What’s coming from PBS By David Thiel, Content Director I attended the PBS Annual Meeting in May. In previous years, I’ve come back with all manner of news about upcoming series, but due to inclement weather at O’Hare Airport, I wound up missing much of the first day of the conference. Happily, I can share with you some updates about new dramas, some surprising performances, a very odd kids’ show, and—just possibly—the return of Sherlock Holmes’ nemesis! The PBS Arts Fall Festival returns on Friday, Sept. 26, and this year’s offerings will include Live from Lincoln Center’s presentations of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, starring Emma Thompson and Bryn Terfel (pictured
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above); and The Nance, a drama about burlesque performers starring Nathan Lane, pictured at left below. Austin City Limits will celebrate 40 years of concerts, and the San Francisco Opera will bring us a new production of the Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess. This December, Bing Crosby croons in an American Masters profile. Other arts highlights in the season to come include James Earl Jones and Angela Lansbury in Driving Miss Daisy; another series of Shakespeare Uncovered; and Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga in Concert, pictured at right below. They were one of the most popular duets on the previous PBS Tony Bennett duets show and the CD that topped the Billboard charts. PBS KIDS premieres a new live-action series, Odd Squad, this November. Olive and Otto are agents of a secret organization that investigates weird happenings that invariably involve math concepts. Think Men in Black, only with kids in all of the roles. The preview clips