October is packed with exciting premieres, specials, and returning favorites on BTPM! From gripping dramas to live music and historical documentaries, there’s something for everyone to enjoy.
- Sunday Nights: Brand-new dramas & mysteries, including a bold new Maigret
- Monday Nights: Austin City Limits returns with Finneas performing live
- American Masters: An inspiring profile of Academy Award-winner Marlee Matlin
- Week of Oct. 20: America’s Stairway and Erie Canal documentaries marking the 200th anniversary
- Halloween Night (Oct. 31): Three chilling old-time radio specials, back-to-back
Keep reading for more information about each of these programs and when you can catch them airing on BTPM PBS! Many of these programs are also available to our members via BTPM PBS Passport to watch on demand.
Voces American Historia: The Untold History of Latinos (all 3 episodes) – Friday, 10/3, 8 PM
Join creator and host John Leguizamo on a quest to uncover Latino and Latina heroes and their contributions. Leguizamo takes you on a captivating journey, delving into both well-known and lesser-known stories of Latino history, spanning thousands of years, from the Ancient Empires to the present, and shining a light on the rich and often overlooked history of Latinos.
Watch "VOCES American Historia: The Untold History of Latinos" with BTPM PBS Passport!
Remembering Western New York – Sunday, 10/5, 5 PM
Remembering Western New York is a celebration of historical treasures, including architectural gems, beloved community establishments, and homes for local sports teams, told through the memories of those who remember and love the unique treasures of the region. Hear stories about the Memorial Auditorium, Sattler's Department Store, War Memorial Stadium, and the Colored Musicians Club.
Watch "Remembering Western New York" free online or with the PBS app!
Brian and Maggie – beginning Sunday, 10/5, 8 PM
It's 1989. Two old friends, politician-turned-journalist Brian Walden and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, sit for one of the most famous political exchanges of all time, one that would end a political era and a long-term friendship as it reshaped national opinion and triggered the downfall of the Iron Lady.
Watch the trailer for "Brian and Maggie" here with BTPM PBS Passport!
Maigret on Masterpiece – beginning Sunday, 10/5, 9 PM
Jules Maigret, who heads the elite police unit known as La Crim, is responsible for investigating all serious crimes in and around Paris. Maigret is an unconventional young detective with something to prove, relentless in his investigations, with an uncanny ability to get under the skin of the criminals he is chasing and a matchless knowledge of Paris and its inhabitants.
Watch "Maigret on Masterpiece" with BTPM PBS Passport!
The Gold on Masterpiece – beginning Sunday, 10/5, 10 PM
"The Gold" is a critically acclaimed crime drama inspired by the true story of one of the largest robberies in British history — the 1983 Brink’s-Mat robbery.
Watch "The Gold" with BTPM PBS Passport!
Austin City Limits (Series 51) – beginning Monday, 10/6, 10 PM
This long-running concert series showcases artists from every musical genre in a live music setting. Created to shine a spotlight on original Texas music, the show has expanded its boundaries to encompass a wide range of styles and artists, featuring notable acts such as Finneas, The Marias, Charley Crockett, Waxahatchee, Samara Joy, Kelsea Ballerini, and Jon Batiste.
Watch "Austin City Limits" with BTPM PBS Passport!
Frontline: Born Poor – Tuesday, 10/7, 10 PM
The children of Chester, PA, are plagued by poor health, malnutrition, drugs, and family problems. Half of them live below the poverty line. Frontline follows them through the maze of social service programs available to them and reveals the challenges of growing up in hardship.
Watch "Frontline: Born Poor" beginning Oct. 7 on demand here!
American Masters: Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore – Tuesday, 10/14, 9 PM
Take a closer look at Marlee Matlin’s life as a groundbreaking performer, whose meteoric and tumultuous rise to fame started in 1987 when she became the first Deaf actor to win an Academy Award for her role in "Children of a Lesser God." At the age of twenty-one, Matlin was thrust into the national spotlight, becoming for many Americans the first Deaf person they saw on TV and, overnight, becoming the de facto representative of the Deaf community.
Watch "American Masters | Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore" here!
Rick Steves Art of the Renaissance – Friday, 10/17, 8 PM
Around 1400, the beauty of ancient Greece and Rome was reborn in the Renaissance, and glorious art told the story. This rebirth of classical culture showed itself in the statues, paintings, and architecture of Florence, then spread from Italy to Spain, Holland, Germany, and beyond. Follow along with Rick Steves and explore this fascinating period in art history.
Watch "Rick Steves Art of the Renaissance" with BTPM PBS Passport!
Miss Austen on Masterpiece (marathon) – Saturday, 10/18, beginning at 3 PM
Miss Austen takes a historic literary mystery—the notorious burning of Jane Austen’s letters by her sister Cassandra—and reimagines it as a fascinating, witty, and heartbreaking story of sisterly love. In the process, she creates a Cassandra as captivating as any Austen heroine.
Watch "Miss Austen on Masterpiece" with BTPM PBS Passport!
America’s Stairway – Monday, 10/20, 9 PM
The epic story of how one of America’s first successful public works emboldened a nation to move westward, and how in the 21st Century it has enabled a new generation to revitalize itself. The Flight of Five Locks was completed in 1842 as part of the First Enlargement of the Erie Canal. The Lockport Locks were regarded as a modern engineering marvel, enabling commerce and passengers to travel from New York City to the Great Lakes.
American Experience: Kissinger (parts 1 & 2) – Tuesday, 10/28, 8 PM
An unlikely celebrity who drew fire from across the political spectrum, Henry Kissinger is widely recognized as one of the great American statesmen of the twentieth century. A prominent interpreter of U.S. foreign policy, Kissinger chided Americans for their moralism, arguing for a more pragmatic approach to foreign affairs.
Watch "American Experience: Kissinger" on demand here!
Theater of the Mind (marathon) - Friday, 10/31, 8 PM
Theater of the Mind is radio you can see! We bring the 1940s-style radio plays of yesteryear to life visually.
Sherlock Holmes and the Giant Rat of Sumatra
It’s autumn of 1898 in the Docklands of London. The world’s first consulting detective, Sherlock Holmes, is called to investigate the appearance of a long overdue clipper ship, the Matilda Briggs, that arrives with a young boy, dead from a mysterious attack. The case does not particularly capture Sherlock Holmes’s attention. However, he does take an interest in investigating the disappearance of a famous archaeologist, leading to a shocking conclusion on the waterfront.
Good Little Girl, Goodnight
Gathin and Joanna Teller have moved into an old fixer-upper just outside the small town of Thanatos, when a mysterious 10-year-old girl from down the road comes to visit. She explains that the previous owners had read stories to her from a particular book, and she would like more stories. In the spirit of new friendships, the Tellers oblige while, in town, dark secrets are being revealed.
Invisible Man
Set in the village of Iping, in a blinding snowstorm, a stranger arrives at the Coach & Horse Inn demanding a room. His head is bandaged and his eyes concealed behind blue goggles. His possessions arrive the following day — scores of strange glass bottles and boxes of books. When the landlady begins to make inquiries, the stranger loses his temper, strips off his wrappings, and is invisible.
Watch "Theater of the Mind" free online or with the BTPM PBS app!