A tattered season coming? Not on PBS
The face on the screen was familiar and re-assuring.
Yes, this may be the TV season people dread, with two strikes and an overload of reality shows. But there was Ken Burns, via Zoom, reminding us that PBS is as strong as ever.
Burns has been making prize-winning documentaries for four decades.. All of them, he said, came with “no marketing decisions, no focus panels, … just whatever lands in our hearts or our guts.”
Coming next (Oct. 16-17) is a portrait of the Amrican buffalo (shown here). The first half, he admits, is “incredibly difficult to watch.” Still, both halves are richly crafted and deeply moving.
That provides a neat consolation: As awful as this TV season may be, PBS seems to be in fine shape. Here’s an updated look at what’s coming, with details through October and a few glimpses ahead: Read more…