Monday at 8:00pm watch the next episode of season six, Foyle’s War: Broken Souls. Someone murders a psychiatrist, and his colleague, an emigré Jew from Poland who is also Foyle's chess tutor, attempts suicide. But they're not the only ones on Foyle’s mind; a missing telegraph boy becomes a suspect when a German POW is found dead on a local farm.

Tuesday at 11:00pm tune in for Benny Hill, the classic, slap-stick, skit-based, comedy show. This show airs late at night during the week, and Tuesday’s episode is sure to be a laugh!

Wednesday at 8:00pm Inspector Morse begins a new season with The Way Through the Woods. A serial killer is murdered in prison and his deathbed confession disavows one of his previous murder confessions. Morse wants to reopen the case, but was the man lying? Or will he find the true killer?

Thursday beginning at 8:00pm get your mystery fix with Sherlock Holmes at 8:00pm followed by Agatha Christie’s Poirot at 9:00pm.

Friday at 10:00pm the crew begins new adventures and laughs with Coupling season 4. New additions, new relationships, and new jokes all begin this Friday evening.

Saturday from 10:00am – 8:00pm catch up on the previous week’s prime-time (8:00pm-11:00pm) programming. Missed new episodes of your favorite evening shows? Watch them all back-to-back on Saturdays from 10:00am – 8:00pm. Shows include: Yes, Prime Minister, May to December, Fresh Fields, Last of the Summer Wine, New Tricks, Prime Suspect, Sherlock Holmes, BallyKissAngel, Agatha Christie’s Poirot, Inspector Morse, Death in Paradise, and Dalziel & Pasco.

Sunday at 8:00pm watch Yes, Minister from the very beginning! Episode one of this classic series will get you hooked in no time. Tune in and don’t miss out!

Inspiring tales of "the underdog" and film have always gone together like peanut butter and jelly andeven though those PB&Js might not taste as great as they did when you were 6, underdog films never get old. This Saturday, WETA presents two free movies about people at a disadvantage working hard to make a difference. First, we follow the big win of a small town basketball team in Hoosiers (1986) at 9:30pm. Next, learn about rape cover up of the U.S. military and its survivors in Independent Lens: The Invisible War.

Hoosiers (1986)

The small town of Hickory, Indiana loves basketball, so the pressure is on when a new coach arrives to train the high school team. After failing to impress the community with his unusual style of coaching, Norman Dale hires Shooter, the alcoholic father of one of his players, as his assistant. With the addition of a star player, the team begins a winning streak that leads to the State Championship game. But can this band of misfits win against their rivals of South Bend? Find out Saturday at 9:30pm! Watch a preview!

Hoosiers (1986) airs Saturday, May 18th at 9:30pm on WETA TV26 & HD.

Independent Lens: The Invisible War

Washington D.C. is often seen as military central for the United States, where training, planning and honors take place on a daily basis. But has a cover up also been developing at our nation’s capital? In the new investigative documentary by Independent Lens, the veil is lifted from one of the biggest scandals within the U.S. military where, according to the Department of Defense, there were an estimated 22,800 violent sex crimes in 2011. The Invisible War presents personal accounts of survivors, like Kori Cioca, who was beaten and raped by her supervisor in the U.S. Coast Guard.  For the few who do report abuse, a flawed judicial system awaits, leading to only 8 percent of military sexual assault cases prosecuted. Watch a preview!

Independent Lens: The Invisible War airs Sunday, May 19th at 1:30am on WETA TV26 & HD.

This weeked in the Washington, DC, Maryland, and Virginia area, expereince a one-of-a-kind event at the Kennedy Center and get a hefty dose of fine art in Reston. Read on for more details!

Center this weekend! Combining radio show and comic book elements, this unique production follows the story of reporter Molly Sloan, her assistant Timmy Mendez, and a librarian named Ben Wilcott as they face the threat of an invasion of sludge monsters from the planet Zygon. The live performance features three actors, one Foley artist, and one keyboardist who perform all the voices, sound effects and music, while more than 1,000 hand-drawn, comic book images fill a two-story-high screen. This adventure is perfect for families with children ages 8 and up! Watch a preview!

How long has it been since you’ve set aside some time to appreciate art? From May 17-19, stop by Reston Town Center and experience the Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival. The outdoor festival, now in its 22nd year, offers attendees the opportunity to admire and purchase original work from over 200 artists across a wide range of mediums. Enjoy live performances and entertainment, and be sure to visit the Family Art Park, which offers something for children, teens, and adults alike. Held by the Greater Reston Arts Center (GRACE), a non-profit organization with the goal of promoting visual arts, the festival begins this Friday with its Opening Night Party from 6pm-9pm. 

