Featuring New Series and Specials Focusing on Well-Being
PASADENA, CA; January 10, 2019 - PBS today announced a new spring programming line-up that will shine a light on health and the challenges and diseases that sometimes stand in the way. From April through May 2020, PBS will premiere 14.5 hours of new series and specials, showcasing how humans can influence their brains and bodies to achieve a sense of well-being. Programs will examine the science of how the human brain and body work and will seek to educate viewers about health issues that sometimes get stigmatized.
As the television and digital destination for high-quality programming and documentaries, PBS continues its commitment with this inaugural health-based initiative. Viewers will gain context and insight into human physical and mental health through fascinating stories told via investigative research, expert testimony and first-hand accounts.
This compelling collection of health and wellness-based programming will explore what it takes to care for yourself and your loved ones, said Perry Simon, Chief Programming Executive and General Manager, General Audience Programming at PBS. As a recurring initiative, we hope these specials will create an ongoing discussion amongst our viewers.
This distinct collection of health-related specials is part of PBS's recently announced strategy to present thematically connected programing each quarter. Viewers will gain a detailed understanding of health, from studying the fundamental building blocks of life in THE GENE: AN INTIMATE HISTORY, to addressing devastating crises such as diabetes in BLOOD SUGAR RISING and mental illness in INDEPENDENT LENS Bedlam, to the harrowing opioid epidemic in FRONLTINE Merchants of Pain (w.t.).
The full schedule of new premieres are as follows:
ANTIQUES ROADSHOW Treasure Fever
Monday, April 6, 8:00-9:00 p.m. ET
ANTIQUES ROADSHOW examines artifacts and artistry of health and medicine history in Treasure Fever. Appraisals spotlight items related to health and wellness, including surprising historical objects once used for health purposes but not in use today.
BROKEN PLACES
Monday, April 6, 2020, 10:00-11:00 p.m. ET
Explore why some children are severely damaged by early adversity while others are able to thrive. Revisit children profiled decades ago to see how early trauma shaped their lives as adults. A presentation of Public Policy Productions in association with WNETs CHASING THE DREAM.
THE GENE: AN INTIMATE HISTORY
Tuesdays, April 7 & April 14, 2020, 9:00-11:00 p.m. ET
Powerful personal stories and stunning breakthroughs reveal the historical search for the human genome and the promise of modern research. Based on Dr. Siddhartha Mukherjee's best-seller on how genes impact heredity, disease and behavior.
NOVA The Truth About Fat
Wednesday, April 8, 2020, 9:00-10:00 p.m. ET
Scientists are coming to understand fat as a system akin to an organ-one whose size may have more to do with biological processes than personal choices. Explore the mysteries of fat, and its role in hormone production, hunger, and even pregnancy.
INDEPENDENT LENS Bedlam
Monday, April 13, 2020, 10:00-11:30 p.m. ET
Hear the poignant stories of people grappling with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and other psychiatric conditions. Psychiatrist Kenneth Rosenberg visits ERs, jails and homeless camps to examine the national health crisis of mental illness.
BLOOD SUGAR RISING
Wednesday, April 15, 2020, 9:00-11:00 p.m. ET
Diabetes is an epidemic that affects 100 million Americans, costing over $350 billion annually. Explore the history and science of this hidden crisis and meet some of the faces behind the statistics whose stories bring insights and hope.
AMERICAN EXPERIENCE The Man Who Tried to Feed the World
Tuesday, April 21, 2020, 9:00-10:00 p.m. ET
Explore the life of 1970 Nobel Peace Prize winner Norman Borlaug, who tried to solve world hunger. He rescued India from a severe famine and led the Green Revolution, estimated to have saved one billion lives. But his work later faced criticism.
FRONTLINE Merchants of Pain (w.t.)
Tuesday, April 21, 2020, 10:00-11:00 p.m. ET
How a pharmaceutical company bribed doctors to prescribe a highly addictive opioid painkiller. With the Financial Times, the inside story of the corruption behind Insys Therapeutics' spectacular rise, and the federal prosecution that brought it down.
INDEPENDENT LENS Jim Allison: Breakthrough
Monday, April 27, 2020, 10:00-11:30 p.m. ET
Meet a visionary doctor on a quest to find a cure for cancer. Nobel Prize winner Dr. Jim Allison spent decades waging a lonely but ultimately fruitful quest to discover a way the immune system can stop cancer in its tracks.
Additionally, PBS Digital Studios will launch Under Your Skin in April, a 35-40 episode series from Complexly and Tangled Bank Studios that will answer questions about the anatomy, biology, chemistry and physiology that make you... you. The series will act as a user guide to the human body where viewers will be taken on a tour of the body, exploring topics such as growth, development, addiction, sleep and much more.
PBS LearningMedia, a free resource that includes thousands of contextualized learning materials aligned to state and national standards, will offer classrooms a host of educational offerings focusing on human health. Video clips, activities, discussion questions, and lesson plans from THE GENE: AN INTIMATE HISTORY, BLOOD SUGAR RISING, INDEPENDENT LENS Bedlam, and other programs will be available beginning in April. These resources will help science, health, social studies, and English Language Arts educators address important topics related to human health in their classrooms.
PBS programming will be available for streaming on all station-branded PBS platforms, including PBS.org and the PBS
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Featuring New Series and Specials Focusing on Well-Being
