Productions, Twin Cities Public Television. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 1 x 90 (HD). Status: production. Major funders: Kellogg Foundation, NEH, Coca-Cola Co., CPB/PBS Diversity and Innovation Fund. Contact: Elaine Powell, epowell tpt.org. Doc based on the Pulitzer Prize–winning book narrates story of re-enslavement of African Americans in the South from the end of the Civil War until the onset of World War II. Accompanied by major educational and online engagement components.
Sound Tracks: Music Without Borders
Producing organization: The Talbot Players. Presenting station: Oregon Public Broadcasting. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 6 x 60 or 10 x 60, depending on funding (HD). Status: fundraising. Budget: $3.75 million (10 episodes) or $2.57 million (6 episodes). Major funders of pilot: PBS, AT&T, National Minority Consortia (CPB). Series producer/E.p.: Stephen Talbot. Co-producer/host/reporter: Marco Werman. Executive producer for OPB: David Davis. Contact: Stephen Talbot, 415-788-9602. Magazine series covers music across America and around the world. Stories are also featured on PRI’s radio program The World, where Werman is frequently the host; in Quick Hits spinoff on PBS.org/arts; podcasts, concerts, public screenings, teacher guides. Web: PBS.org/soundtracks.
Thomas Sowell
Producing organization: Free To Choose Media. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 1 x 60 (HD). Status: fundraising. Budget: $650,000. Executive producers: Tom Skinner, Bob Chitester. Producer/writer: Tony Machi. Contact: Tom Skinner, ski361 aol.com. Bio of Thomas Sowell, author of books on economics, history, ethnicity and the history of ideas, based on his memoir, A Personal Odyssey.
Spring ’12
Billy the Kid
Producing organization: WGBH/American Experience. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 1 x 60 (HD). Status: production. Major funder: Liberty Mutual, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, PBS, CPB. E.p.: Mark Samels. Producer: John Maggio. Contact: Susan Bellows, Susan_Bellows wgbh.org. Separates myth from reality in the brief and violent life of Billy the Kid,a legend in his own time who remains an enigma to this day.
Communist Party USA
Producing organization: Quest Productions. Presenting station: Oregon Public Broadcasting. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 1 x 120 (HD). Status: fundraising. Budget: $800,000. Producers: Richard Wormser, Bill Jersey. Executive producer for OPB: David Davis. Contact: David Davis, ddavis opb.org, 503-293-1959. Examines history of American Communist Party and its impact on U.S. history in the 20th century.
Dream Job Challenge (w.t.)
Producing organization and presenting station: Oregon Public Broadcasting. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 4 x 60 (HD). Status: R&D. Budget: $2 million. Executive producer for OPB: David Davis. Contact: David Davis, ddavis opb.org, 503-293-1959.
Contestants compete for chance to try their “dream job.” This reality series tests participants’ aptitudes and skills. Website will allow viewers to explore their own dream jobs.
Freedom vs. Equality: A Personal View by Johan Norberg
Producing organization: Free To Choose Media. Distributor: PBS, APT. Episodes: 1 x 60. Status: postproduction. Budget: $650,000. Major funder: Thomas and Diane Smith. E.p.: Bob Chitester. Producer: James Taylor. Contact: Tom Skinner, ski361 aol.com. Swedish author Norberg considers the conflict between the desire for freedom and the resulting differences in financial outcomes.
Mental Health: What Does It Have to Do With Me? (w.t.)
Producing organization: WCNY, Syracuse, N.Y. Episodes: 4 x 60 (HD). Status: fundraising. Executives Contact: Peter Spartano, Peter_spartano wcny.org, 315-453-2424,
ext. 237. Examines a nation in denial about individuals’ emotional well-being and the impact of dysfunction on our children.
Shakespeare’s Wings: Backstage at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival
Producing and presenting station: Oregon Public Broadcasting. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 1 x 60 (HD). Status: R&D. Budget: $300,000. Executive producer for OPB: David Davis. Producer: Bruce Barrow. Contact: David Davis, ddavis opb.org, 503-293-1959. Observational documentary goes behind the scenes at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland.
Treasures of Islam (w.t.)
Producing organizations: Unity Production Foundation in association with Gardner Films. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 1 x 120 (HD). Status: production. Budget: $1 million. Executive producers: Alexander Kronemer, Michael Wolfe. Producer/director: Rob Gardner. Contact: Alex Kronemer, alex upf.tv. Leads thematic journey around the globe to explore what makes Islamic art beautiful and what role it has played in Islamic civilization.