This weekend on WETA, watch three movies right from your Washington, DC, Maryland, or Virginia home! Watch a blind love unravel into danger and fear with Alfred Hitchcock's classic film Suspicion. Then discover the struggle between love and infatuation in Independent Lens' Seeking Asian Female. And if you're still awake at midnight, watch POV's In the Matter of Cha Jung Hee as a Korean born woman delves into her past to find the person whose name she bears.

For those of you who believe opposites attract, you’ll want to check out this documentary from Independent Lens.  Seeking Asian Female follows the lives of two people who fall in love and decide to get married after meeting on the internet.  Steven, a white American man from San Francisco, has always had a fascination with Chinese women.  After divorcing twice, the struggle for Steven to find the Asian woman of his dreams seems to be merely impossible until he meets Sandy.  Sandy, a determined 30 year old woman from China, immediately falls in love with Steven and flies out to San Francisco to marry him.  But marriage isn’t all fun and games as the cross-cultured couple soon find out.  Communicating through a translator, overcoming Steven’s obsession with Chinese women and adapting to life in a foreign country are just a few issues the couple must face in order to make their relationship work.  But are Steven and Sandy willing to take these drastic measures for true love?  Tune in to find out! Watch the trailer!

Whether in our own backyard or across the plains of Africa, four-legged creatures have learned to co-exist with humans or migrate to safer pastures. In the new episodes of PBS’ Nature this month, we will explore The Private Life of Deer on Wednesday the 8th and The Great Zebra Exodus on Wednesday the 15th.

The Private Life of Deer

The Washington, D.C. area is home to many Whitetailed deer, which enjoy eating our gardens, hopping into oncoming traffic, and slipping into the woods of our local parks. In the past century, the deer population has increased from less than a million to almost 30 million as of today. In an effort to document this ever increasing species, footage was acquired in unique ways throughout the country. In one segment, residents of Cayuga Heights, NY were given video equipment to document populations in their area, while in another segment; small cameras were strapped to the backs to wild deer. The footage acquired provides unprecedented insight into the lives of our furry neighbors. Watch the trailer!

Nature: The Private Life of Deer airs Wednesday, May 8 at 8:00pm on WETA TV26 & HD. Also Airs Thursday, May 9 at 2:00pm.

The Great Zebra Exodus

Traveling with family can be complicated, especially when it seems like everyone’s moving in a different direction. But can you imagine voyaging with 20,000 of your closest kin? Follow the story of one zebra family, a stallion, his three mares and their offspring, traveling with the herd in Southern Africa’s biggest animal migration. Taking place every year across the Kalahari’s Makgadikgadi Pans, this trek to grass and water tests the social bonds that hold zebra families together. Watch the trailer!

Nature: The Great Zebra Exodus airs Wednesday, May 15 at 8:00pm on WETA TV26 & HD. Also Airs Thursday, May 16 at 2:00pm.

We all feel desperate from time to time, it’s a versatile feeling that spans the globe as it spans our weekend schedule. This weekend on WETA, we share four movies with characters desperate for something: fame, success, life, and respect. The three documentaries run late into Sunday morning so if you haven’t done it yet, set your DVR to record from Saturday 9:30pm – Sunday 3:30am.

Baby Jane Hudson (Bette Davis) was a vaudeville star, but as an adult, she was overshadowed by her movie star sister, Blanche (Joan Crawford). One night in the 1930s, Blanche was permanently crippled in an accident blamed on Jane. Now in 1962, Jane and Blanche live together in their decaying Los Angeles mansion as Jane plots their showbiz comeback. Blanche desperately tries to get away from Jane but can she succeed to escape her tormenting sister who handicapped her as a young woman and continues to do so in their older age? Watch the trailer.

Marcos Hernandez came to the United States from Mexico, after a deadly border crossing through the Sonora Desert in southern Arizona. He is searching for his father, Francisco, also an undocumented border crosser, who disappeared in the Sonora Desert while entering the U.S. Marcos sends money from his home in Chicago to his mother in Mexico City every month so she can buy medicine for his brother, Gustavo, who needs a kidney transplant. The Undocumented is Marcos’s story—as well as the story of countless other migrants. Follow Marcos’s search with the efforts of humanitarians and Border Patrol agents who are fighting to prevent migrant deaths, the medical investigators and Mexican Consulate workers who are trying to identify dead border crossers, and Mexican families who are struggling to accept the loss of a loved one. Watch the trailer.

