January is a busy month at KQED Public Television with the return of some of our most beloved programs. Pop phenomenon Downton Abbey is back January 6 for its third season on KQED 9. The very next day Antiques Roadshow premieres its 17th season with a brand new episode. Audience favorite Pioneers of Television is back for a third season January 15, exploring everything from television's funniest women to superheros. And Truly CA closes out its season with the new documentary Sons of a Gun, which follows a family dealing with mental illness and homelessness in Oakland and Alameda. Add to the mix two new Great Performances and American Experience programs each and an exploration of Shakespeare's masterpieces by some of the leading artists of our time, and you have an explosive start to the new year!
Here are the January highlights for KQED Public Television:
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Tuesday, January 1, at 9:30pm on KQED 9
GREAT PERFORMANCES: BROADWAY MUSICAL, A JEWISH LEGACY Why has the Broadway musical proven to be such fertile territory for Jewish artists of all kinds? Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Michael Kantor (Broadway: The American Musical) focuses on this central question, combining interviews with performance footage, including many of the rousing anthems and timeless ballads America has loved for a century. |
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Friday, January 4, at 9pm on KQED 9
GREAT PERFORMANCES: PAUL SIMON'S GRACELAND JOURNEY Paul Simon’s Graceland album remains as one of the most significant recordings of our times, selling 14 million albums worldwide and winning Grammys for “Album of the Year” and “Song of the Year” for the title track. In 2011, filmmaker Joe Berlinger accompanied Simon on his return to South Africa to reunite and perform with several of the musicians involved in the original album, capturing Simon’s unique homecoming as he reflects on the landmark events. |
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Sunday, January 6, at 9pm on KQED 9
MASTERPIECE: DOWNTON ABBEY SEASON 3 PREMIERE The Great War is over and the long-awaited engagement of Lady Mary and Matthew is on, but all is not tranquil at Downton Abbey as wrenching social changes, romantic intrigues and personal crises grip the majestic English country estate. Beloved American actress Shirley MacLaine joins the cast for season 3. |
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Monday, January 7, at 8pm on KQED 9
The 17th season of the audience favorite begins with our experts taking on Corpus Christi, TX. Antiques Roadshow appraisers discover a million-dollar item when a guest brings in a Diego Rivera oil painting created in 1904 when the artist was just 18 years old. |
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Tuesdays, January 8, 15, 22, at 9pm on KQED 9 Vividly bringing to life the epic struggles of the men and women who fought to end slavery, the three-part The Abolitionists tells the intertwined stories of Frederick Douglass, William Lloyd Garrison, Angelina Grimké, Harriet Beecher Stowe and John Brown. Fighting body and soul, they led the most important civil rights crusade in American history. |
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Thursdays, January 10, 17, 24, and 31; February 7, at 8pm and 9pm on KQED Plus
This 10-part BBC One program by the legendary David Attenborough explores why mammals are the most successful creatures on the planet. XFINITY subscribers can enjoy this beautiful nature documentary in stunning HD on channel 710. |
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Monday, January 14, at 10pm on KQED 9
INDEPENDENT LENS: SOUL FOOD JUNKIES Filmmaker Byron Hurt (Hip Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes) sets out to learn more about the soul-food tradition and its relevance to black cultural identity. His exploration was inspired by his father’s lifelong love affair with the high-fat, calorie-rich traditional soul-food diet and his unwillingness to give it up even in the face of a life-threatening health crisis. |
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Tuesday, January 15, at 7pm on KQED Plus
REVOLUTIONARIES SEASON PREMIERE The Computer History Museum’s acclaimed speaker series returns for a second season to KQED Plus. The series premiere features an in-depth conversation with new Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer. Take your front row seat for these intriguing conversations with renowned Silicon Valley leaders and innovators with valuable insights into the process, risks and rewards of technological innovation. |
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Tuesday, January 15, at 8pm on KQED 9
PIONEERS OF TELEVISION: FUNNY LADIES The third season of the series premieres with Funny Ladies devoted to the groundbreaking women who proved that women can be just as funny as the men when given the chance. This episode features some of the funniest women to ever appear on television: Phyllis Diller, Joan Rivers, Lucille Ball, Mary Tyler Moore, Betty White and Marla Gibbs. The episode also covers television’s most enduring variety star, Carol Burnett, and features interviews with contemporary actresses including Tina Fey and Margaret Cho. |
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Sundays, January 27; February 3 and 10; at 12pm and 1pm on KQED 9
SHAKESPEARE UNCOVERED Join Ethan Hawke, Jeremy Irons, Derek Jacobi, Trevor Nunn, Joely Richardson and David Tennant for the stories behind Shakespeare’s plays. Six episodes combine history, biography, and the personal passion of its celebrated hosts with visits to key locations, clips from some of the most celebrated film and television adaptations, and illustrative excerpts from the plays specially staged for the series at Shakespeare's Globe in London. |
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Sunday, January 27, at 6pm on KQED 9
Though not related by blood, three schizophrenic men and their alcoholic caregiver have lived together in Oakland for 20 years. Filmmakers Rivkah Beth Medow and Greg O’Toole follow this unique 'family' as they get evicted and scramble to find a new home. |
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Tuesday, January 29, at 9pm on KQED 9
HENRY FORD: AMERICAN EXPERIENCE Henry Ford's car transformed the lives of millions and created the world as we know it. A bundle of contradictions, Ford helped liberate millions from social isolation with his Model T and also trapped thousands in a workplace prison where they were forbidden to sit or talk. The same Ford who welcomed African Americans and disabled people into his factories was a bigot who broadcast to the world his vitriolic hatred of Jews and exhibited devastating cruelty to his own son. |