Summer ’12
El Jardín (w.t.)
Producing organization: Altamura Films. Presenting organization: Latino Public Broadcasting. Episodes: 1 x 90 (HD). Status: production. Budget: $402,000. Major funders: Latino Public Broadcasting, Charles Schulz, Jan Vrijman Fund. Director/producer: Natalia Almada. Contact: Luis Ortiz, luis.ortiz lpbp.org, 818-847-9656. The world of El Jardín, a cemetery in the drug heartland of Mexico, examined through a night watchman’s vigilant eyes.
Our Sacred Honor
Producing organization: Free To Choose Media. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 1 x 60 (HD). Status: fundraising. Budget: $1.4 million. Executive producers: Tom Skinner, Bob Chitester. Producer/writer/director: David de Vries. Contact: Tom Skinner, ski361 aol.com. Historic re-creation, location photography and testimony by noted historians answer the question: What happened to those 56 men who became traitors when they signed the Declaration of Independence?
Prefaces to Shakespeare: The Greatest Stories Ever Told (w.t.)
Producing organizations: 116 Films and WNET. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 6 x 60 (HD). Status: fundraising. Major funder: NEH. Series producers: Stephen Segaller, David Horn. Contact: Stephen Segaller, segaller wnet.org, 212-560-8282. Each episode explores a play by Shakespeare, combining dramatic reconstruction, performance excerpts and interviews with actors and experts on the forefront of new historical research.
Fall ’12
Designers of the Game (w.t.)
Producing organizations: WNED-TV, Buffalo, N.Y., and Driftwood Productions. Presenting station: WNED. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 1 x 60 (HD). Status: production. Budget: $545,000. Major funder: Robert J. Stransky Foundation. Producer: John Grant. Contact: John Grant, JAJGrant aol.com, 814-234-5210. Entertaining and informative doc on history of golf-course architecture, its architects and its transformation over the years.
¿DóndeEstán? The Disappeared Children of El Salvador
Producing organization: Pata de Perro Productions & Honey Alley Productions. Presenting organizations: Latino Public Broadcasting, ITVS. Episodes: 1 x 60 (HD). Status: postproduction. Budget: $447,000. Major funders: Latino Public Broadcasting, ITVS, Philadelphia Foundation, U.S. Institute of Peace. Producer: Kathryn Smith Pyle. Producer/director: María Teresa Rogriguez. Contact: Luis Ortiz, luis.ortiz lpbp.org, 818-847-9656. Looks back at the disappearance of children (who would now be adults) during the Salvadoran civil war of the 1980s.
How the Irish Saved Civilization
Producing organization: Dan Birman Productions. Presenting station: Oregon Public Broadcasting. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 4 x 60 (HD). Status: fundraising. Budget: $2 million. Series producer: Dan Birman. Executive producer for OPB: David Davis. Host: Thomas Cahill. Contact: David Davis, ddavis opb.org, 503-293-1959. Explores how St. Patrick and Irish monks saved the great works of literature during the Dark Ages. Hosted by Thomas Cahill and based on his bestselling book.
Inside the Nursing Crisis (w.t.)
Producing organization: WCNY, Syracuse, N.Y. Episodes: 1 x 60 (HD). Status: fundraising. Vice president of content: Brian Damm. Contact: Brian Damm, Brian_damm wcny.org, 315-453-2424, ext. 205. Looks ahead at the Baby Boom retirement population tripling in size as the number of available nurses and caregivers shrinks severely.
Jam Hotel
Producing station: WGBH. Episodes: 30 x 30 (HD). Status: R&D. Senior E.p.: Kate Taylor. E.p.: Marisa Wolsky. Head writer: Kathy Waugh. Contact: Kate Taylor, kate_taylor wgbh.org, 617-300-3892. Music series is part The Muppets, part Pee-wee’s Playhouse, with a dash of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. It aims to delight parents and children alike, promote lifelong enjoyment of music.