More than three decades ago, Vietnamese refugees began to settle in Versailles, a then-isolated community in eastern New Orleans. Although by the early 2000s the community had accomplished material successes, it remained divided between older immigrants and American-born youth. A Village Called Versailles is the story of this little-known community in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. When the storm devastated New Orleans in August 2005, Versailles residents rebuilt their neighborhood faster than most other damaged neighborhoods in the city, only to find themselves threatened by a new toxic landfill slated to open just two miles away. Forced out of Vietnam by the war 30 years ago, many residents felt their homes were being taken away from them once again. Watch the story of this community fighting to regain their safety and happiness in New Orleans. Watch the trailer.

Begin new seasons and new series on WETA UK this week! Introducing Lead Balloon to the Washington, DC area, WETA UK is full of surprises this week. Read on for more highlights and trailers, plus, don’t forget to mark your calendars!

Monday at 8:00pm tune in for the Foyle’s War season 2 kick-off! In the first part of the mystery titled, Fifty Ships, an American multi-millionaire, Foyle’s old love interest, and a mysterious Dutch refugee, are all implicated when a dead body is discovered on a beach. Sam looks for a new residence after her home is destroyed in a bombing raid. Foyle investigates a looting case when coins disappear from Sam’s ruined home.

Tuesday at 9:00pm get ready for season 2 of Rumpole of the Bailey. In this first episode of season 2, Rumpole and the Man of God, Rumpole defends a vicar who is charged with theft, but trouble arises when the distressed clergyman refuses to take the stand in his own defense. George Frobisher, the next Circuit Judge, joins the Rumpoles for dinner and introduces his new girlfriend who Rumpole remembers seeing in court.

Tuesday at 10:00pm start season 6 of MI-5 a.k.a Spooks. The award-winning, edge-of-your-seat spy drama is back with another white-knuckle ride through the perilous world of deadly terrorists, international cover-ups and treacherous double-agents.

Wednesday at 8:00pm Inspector Morse takes on The Day of the Devil. In this mystery, a serial rapist and Satanist named John Barrie escapes from a mental hospital and demands that his therapist be turned over to him. A master of disguise, Barrie sets up an elaborate and deadly battle of wits with Morse. Part 2 airs next Wednesday at 8:00pm

Thursday at 7:30pm say hello to Keeping Up Appearances season 2! When it comes to snobbery, Hyacinth Bucket is in a class of her own. Award-winning actress Patricia Routledge plays the comic monster in a role which viewers have taken to their hearts. In season 2, Daddy goes missing again, Hyacinth drags Richard off for a weekend of golf at an executive golf club, in spite of the fact that he doesn't like the game, and, determined that the neighbors should see the van delivering her classy new three-piece suite, Hyacinth has parking cones placed outside the house, along with a special notice warning of an immediate delivery.

Friday beginning at 6:00pm begin all new seasons on WETA UK. First at 6:00pm, watch Waiting for God from the very first episode. Then at 8:30pm watch Rosemary & Thyme take on Memory of Water in the first episode of season 2. At 9:30pm get your full dose of laughs with Outnumbered season 4 episode 1, and kick off season 3 of Men Behaving Badly at 10:30. We’re not done just yet! At 11:30pm tune in for the British classic Allo, Allo as we begin season 4.

Saturday beginning at 8:00pm conclude season two of the WETA UK Event: The Complete Vera. Stay tuned to the Programmer’s Choice blog because we have a brand new WETA UK Event next Saturday!

Sunday at 9:00pm we’re proud to announce the WETA UK premiere of Lead Balloon! Written by and starring Jack Dee, one of the UK’s most successful stand-up comedians, you’re invited to enter the world of Rick Spleen… Rick Spleen is a disillusioned stand-up comedian and writer whose career has not gone the way he had planned. Worse still, he’s stuck with a lousy stage name that he chose 20 years ago. Rick combines a mass of neuroses and petty grievances with a terrible propensity for lying which is not a recipe for success. Along for the ride is his quick-talking American co-writer Marty, his unflappable partner Mel, and his incompetent daughter Sam. Join us this Sunday and every week for this brand new, modern British comedy, Lead Balloon!

Spring has sprung and we're in the mood to celebrate! Check out our weekend event highlights in DC, Maryland, and Virginia for April 19 - 21 below, you're sure to find something you'll like.

