GRANTCHESTER MARATHON

SUNDAY, MARCH 20 STARTING @ 6:00 PM – 9:00PM

If you missed Season 1 of Grantchester you can catch up tonight during the marathon.  Beginning with Episode 3 and continuing through the final Season 1 episode. Season 2 begins Sunday, March 27th.

Handsome, young vicar Sidney Chambers (James Norton) shares his spiritual duties with a love of jazz, complicated relationships with women, and an enthusiasm for amateur sleuthing. When the concern of a parishioner compels him to dig deeper into a grisly suicide, he gets on the nerve of a tired, local law enforcement officer—Inspector Geordie Keating (Robson Green). Fortunately, the cleric and the cop bond over their war service, their love of a good pub, and their competitive instincts—in this case, for backgammon.

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DOWNTON ABBEY SEASON 5

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 22 @ 7:00PM & 11:00PM

EPISODE 8: London brings the Crawleys and their servants scandal, sabotage, and a Scotland Yard stunner. Mrs. Patmore gets a surprise, and Robert has a revelation.

Rose struggles through her parents’ differences, Daisy looks to the future, and Anna faces a difficult decision in Episode 8 of Downton Abbey.

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WITH GWEN IFILL

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 20 @ 9:00PM

This Week on Washington Week: Countering Violent Extremism as ISIS Expands to Africa; A Temporary Halt to Obama’s Immigration Action; Jeb Bush Distinguishes Himself from Presidential Relatives

Less than a week after President Obama asked Congress to formally authorize war against Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militants the group has expanded its influence into Libya. ISIS is taking advantage of the power vacuum in Libya following the ouster of President Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. This weekend the group released a video showing the mass beheading of 21 Egyptian Christian hostages.

At the White House, President Obama called for a global effort to counter violent extremism and groups like ISIS and Al Qaeda during a three-day summit with representatives from 60 countries.

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AUGUST WILSON

THE GROUND ON WHICH I STAND

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 20 @ 7:00PM & 12:00AM

The first documentary about the Tony- and Pulitzer-winning playwright August Wilson is a co-production of THIRTEEN’s American Masters series and WQED.

Unprecedented access to Wilson’s theatrical archives, rarely seen interviews and new dramatic readings bring to life his seminal 10-play cycle chronicling each decade of the 20th-century African-American experience, including the Tony Award- and Pulitzer Prize-winning Fences and Pulitzer Prize-winning The Piano Lesson.

Film and theater luminaries including Viola Davis, Charles Dutton, Laurence Fishburne, James Earl Jones, Suzan-Lori Parks and Phylicia Rashad share their stories of the career- and life-changing experience of bringing Wilson’s rich theatrical voice to the stage. Wilson’s sister Freda Ellis, his widow and costume designer Constanza Romero, as well as friends, colleagues and scholars trace Wilson’s influences, creative evolution, triumphs, struggles and quest for cultural determinism before his untimely death from liver cancer.

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PETRA – LOST CITY OF STONE

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11 @ 10:00pm

More than 2,000 years ago, the thriving city of Petra rose up in the bone-dry desert of what is now Jordan. An oasis of culture and abundance, the city was built by wealthy merchants whose camel caravans transported incense and spices from the Arabian Gulf. They carved spectacular temple-tombs into its soaring cliffs, raised a monumental Great Temple at its heart, and devised an ingenious system that channeled water to vineyards, bathhouses, fountains, and pools. But following a catastrophic earthquake and a slump in its desert trade routes.

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OWL POWER

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26 @ 6:00PM & 11:00PM

For centuries, owls have been featured in children’s books and folk tales capturing imaginations the world over. With their haunting calls and charismatic faces, these birds remain popular but mysterious because it’s rare to catch more than a glimpse of one in the wild. Unlike their cousins, the hawks, eagles and falcons, owls are the only bird of prey able to also hunt effectively at night when they have the skies to themselves. This has helped them become one of the most successful birds on earth, but the chief reason is due to their extraordinary super powers. To examine these special skills, filmmakers enlisted the help of veteran bird handlers, experts and technology to demonstrate and test the owl’s amazing abilities.

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PHILADELPHIA – HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF PENNSYLVANIA

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 21 @ 11:00PM

The genealogists visit The Historical Society of Pennsylvania and discover some fascinating Philadelphia family history. One woman’s ancestor may have sparked historic labor laws; a pastor may have an outlaw in her family tree; a woman learns about slave genealogy and – with the help of DNA testing – gets the answer she has waited for; and another woman learns her ancestor may have helped others escape the Holocaust.

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EPISODES 1 & 2

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 21 @ 6:00PM

Episode 1: La Famiglia Roots (1880 – 1910)

A brief history of the Italian Risorgimento provides the context for the great flight from the mezzogiorno region, as well as the roots of the first generation’s distinctive psychology. Through the travels of Italian migrant workers, we understand the transnational nature of these “Birds of Passage.” By the late 19th century, Italians begin to put down roots. “Little Italy’s” spring up in urban areas throughout the U.S. But the first generation holding onto their language and culture are branded as “outsiders” and mistrusted by non-Italians.

EPISODE TWO: Becoming American (1914–1930)

At the turn of the 20th century, over 4 million Italians immigrate to America to start new lives. Although mistrustful of government institutions, parents send their children to public school to succeed in America.

Leonard Covello is forced to give up his “old world” ways and adapt American mores, including changing his name; Arturo Giovannitti, a new immigrant to America, leads the largest labor strike of 1912, where Italian Americans push for better working conditions and decent wages.

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