Making Viva Max
Producing organization: Three Chord Media. Presenting organization: Latino Public Broadcasting. Episodes: 1 x 60 (HD). Status: postproduction. Budget: $363,000. Major funder: Latino Public Broadcasting. Director: Jim Mendiola. Producer: Faith Radle. Contact: Luis Ortiz, luis.ortiz lpbp.org, 818-847-9656. Examines how in 1969 a Hollywood movie crew making a comedy about Mexicans retaking the Alamo fought the Daughters of the Republic of Texas for permission to shoot their film.
¿MásBebes?
Presenting organization: Latino Public Broadcasting. Episodes: 1 x 60 (HD). Status: postproduction. Budget: $391,000. Major funders: Latino Public Broadcasting, California Council for the Humanities. Producer/director: Renee Tajima-Peña. Producer: Virginia Espino. Contact: Luis Ortiz, luis.ortiz lpbp.org, 818-847-9656. Reveals a disturbing history of hundreds of women from Mexico who were coercively sterilized at Los Angeles County Medical Center–USC during the late 1960s and 1970s.
Savages and Scoundrels: America’s Road to Empire
Producing organizations: Institute of American Indian Arts, Native American Public Telecommunications. Presenting station: Oregon Public Broadcasting. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 1 x 120 (HD). Status: fundraising. Budget: $1.8 million. Major funders: CPB, NEH (projected). Director: Chris Eyre. Producers: Raymond Chavez, Cathleen O’Connell, Carlos Pienado. Producer/writer: Paul VanDevelder. Executive producer for OPB: David Davis. Contact: Raymond Chavez, Raymondchavez8 gmail.com, 540-668-7323. How an infant “republic of laws” relied on Indian treaties and a Crusade-era doctrine, Manifest Destiny, to successfully expand its territory to the Pacific. Produced in partnership with Smithsonian’s exhibit, “Treaties: Great Nations in Their Own Words.”Outreach includesradio, website, companion book, curricula for high school and college.
Tales of Masked Men
Producing organization: Echo Park Films. Presenter: Latino Public Broadcasting. Episodes: 1 x 30 (HD). Status: production. Budget: $120,000. Major funder: Latino Public Broadcasting. Executive producer/director: Carlos Avila. Contact: Luis Ortiz, luis.ortiz lpbp.org, 818-847-9656. Explores “LuchaLibre” (Mexican masked wrestling) and its role in Latino communities in the hemisphere.
Two Trinities
Producing organization: Luchadora Productions. Episodes: 1 x 60 (HD). Status: production. Budget: $424,000. Major funders: Latino Public Broadcasting, ITVS, Texas Filmmakers Production Fund. Director/producer/editor: Sandra Guardado. Executive producer/advisor: Paul Stekler. Contact: Luis Ortiz, luis.ortiz lpbp.org, 818-847-9656. Details holy quest of the Trinity Foundation and its leader, Ole Anthony, to bring down televangelists who use the lure of a “heavenly lottery” to prey on the poor and desperate.
Summer ’12
Designing Life: Stories from the Bioethical Frontier (w.t.)
Producing organizations: WGBH/Nova and The Hastings Center. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 2 x 60 (HD). Status: R&D. Major funder: National Institutes of Health. Senior E.p.: Paula S. Apsell. E.p.: Laurie Donnelly. President, Hastings Center: Tom Murray. Contact: Pamela Rosenstein, Pamela_rosenstein wgbh.org. Tells gripping stories of people facing the major bioethical dilemmas of our time — from birth, youth, adulthood and death. Outreach is planned through American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Medical Association, American Heart Association and American Nurses Association.
Making of North America (w.t.)
Producing organization: WGBH/Nova. Episodes: 2 x 60 (HD). Status: R&D. Senior E.p.: Paula S. Apsell. Contact: Pamela Rosenstein, Pamela_rosenstein wgbh.org. Sweeping biography of our continent explores colossal forces that molded the North American landscape.
Sometime in ’13
The Abolitionists
Producing organization: WGBH/American Experience. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 2 x 90 (HD). Status: fundraising. E.p.: Mark Samels. Contact: Susan Bellows, Susan_Bellows wgbh.org. Story of how abolitionist allies — black and white, male and female, Southern and Northern — turned the despised fringe movement against slavery into a force that changed the world.
The Age of the Roosevelts (w.t.)
