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PBS is hoping to lure viewers this fall with a lineup that includes a heavy dose of Hamilton, and a new documentary from the broadcaster’s stalwart creative partner, Ken Burns.
But even as she touted the public broadcaster’s upcoming programming at the Television Critics Association summer press tour in Beverly Hills, PBS President and CEO Paula Kerger had to respond to a bit of breaking news involving long running kids’ staple Sesame Street.
Series producers at Sesame Workshop announced Thursday that three veteran cast members — all over the age of 70 — had been given pink slips, prompting accusations of age discrimination.
‘“As you know, Sesame Street is produced by Sesame Workshop, which is an independent production company, and the casting decision was made by them,” Kerger said. “We did not know about it beforehand. We found out about it after.”
Kerger was also asked about Fireworksgate, the recent brouhaha surrounding the use of pre-recorded fireworks during the live — and very cloudy — broadcast of A Capitol Fourth over the Independence Day holiday.
It was an honest mistake, Kerger said, but PBS is held to a higher standard, and the team goofed.
“The producer made a mistake. His intention to create a good viewing experience was the right one — the mistake is they didn’t label it as [live].”
Looking ahead, Kerger expressed concern about the upcoming spectrum auction and what it meant for the availability of public broadcasting in some parts of the country.
The FCC is in the process of overseeing an auction that would shift rights to transmit over specific bands of the electromagnetic spectrum from television broadcasters to mobile carriers.
“It’s an issue that does concern me a great deal,” Kerger said. “There are a number of people across the country that rely on over-the-air television. I hope as we go through the process that we don’t have places in this country that will be unserved by television, and I hope that we particularly won’t have places that will be unserved by public television.”
Kerger confirmed that Hamilton fever has indeed swept PBS, as she announced that in addition to the already unveiled Hamilton’s America doc as part of the Great Performances series, the musical’s creator and recently departed star Lin-Manuel Miranda would be the on-air host for the PBS Arts Fall Festival when it returns on October 21.
“I truly admire how Lin-Manuel Miranda has redefined the musical genre, inviting audiences to explore our nation’s history in ground breaking new ways,” Kerger said.
Among the performances Miranda will front:
- The West End revival of Gypsy starring Imelda Staunton
- Shakespeare Live! From the Royal Shakespeare Company with appearances by Judi Dench, Helen Mirren, and Benedict Cumberbatch
- Bill Murray: The Mark Twain Prize
- Alan Cumming Sings Sappy Songs
Of course, Hamilton’s America will be the centerpiece of the festival, bringing the backstory behind the phenomenon into the homes of Americans who can only dream of scoring a coveted ticket to the Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning musical.
The documentary follows the production from its early days through the three years leading up to the Broadway premiere.
PBS will announce an air date in the coming weeks.
Ken Burns was next up at the tour, sharing the stage with co-director Artemis W. Joukowsky to introduce Defying the Nazis: The Sharps’ War, the story of Waitstill and Martha Sharp, a Unitarian minister and his wife from Massachusetts who helped spirit refugees and children out of Nazi Europe during World War II.
Burns said that unlike his other documentaries, he didn’t conduct a single interview with a subject.
That’s because Joukowsky is the grandson of the Sharps, and many of the subjects felt more comfortable speaking with him after decades of silence.
Burns joked about some of the star power providing voiceovers for the doc.
“I was able to get a little known actor named Tom Hanks; I think that helped,” he joked.
Defying the Nazis: The Sharps’ War airs September 20 at 9 p.m. on PBS.
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