Celebrate The King of Latin Jazz

Tito Puente (April 20, 1923 – June 1, 2000) was a prestigious Latin jazz and salsa composer and a remarkable musician.  Known as “The King of Latin Jazz” and “The King of the Timbales,” Tito Puente made an extensive impact in the music world for 50 years.  This Saturday, the Anacostia Community Museum hosts Metro Mambo: Tito Puente: The Definitive Celebration!  Hosted by Jim Byers from 89.3 FM’s Latin Flavor, this celebration of the legendary Tito Puente includes un-released recordings, personal insights, and rare memorabilia from former Puente band members and Puente’s biographer, archivist, and best friend of over 40 years, Joe Conzo.  Get excited, there will be a dance party featuring one of the region’s top bands!       

Now that the sun is finally shinning and the flowers are beginning to bloom, why not spend the weekend outdoors? This weekend, the City of Alexandria will host the 20th Annual Alexandria Earth Day and Arbor Day. The event will consist of a variety of activities such as the Arbor Day tree planting, visual and performing arts events from Alexandria City Public School students, the Annual Earth Day Tree Sale, and music from Woven Green, an eco-friendly band. Also included will be the display of a new hybrid DASH bus, a hybrid trolley and other vehicles to educate families of the importance of going green. So get on your bike, jump on the bus, or walk to Alexandria’s Annual Earth Day Celebration. 

“To be, or not to be: that is the question” and we have an answer! This Sunday, you need to “be” at William Shakespeare’s Birthday Open House hosted by the Folger Shakespeare Library. This free celebration will feature fun activities for the whole family, like a Shakespeare portrait contest, fortune telling, Elizabethan crafts, stories from 16th Century England, a scavenger hunt, and poetry contests. Sunday is also the only day the Reading Rooms are open to the public so take a tour inside and then head out on a docent-lead walk through the Elizabethan Garden. This event is rain or shine, be sure to get there in for the cake-cutting ceremony on the lawn at 3:30pm. 

Spring is upon us in the Washington, D.C. area! As the weather warms up, we shelve our soups and casseroles for lighter, cooler options. This April on WETA, we're sharing the best of the best spring and summer foods with you: hot dogs, sandwiches, and ice cream. In addition to these favorite foods, WETA is proud to announce the premiere of our brand new local documentary, Pizza in Washington on May 7 at 8:00pm! Read on for more information about these delicious shows and watch the very first preview of Pizza in Washington!

Read the full article to watch previews!

A Hot Dog Program

Sandwiches That You Will Like  

changed rapidly in the past few decades and POV’s Food, Inc. investigates how mass production of livestock and genetically modified crops are putting independent farmers out of business. As power is transferred into the hands of powerful corporations, is this new style of farming healthy or sustainable? Find out in the documentary that has helped create a rood revolution. 

POV: Food, Inc. airs Sunday, April 21 at 12:30am on WETA TV26 & HD. 

cure is uncomplicated ice cream. But it’s not as simple as that- many years of hard work have gone into perfecting this comfort food. The Ice Cream Show takes viewers on a trip across the country in their hunt for the best scoops and we’ll meet manufactures and scientists who spend their lives dedicated to the frozen treat. Join us for this Ode to the Ice Cream, and be sure to have a pint of your favorite to enjoy during the show!

Next month WETA will premiere our local production Pizza in Washington, a brand new documentary about some favorite pizza places in the Washington, D.C. area. Filled with mouthwatering shots of fresh mozzarella, tomatoes and dough this program takes a look inside the pizzerias of our area. Check out the tease below for your first look at Pizza in Washington and be sure to join us for the premiere on May 7th at 8:00pm.

Just when you thought you’d never get over Sundays without Downton Abbey, WETA TV26 and WETA HD begins Call the Midwife season 2 and Masterpiece Classic: Mr. Selfridge this Sunday, March 31!

Read the full article to watch trailers of these two series!

In episode 1, it’s Nurse Jenny Lee’s birthday celebration at the Nonnatus House but as soon as the party comes to an end, she is assigned a new patient, the pregnant Molly Brignall.  The well-being of Molly and her child is compromised putting Jenny in a difficult spot.  Trixie and Sister Evangelina care for a Captain’s pregnant daughter but how will the two do aboard a ship?

Prepare to be swept back to early 20th Century England with Mr. Selfridge, the newest Masterpiece series based on real-life events. Follow the story of Harry Gordon Selfridge, an American businessman from Chicago, played by Jeremy Piven (Entourage). Selfridge moves to London and opens the department store chain Selfridges at the end of Oxford Street with £400,000 of his own money. Selfridge’s foreign principles and modern retail techniques create quite a stir in London society and the drama commences.