Producing organizations: Florentine Films and WETA, Washington, D.C. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 6 x 120 (HD). Status: preproduction. Major funders: Bank of America, Arthur Vining Davis Foundations, CPB, PBS. Executive-in-charge for WETA: Dalton Delan. Project director: David S. Thompson. Producer/directors: Ken Burns, Paul Barnes, Pam Baucom. Writer: Geoffrey C. Ward. Contact: Kate Kelly, kkelly weta.org. Brings to viewers Theodore, Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt as they have never been seen before — foremost members of one of the nation’s most important families.
Are Libraries Obsolete? (w.t.)
Producing organizations: Archimedia Workshop. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 1 x 60 (HD). Status: R&D, preproduction, scripting. Budget: $750,000. E.p.: Judith Paine McBrien. Associate producer: Mary Morrissette. Contact: Judith Paine McBrien, Judith thearchimediaworkshop.org, 312-212-1492. Access to information is changing is profound ways. What roles do public libraries play in the community? Are they still relevant — or becoming obsolete in the digital age? Outreach coordinated with the American Library Association and others.
Central Park 5 (w.t.)
Producing organizations: Florentine Films and WETA Washington, D.C. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 2 x 90 (HD). Status: preproduction. Major funders: Atlantic Philanthropies, CPB, PBS. Executive-in-charge for WETA: Dalton Delan. Project director: David S. Thompson. Director: Ken Burns. Producers: Ken Burns, Sarah Burns, David McMahon. Contact: Kate Kelly, kkelly weta.org. America’s complicated perceptions of race and crime, through the story of the Central Park 5 — a group of minority teenagers accused of brutally raping a white woman in New York City.
Electric Shift (w.t.)
Producing organization: Glisan Media. Presenting station: Oregon Public Broadcasting. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 1 x 60 (HD). Status: production. Budget: $300,000. E.p.: Dave Davis. Producer/director: Rod Minott. Co-Producer: Holly Million. Director of photography: Chris Million. Contact: Rod Minott, rodminott hotmail.com, 415-553-5969. Follows Tesla Motors’ quest over a three-year period to reinvent American car industry and transform the way we drive by building all-electric cars for the masses. Outreach includes community screenings and interactive website with information about electric cars and related economic and environmental issues. Web.
Elements (w.t.)
Producing organization: WGBH/Nova. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 2 x 60 (HD). Status: R&D. Senior E.p.: Paula S. Apsell. Contact: Pamela Rosenstein, Pamela_rosenstein wgbh.org. Explores chemical elements that shape life on earth and the race to preserve those that are rarest.
Farewell, Ferris Wheel
Producing organization: Kola Pictures. Presenter: Latino Public Broadcasting. Episodes: 1 x 60 (HD). Status: production. Budget: $250,000. Major funders: Latino Public Broadcasting, ITVS, Tribeca Film Institute. Co-director/co-editor: Miguel Martinez. Co-director/co-producer/co-editor: Jamie Sisley. Contact: Luis Ortiz, luis.ortiz lpbp.org, 818-847-9656. Examines the endangered American carnival and the small Mexican town of Tlapacoyan, which provides one third of America’s carnival labor.
Frederick Law Olmsted: Designing America
Producing organizations: WNED-TV, Buffalo, N.Y., and Florentine Films/Hott Productions Inc. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 1 x 90 (HD). Status: R&D, fundraising, scripting. Major funder: NEH. E.p.: John Grant. Producer: Lawrence Hott. Writer: Ken Chowder. Contact: John Grant, JAJGrant aol.com, 814-234-5210. Chronicles the life of Frederick Law Olmsted, the first great American landscape architect, who was also a farmer, seaman, traveler, journalist, publisher, social reformer and more.
Henry David Thoreau: A Biography (w.t.)
Producing organization and presenting station: Oregon Public Broadcasting. Episodes: 1 x 60 (HD). Status: R&D. Budget: $700,000. Executive producer for OPB: David Davis. Director: Margaret Koval. Producer: Pat Aste. Contact: David Davis, ddavis opb.org, 503-293-1959. One-hour biography of Henry David Thoreau.
History of Invention (w.t.)
Producing organization: WGBH/Nova. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 4 x 60 (HD). Status: R&D. Senior E.p.: Paula S. Apsell. Contact: Pamela Rosenstein, Pamela_rosenstein wgbh.org. Unexpected stories of invention and their connection to familiar objects in our lives today.
The Italian Americans (w.t.)
