CHILDREN OF SYRIA
TUESDAY, APRIL 19 @ 11:00PM
The story of four children surviving in war-torn Aleppo, and their escape to a new life in Germany. The documentary follows a Syrian family that FRONTLINE first profiled back in 2014 over three years, from the siege of their city, to the kidnapping of their father, to the struggle of becoming refugees.
THAT CHANGED AMERICA
THURSDAY, MARCH 7 @ 11:00PM
10 Towns that Changed America focuses on ten “experimental” towns that did not evolve organically over time, but instead were designed (or redesigned) from the ground up by visionary architects, corporations, and citizens, who sought to change the lives of residents using architecture, design, and urban planning. Some of these visionaries were driven by an ideology, others were trying to serve their own financial interests, but all had one thing in common: they believed in the power of our built environment to change the way we live.
DEMOCRATS/SOFT VENGEANCE
MONDAY, APRIL 18 @ 8:00PM
In the wake of long-time leader Robert Mugabe’s contentious 2008 presidential win, Zimbabwe took a historic step forward by convening a bipartisan constitutional committee as the country tried to evolve past its years of corrupt, authoritarian leadership. Two men from rival political parties were appointed to the committee: Paul Mangwana and Douglas Mwonzora, opposites in politics and personality, but both passionate and united in their ambition to deliver a historic new foundation for a reformed nation. Should they fail at securing maximum influence for their respective parties on the provisions in the new constitution, dire consequences loom for each.
SEASON 4 ON MASTERPIECE
SUNDAY, APRIL 17 @ 8:00PM & 12:00AM
EPISODE 4
Lights, camera, action! As the Dolly sisters film their big break in Selfridge’s, the reality of Harry’s lavish living comes crashing down. Will Harry be able to keep the store he loves out of the crossfire? Meanwhile, as Kitty and Frank have their reckoning, Grove and Mardle face their future.
SUNDAY, APRIL 17 @ 9:00PM
EPISODE 3
Summertime in the East End brings with it new challenges, when an outbreak of a rare disease erupts on a Poplar street. While Patsy and Dr Turner try to track down the source of the outbreak, suspicion over who the carrier could be threatens to break apart a closely knit family.
Sister Winifred is forced to reconsider her prejudices when dealing with a mother-to-be and Barbara inadvertently agrees to go to dinner with Tom, but is wracked with worry about how Trixie will react.
WITH GWEN IFILL
FRIDAY, APRIL 15 @ 9:00PM
This Week on Washington Week | New York state of mind: Clinton, Sanders debate in Brooklyn; Trump decries GOP’s “rigged” system.
SWING: PURE PLEASURE (1935-1937)
EPISODE 5
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4 @ 7:00PM & 11:30PM
As the Great Depression drags on, jazz comes as close as it has ever come to being America’s popular music . Big band jazz – swing – becomes the most popular music in America. Some fans, disturbed by its popularity, start a movement to embrace “traditional” jazz. In the western “territories,” a blues-soaked big band style further transforms jazz.
“Swing: Pure Pleasure” (Part 5 of 10) recalls the years 1935 to ’37, when “jazz came as close as it ever came to being America’s popular music,” says narrator Keith David. The reason: swing. It “unleashed forces that people didn’t know existed,” says critic Gary Giddins.” The result: “pure physical pleasure.” Swing’s king: Benny Goodman, who’s profiled, as is Jimmy Lunceford, Tommy Dorsey, Glenn Miller, Artie Shaw and Billie Holliday.
CAN ALZHEIMER’S BE STOPPED?
SATURDAY, APRIL 16 @ 11:00PM
Alzheimer’s disease strikes at the core of what makes us human: our capacity to think, to love, and to remember. The disease ravages the minds of over 40 million victims worldwide, and it is one of the greatest medical mysteries of our time. Join investigators as they gather clues and attempt to reconstruct the molecular chain of events that ultimately leads to dementia, and follow key researchers in the field who have helped to develop the leading theories of the disease.
INDIA’S WANDERING LIONS
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 13 @ 6:00PM & 11:00PM
As India’s population booms, her legendary wildlife has been squeezed almost out of existence. But the commitment of the Indian people to preserve their wildlife is surprising – leading even to bringing back what has been lost. Against a backdrop of teak forest, farmland and villages, this film explores the extraordinary story of Asia’s last lions and their recovery from near extinction. From a mere 20 individuals a century ago, they now number over 400. But the lions have outgrown their sanctuary and spilled out into the surrounding countryside and villages. Yet here a unique relationship has developed between lions and people, revealing a story not of continual conflict as we might expect, but one of survival and tolerance.
THAT CHANGED AMERICA
THURSDAY, MARCH 9 @ 7:00PM & 11:00PM
10 Parks that Changed America tells the story of 10 visionaries who took open canvases of God-forsaken land, and transformed them into serene spaces that offer city dwellers a respite from the hustle and bustle of urban life. From the elegant squares of Savannah, Georgia, to a park built over a freeway in Seattle, to the more recent High Line in New York, each story introduces the heroes who brought these parks to life, and the villains who preferred to exploit the land for private enterprise. Discover the evolution of our nation’s city parks, and learn the history of landscape architecture – an American-born art in which human beings try their best to mimic nature.