Associated Press
LOS ANGELES — PBS is mixing it up next season with programs about Vietnam, Scarlett Johansson and Vladimir Putin.
The public TV service said its fall lineup will be anchored by filmmaker Ken Burns’ “The Vietnam War,” a 10-part documentary debuting Sept. 17.
The genealogy series “Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates Jr.” is returning Oct. 3. Besides Johansson, celebrities who will learn about their ancestors include Aziz Ansari, Bryant Gumbel and Garrison Keillor.
Russian President Putin will get a different kind of scrutiny on “Frontline.” A two-part documentary on his rise and his rule will air Oct. 25 and Nov. 1.
In January, PBS will air a music special honoring the legendary Tony Bennett. The tribute, “Tony Bennett: The Library of Congress Gershwin Prize,” is to be taped this fall.
The season kicks off with “an array of terrific programming in all the genres that made PBS great in the first place,” said PBS programming executive Beth Hoppe in a statement.
Among other programs and dates announced Wednesday for the upcoming schedule:
A “Great Performances” series salute to Broadway airing Oct. 20-Dec. 1 and including the musicals “She Loves Me” and “Holiday Inn”; a tribute to famed producer-director Harold Prince; and Tony Award winner Kevin Kline in a revival of Noel Coward’s “Present Laughter.”
New seasons of the drama series “Poldark” (starting Oct. 1) and “The Durrells in Corfu” (Oct. 15) and “Last Tango in Halifax” (Dec. 17).
“David Letterman: The Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize” (Nov. 20).
“American Masters” specials on filmmaker Richard Linklater (Sept. 1); artist Tyrus Wong (Sept. 8); Edgar Allan Poe (Oct. 30); and Bob Hope (Dec. 29).
A “Nova” science series special on the Cassini space probe’s last hours as it descends into Saturn’s atmosphere, “Death Dive to Saturn” (Sept. 13).
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