Producing organizations: WETA Washington, D.C., and Ark Media, Brooklyn, N.Y. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 2 x 120 (HD). Status: fundraising. Major funder: CPB/PBS Program Challenge Fund. Executive producers for WETA: Jeff Bieber, Dalton Delan. Producers: Barak Goodman, John Maggio. Co-writer/historian: Gay Talese. Contact: Kate Kelly, kkelly weta.org. Talese chronicles history of Italian Americans.
Journey to Freedom (w.t.)
Producing organizations: WETA with co-production organization to be announced. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 1 x 90 (HD). Status: fundraising. Executive producers for WETA: Jeff Bieber, Dalton Delan. Producer for Creative Visions Productions: Jacoba Atlas, Kyra Thompson. Contact: Kate Kelly, kkelly weta.org. During World War II, American Unitarian pastor Waitstill Sharp and his wife, Martha, helped almost 2,000 Europeans to flee to safety, including intellectuals, political leaders, artists and children.
The Latino Americans/ Los Latinos Americanos (w.t.)
Producing organizations: WETA, Washington, D.C., in association with Latino Public Broadcasting (LPB). Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 3 x 120 (HD). Status: fundraising, preproduction. Major funders: Annenberg Foundation, NEH, Rockefeller Foundation, CPB/PBS Program Challenge Fund, CPB. Series executive producers for WETA: Jeff Bieber, Dalton Delan. Series executive producer for LPB: Patricia Boero. Series producer: Adriana Bosch. Contact: Kate Kelly, kkelly weta.org. U.S. history is the backdrop for the drama of individuals’ lives in the 200-year story of Latino Americans.
Marthas
Producing organization: Undocumented Films Inc. Presenter: Latino Public Broadcasting. Episodes: 1 x 60 (HD). Status: production. Budget: $339,000. Major funders: Latino Public Broadcasting, ITVS. Producer/director: Cristina Ibarra. Contact: Luis Ortiz, luis.ortiz lpbp.org, 818-847-9656. Follows yearlong preparations of Mexican-American teens debuting in the exclusive Society of Martha Washington Colonial Pageant & Ball in Laredo, Texas — a 113-year-old tradition.
Native in New York
Producing organization: WCNY, Syracuse, N.Y. Episodes: 1 x 60 (HD). Status: fundraising. Executive producer: Peter Spartano. Contact: Peter Spartano, Peter_spartano wcny.org, 315-453-2424, ext. 237. Doc about Native American entertainers of the past and in present-day New York City. Showcases comedians, dancers, singers, artists, musicians and actors.
One Path, Many Ways: The Camino Documentary (w.t.)
Producing organization: Future Educational Films Inc. Presenting station: Oregon Public Broadcasting. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 1 x 60 (standalone TV program), 1 x 90 (theatrical release) (HD). Status: fundraising. Budget: $650,000. Major funders: Pacific Pioneer Fund, American Pilgrims on the Camino. Director/producer: Lydia B. Smith. E.p.: Jacoba Atlas. Supervising producer: Kyra Thompson. Senior producer: Theresa Tollini-Coleman. Contact: Lydia B. Smith, lydia caminodocumentary.org, 503-206-4968. Follows six strangers from around the world as they attempt the transformational 500-mile pilgrimage across northern Spain known as the Camino de Santiago. Outreach includes short video clips and teachers’ guide for use in high school and university-level classes. Web: www.caminodocumentary.org.
Republic of Suffering: Death and the Civil War
Producing organization: WGBH/American Experience. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 1 x 90 (HD). Status: preproduction. Major funders: Liberty Mutual, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, PBS, CPB. E.p.: Mark Samels. Producer: Ric Burns. Contact: Susan Bellows, Susan_Bellows wgbh.org. Film based on historian Drew Gilpin Faust’s bestselling book explores how U.S. Civil War created a “republic of suffering” whose consequences are with us still.
Ruben Salazar: The Man in the Middle
Producing organization: City Projects. Presenter: Latino Public Broadcasting. Episodes: 1 x 60 (HD). Status: production. Budget: $645,000. Major funders: Latino Public Broadcasting, California Council for the Humanities. Producer/director: Phillip Rodriguez. Contact: Luis Ortiz, luis.ortiz lpbp.org, 818-847-9656. Narrates the life and mysterious death of one of the past century’s most prominent Mexican-American journalists.
That Changes Everything, with David Macaulay (w.t.)
