Popular TV Shows on PBS

Frontline

1983

Frontline

1983
7.4
Since it began in 1983, Frontline has been airing public-affairs documentaries that explore a wide scope of the complex human experience. Frontline's goal is to extend the impact of the documentary beyond its initial broadcast by serving as a catalyst for change.
American Masters

1986

American Masters

1986
7.4
American Masters is a PBS television series which produces biographies on enduring writers, musicians, visual and performing artists, dramatists, filmmakers, and others who have left an indelible impression on the cultural landscape of the United States.
Great Performances

1971

Great Performances

1971
5.5
The best in the performing arts from across America and around the world including a diverse programming portfolio of classical music, opera, popular song, musical theater, dance, drama, and performance documentaries.
Nature

1982

Nature

1982
8.1
Consistently stunning documentaries transport viewers to far-flung locations ranging from the torrid African plains to the chilly splendours of icy Antarctica. The show's primary focus is on animals and ecosystems around the world. A comic book based on the show, meant to be used an as educational tool for kids, was briefly distributed to museums and schools at no cost in the mid-2000s.
Independent Lens

1999

Independent Lens

1999
6.5
This acclaimed Emmy Award-winning anthology series features documentaries and a limited number of fiction films united by the creative freedom, artistic achievement and unflinching visions of their independent producers and featuring unforgettable stories about a unique individual, community or moment in history.
NOVA

1974

NOVA

1974
7
PBS' premier science series helps viewers of all ages explore the science behind the headlines. Along the way, NOVA demystifies science and technology, and highlights the people involved in scientific pursuits.
Secrets of the Dead

2000

Secrets of the Dead

2000
6.3
Part detective story, part true-life drama, long-running series explores some of the most iconic moments in history to debunk myths and shed new light on past events. Using the latest investigative techniques, forensic science and historical examination, it shatters accepted wisdom, challenges prevailing ideas, overturns existing hypotheses, spotlights forgotten mysteries, and ultimately rewrites history.
Call the Midwife

2012

Call the Midwife

2012
7.5
Drama following the lives of a group of midwives working in the poverty-stricken East End of London during the 1950s, based on the best-selling memoirs of Jennifer Worth.
Unforgotten

2015

Unforgotten

2015
7.6
London police detectives Cassie Stuart and Sunny Khan investigate historic cold cases involving missing persons, murder and long-hidden secrets.
Grantchester

2014

Grantchester

2014
7.4
In 1953 at the hamlet of Grantchester, Sidney Chambers—a charismatic, charming clergyman—turns investigative vicar when one of his parishioners dies in suspicious circumstances.
Variety Studio: Actors on Actors

2014

Variety Studio: Actors on Actors

2014
5
PBS SoCal and Variety take you inside the biggest movies and TV shows of the past year through candid conversations with today's hottest actors. Hosted by Variety Film Awards Editor Clayton Davis and Variety Chief Correspondent Elizabeth Wagmeister, each episode brings together pairs of actors engaging in intimate one-on-one discussions about their craft and work.
Victoria

2016

Victoria

2016
7.3
The story of Queen Victoria, who came to the throne at a time of great economic turbulence and resurgent republicanism – and died 64 years later the head of the largest empire the world had ever seen, having revitalised the throne’s public image and become “grandmother of Europe”.
Frankie Drake Mysteries

2017

Frankie Drake Mysteries

2017
6.5
Toronto’s only female private detective in the 1920s takes on the cases the police don’t want or can’t handle. From airplanes and booze running to American G-men, Communists and union busters, Frankie’s fearless sense of adventure gets her into all kinds of trouble, but she always manages to find her way out.
Endeavour

2013

Endeavour

2013
8.1
The early days of a young Endeavour Morse, whose experiences as a detective constable with the Oxford City Police will ultimately shape his future.
The Woodwright's Shop

1981

The Woodwright's Shop

1981
9
The Woodwright's Shop is a traditional woodworking show hosted by Roy Underhill on the Public Broadcasting Service in the United States. It is one of the longest running "how to" shows on PBS. Since its debut in 1979, the show has aired over 400 episodes. The first two seasons were broadcast only on public TV in North Carolina; the season numbering was restarted when the show went national in 1981. It is still filmed at the UNC-TV studios in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina.
MotorWeek

1981

MotorWeek

1981
4.4
This award-winning weekly automotive magazine provides unbiased, consumer-oriented car news with feature stories on related topics.
Live from Lincoln Center

1976

Live from Lincoln Center

1976
8.6
Since premiering in 1976, the landmark series has sought to democratize the world of the performing arts by making Lincoln Center's historic concerts and events available for public broadcast across the country. And it continues to push the boundaries, both technical and creative, of what is possible in the realm of stage performance capture.
The Woman in White

2018

The Woman in White

2018
6
The lives of two half-sisters and their drawing master get caught up in a deadly conspiracy revolving around a mentally ill woman dressed all in white.
Finding Your Roots

2012

Finding Your Roots

2012
6.5
Noted Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr. has been helping people discover long-lost relatives hidden for generations within the branches of their family trees. Professor Gates utilizes a team of genealogists to reconstruct the paper trail left behind by our ancestors and the world’s leading geneticists to decode our DNA and help us travel thousands of years into the past to discover the origins of our earliest forebears.
Poldark

2015

Poldark

2015
7.8
Britain is in the grip of a chilling recession... falling wages, rising prices, civil unrest - only the bankers are smiling. It's 1783 and Ross Poldark returns from the American War of Independence to his beloved Cornwall to find his world in ruins: his father dead, the family mine long since closed, his house wrecked and his sweetheart pledged to marry his cousin. But Ross finds that hope and love can be found when you are least expecting it in the wild but beautiful Cornish landscape.

Popular TV Shows on PBS

1983

1983

1986

1986

1971

1971

1982

1982

1999

1999

1974

1974

2000

2000

2012

2012

2015

2015

2014

2014

2014

2014

2016

2016

2017

2017

2013

2013

1981

1981

1981

1981

1976

1976

2018

2018

2012

2012

2015

2015