THE GORILLA WHO TALKS
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2 @ 9:00PM
In 1971, Penny Patterson began teaching sign language to a gorilla named Koko, unaware that this relationship would define both their lives. More than 40 years later, the now-famous Koko continues to redraw the line between people and animals.
ON MASTERPIECE
SEASON 8, EPISODE 1
SUNDAY, AUGUST 7 @ 7:00PM & 11:30PM
In “One for Sorrow,” identifying the remains of a body discovered in a well appears to be an insurmountable task for Inspector Robbie Lewis (Kevin Whately) and CS James Hathaway (Laurence Fox). Lewis, recently out of retirement, has to prove himself to a new boss and Hathaway finally gets to know his estranged father. Meanwhile, the death of a young artist begins to look like murder. Is there a connection between the dead body in the well and the murdered artist?
CHOCOLATE
SUNDAY, AUGUST 28 @ 5:00PM
Follow the trials and tribulations of passionate amateur bakers whose goal is to be named the U.K.’s best. Each week, the bakers tackle a different skill, the difficulty of which increases as the competition unfolds. Mary Berry, a leading cookbook writer, and Paul Hollywood, a top artisan baker, serve as judges. Together with hosts and comic foils Sue Perkins and Mel Giedroyc, Berry and Hollywood search for the country’s best amateur baker by testing the competitors’ skills on cakes, breads, pastries and desserts, crowning a winner after 10 weeks of competition.
EPISODE 6
THURSDAY, AUGUST 4 @ 7:00PM
Join Stanley, Sarah and Pamela as they try to help Louis elude the police. Masterson offers a huge reward for Louis’ capture. Lady Cremone, convinced of Louis’ guilt, refuses to aid him. A policeman coerces Sarah into divulging damaging information. Hit by the scandal the hotel loses many of its residents and the band is forced to split.
T-REX: HER FIGHT FOR GOLD
MONDAY, JUNE 10 @ 8:00PM
Flint, a city made famous by Michael Moore’s documentary Roger & Me, and more recently by the lead poisoning water crisis, has been hard-hit for years as factories closed, jobs left, and crime, unemployment, and poverty became endemic. It’s the most unlikely and challenging of backgrounds for an Olympic athlete to make it through. But Claressa “T-Rex” Shields is as tough as they come.
T-Rex: Her Fight for Gold is the coming-of-age story of boxing phenom Claressa Shields, who was just 17 years old when she won the Olympic gold medal for women’s boxing in 2012.
THE BOY’S OF 36
TUESDAY, JULY 9 @ 7:00PM & 11:00PM
The story of nine working-class young men from the University of Washington who took the rowing world and America by storm when they captured the gold medal at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin. Their unexpected victory, against not only the Ivy League teams of the East Coast but Adolf Hitler’s elite German rowers, gave hope to a nation struggling to emerge from the depths of the Great Depression.
IRIS
MONDAY, AUGUST 7 @ 8:00PM
Iris pairs the late documentarian Albert Maysles (Grey Gardens, Gimme Shelter), then 87, with Iris Apfel, the quick-witted, flamboyantly dressed 93-year-old style maven who has had an outsized presence on the New York fashion scene for decades.
WITH GWEN IFILL
FRIDAY, JULY 29 @ 9:00PM
SUNDAY, AUGUST 14 @ 5:00PM
VICTORIAN
In a Baking Show first, the entire episode is devoted to the period of history that gave birth to modern baking, the Victorian era. For the first challenge, the bakers have three hours to make a raised game pie. The pie must have thin pastry, and must be very ornate, as most game pies from the era were. For the technical challenge, a tennis fruit cake is set for the bakers. The bakers were given three hours to make a fruit cake, along with royal icing and sugar paste, with much gelatine being used. A Charlotte Russe is set as the Showstopper. To be done in five and a half hours, the bake usually has ladyfingers around jelly and a sponge – with flavor and decoration being key.
NPR CONVENTION COVERAGE
DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION
MONDAY – THURSDAY
JULY 25 – JULY 28 @ 9:00PM
Don’t miss special primetime PBS NewsHour/NPR joint coverage of the Democratic national convention July 25-28.