Producing organizations: Unicorn Productions and WETA, Washington, D.C. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 6 x 60 (HD). Status: R&D. Major funder: Annenberg Foundation. Executive producers for WETA: Jeff Bieber, Dalton Delan. Executive producer for Unicorn Productions: Larry Klein. Contact: Kate Kelly, kkelly weta.org. Author David Macaulay demystifies mechanical devices that changed the world, making manmade wonders seem ever more phenomenal.
The Third Root – Morocco
Producing organization: Putrabumi Production. Presenter: Latino Public Broadcasting. Episodes: 1 x 90 (HD). Status: postproduction. Budget: $266,000. Major funder: Latino Public Broadcasting. Co-producer/co-writer/cirector/cirector of photography: Reed Rickert. Co-producer/co-writer/music director/conductor: Camilo Nu. Contact: Luis Ortiz, luis.ortiz lpbp.org, 818-847-9656. Feature-length doc follows Mexican guitarist Camilo Nu on journey to discover rich cultures embodied in the under-recognized roots of Mexican music.
The Women 2.0 Media Project (w.t.)
Producing organizations: A production of Kunhardt McGee Productions, Storyville Films and WETA, Washington, D.C. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 2 x 120 (HD). Status: fundraising. Major funders: NoVo Foundation, Charles H. Revson Foundation, PBS, Chisholm Foundation, Ford Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, Rice Family Foundation. Executive producers: Dyllan McGee, Betsy West. Project executive for WETA: Karen Kenton. Project advisor: Gloria Steinem. Contact: Kate Kelly, kkelly weta.org. Chronicles the struggle for equal rights for women. Doc is part of definitive multimedia project about the modern American women’s movement; online digital archive launches in 2012.
Sometime in ’14
Francis Scott Key (w.t.)
Producing organization and presenting station: Maryland Public Television. Episodes: 2 x 60, 1 x 60 (HD). Status: R&D. E.p.: Philip Marshall. Contact: Phillip Guthrie, pguthrie mpt.org, 410-581-4187. Live-action drama about complex life of Francis Scott Key plus companion program about how Key’s 1814 poem became the U.S. national anthem in the 1940s.
2015 or later
Vietnam (w.t.)
Producing organizations: Florentine Films and WETA Washington, D.C. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 6 x 120 (HD). Status: preproduction. Budget: Major funders: Bank of America, Arthur Vining Davis Foundations, Park Foundations, Atlantic Philanthropies, CPB, PBS. Executive-in-charge for WETA: Dalton Delan. Project director: David S. Thompson. Producers/directors: Ken Burns, Lynn Novick. Writer: Geoffrey C. Ward. Contact: Kate Kelly, kkelly weta.org. Examines the history and meaning of the Vietnam War, exploring military, political, cultural, social and human dimensions of “the war of lost illusions.”
Air dates to be determined
Actors in America: Places, Please
Producing organization: Ghost Light Films. Presenting station: Oregon Public Broadcasting. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 4 x 60 (HD). Status: R&D, fundraising. Budget: $5 million. Major funder: Program Challenge Fund (pending). Series producer: Michael Kantor. Executive producer for OPB: David Davis. Contact: David Davis, ddavis opb.org, 503-293-1959. Celebrity-hosted series on the history of acting in America, with major national web, promotion and educational components.
Around the World (w.t.)
Producing organizations: Palfreman Film Group, Oregon Public Broadcasting. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 10 x 60 (HD). Status: fundraising. Budget: $375,000 for pilot, $3.75 million for 10-part series. Executive producer for OPB: David Davis. Co-executive producer/producers: Jon Palfreman, Robe Imbriano. Producer: Carl Byker. Coordinating producer: Kate McMahon. Contact: Jon Palfreman, jpalfreman pfgmedia.com, 978-376-6624. Explores the different ways that human cultures handle universal human concerns — surviving childbirth, managing death, and simpler matters such as dealing with trash.
Piece of the Sky
Producing organization: Crystal Stair Productions Inc. Presenting station: Oregon Public Broadcasting. Distributor: PBS. Episodes: 10 x 60 (HD). Status: fundraising. Budget: $375,000 for pilot, $3.75 million for 10-part series. Executive producer/series producer: Robe Imbriano. E.p. for OPB: David Davis. Contact: Robe Imbriano, robeimbriano yahoo.com, 971-703-1323. Each episode about a notable U.S. landmark or monument tells stories about how it touched Americans.