PBS will spend chunks of this summer the way other networks do –with reruns.
They’ll be good reruns, at least. “Downton Abbey” will be there; so will a best-of “American Experience,” ranging from Woodstock to the moon, from John Kennedy to George H.W. Bush.
And there will be some new shows mixed in. They include the final season of “Grantchester” mysteries (shown here), plus documentaries about a poet, a publisher, a Holocaust hero, outer space and the American Southwest.
When the federal government suddenly cut off its funding last year, PBS had to improvise. Some shows had fewer episodes; the much-honored “American Experience” shut down production entirely.
Viewers may sense that when summer — usually a big time for PBS — has a modest schedule. Still, there will be plenty to watch; that includes:
KEY RERUNS
— “Downton Abbey” will rerun its second season at 10 p.m. Sundays, from June 14 to July 26.
— “America Experience” reruns its Woodstock film on June 9, then takes over Fridays. That includes Bush (June 19 and 26), Kennedy (July 10 and 17), and “Chasing the Moon” (July 24 and 31 and Aug. 7).
— Other reruns will stream on pbs.org or the pbs.app. This summer has an emphasis on American history (leading to the 250th birthday, July 4) and on mysteries. That will include “Patience,” “Poirot” and “Mademoiselle Holmes” and, in August, “Magpie Murders” and the first season of “The Marlow Murder Club.” Also in August is opne other drama, “Call the Midwife”
NEW MYSTERIES
— “Grantchester” has become the longest-running mystery series in PBS history, with a small-town cop linking with a crimesolving vicar. Knowing this 11th season is its last, it has stuffed the eight episodes (June 14 to Aug. 2) with life-changing moments … while remembering to solve crimes.
— And on Sept. 6 — sort of in summer — two series will return. It will be the third season of “The Marlow Murder Club” and the third for what began as “Magpie Murders”; this one is called “Marble Hall Murders.”
MUSIC
— “A Capitol Fourth” has been one of PBS’ most-watched shows, with music, fireworks and more There are plans to continue it this year, but the timing is unclear; from 8-10 p.m. July 4, PBS has set a live event from Colonial Williamsburg: “America Made in Virginia: 250 Years Together.”
— Other music wait until the end of summer. On Aug. 21 is the Metropolitan Opera’s “Eugene Onegin.” A week later is the annual Vienna Philharmonic concert, afrom the Schonbrunn Palace grounds; this time, Lorenzo Viotti conducts, with bass-baritone Bryn Terfel as guest artist.
NEW DOCUMENTARTIES
— June 15: “The Last Twins” focuses on Eino Spiegel, who learned of the Nazi scheme to perform brutal medical experiments on twins. Spiegel shielded dozens of boys and, post-liberation, led them back home.
— June 16: “Becoming Katharine Graham” views the former shy wife who became the strong publisher of the Washington Post, at the heart of the Watergate coverage
— June 22: “Assembly” follows artist Rashaad Newsome as he prepares an exhibit that mixes visual art, performance and artificial intelligence.
— June 29: “Declarations: Black Americas and the Revolutionary War”
— July 6: “True North: Canadian Myths and Black Power” re-visits a pivotal point in 1968 Montreal.
— July 8: “The American Southwest” is a journey down the Colorado River, finding abundant wildlife along the way.
— July 13: “Flood” sees a filmmaker return to her California home, trying to reconnect with her father, the only evangelical in the family.
— July 14 to Aug. 4: “Once Upon a Time in Space” is a four-part look at the people in the space program, from Space Station Mir to commercial spaceflight.
— Aug. 25: “Mary Oliver: Saved by the Beauty of the World” profiles the poet who wrote of nature, beaut and the journey toward love.