Documentary Archives - Page 11 of 63

The Story Of God’s Morgan Freeman: “The biggest question we ask is about resurrection”

March 18, 2016 Lori Acken

The Story of God With Morgan Freeman premieres Sunday, April 3 at 9/8CT on National Geographic Channel. By his very nature — the soulful eyes and regal bearing, legendary voice and sonorous delivery — when Morgan Freeman tells you something, you believe it. You just do. Hence, the Oscar winner is frequently tapped to play noble sorts — doctors, lawmen, statesmen, even revolutionaries like Nelson Mandela and Malcolm X. Even God. And God is the reason Freeman is here today, seated beside his Revelations Entertainment partners Lori McCreary and James Younger in a Pasadena hotel suite. Not because he’s portraying God. […]

HBO debuts Body Team 12, Ebola trilogy tonight

March 14, 2016 Lori Acken

“We’ve moved away from calling it a treatment center, because little treatment is available,” says Dr. Javid Abdelmoniem, one of the unsung heroes of the 2014 West African Ebola pandemic who is spotlighted in tonight’s HBO documentary short Ebola: The Doctors’ Story. The film is part of the network’s trilogy of short films offering an multi-perspective examination of the outbreak that devastated Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia — and terrified the world — which premieres tonight at 9/8CT. Ebola: The Doctors’ Story, Body Team 12 (a 2016 Oscar nominee) and Orphans of Ebola chronicle the devastating health crisis over an 8-month timeframe, telling the stories of the doctors, response […]

When does the MythBusters series finale air?

March 5, 2016 Jeff Pfeiffer

The MythBusters series finale will air Saturday, March 5, on Discovery Channel. Along with the final episode, there will also be a reunion special. MythBusters hosting duo Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman have been saying goodbye throughout the show’s final episodes this winter, leading up to this series finale. After 248 episodes, 2,950 experiments, 1,050 myths and 900 explosions, the series that debuted in January 2003 will come to an end. “Making MythBusters has fundamentally and irrevocably altered the way I think as a person, as an artist, and as a scientist,” said Savage. “I’m glad for the chance to say goodbye with some […]

“A Year in Space” on PBS: Inside Scott Kelly’s 12-month space odyssey

March 1, 2016 Ryan Berenz

If humankind will someday travel to and live on Mars, much will be owed to the scientific groundwork laid by astronaut Scott Kelly’s year on the International Space Station (ISS). After more than 340 days in space, Kelly is scheduled to return to Earth on March 1 at 11:25pm ET. Marking the occasion, PBS and Time have partnered to present A Year in Space, a two-part documentary tracking his entire mission. The first part (March 2 at 8pm ET, check local listings) follows Kelly’s extensive training, his launch into orbit, and his life aboard the ISS. Part 2 airs in […]

Dateline NBC special looks at Steven Avery case

January 27, 2016 Jeff Pfeiffer

Netflix’s documentary series Making a Murderer and its subject, Steven Avery, still have viewers buzzing over Avery’s guilt or innocence, as well as authorities’ handling of his case and the filmmakers’ decision to leave some evidence out of the film. Not only is the series still going strong on Netflix, but other networks are now looking at the case, including some of the usual suspects you might expect: true-crime channel Investigation Discovery, which airs a special this weekend, and NBC’s Dateline franchise. Dateline NBC: “The State of Wisconsin vs. Steven A. Avery” airs Friday, Jan. 29, at 10pm ET on NBC. The one-hour special promises […]

Is Steven Avery guilty or innocent? Investigation Discovery special looks at the case

January 25, 2016 Lori Acken

Steven Avery: Innocent or Guilty premieres Saturday, Jan. 30 at 9/8CT on Investigation Discovery. RELATED: • Netflix’s Ted Sarandos calls “Making a Murderer” a “remarkable turn of events” • Dateline NBC special looks at the Steven Avery case Odds are, if you have a TV, computer or tablet, you’ve been sucked into the worldwide phenomenon that is Netflix’s original series Making A Murderer. If you haven’t watched it (and maybe even if you have), you probably wish your friends would just … stop … talking … about it. And if you haven’t heard of it at all, well, you’ve won a seriously impressive game of […]

NGC special marks 30th anniversary of Challenger disaster

January 25, 2016 Jeff Pfeiffer

I can still remember sitting in my sophomore homeroom on the morning of Jan. 28, 1986, when our school’s principal came on the intercom system to inform us of the tragedy that had occurred when, 73 seconds into its launch, the space shuttle Challenger abruptly burst into flames and broke apart, killing all seven crew members. Among the deceased was Christa McAuliffe, a social studies teacher who was supposed to be the first American civilian in space. Thirty years on, the image of the Challenger disaster has become embedded into the psyches of most Americans who are old enough to remember the […]

#TCA16: PBS partners with NPR on Election 2016, gears up for Post-Downton Era

January 19, 2016 Ryan Berenz

PBS announced new programming initiatives for 2016 at the TCA Winter Press Tour: PBS has entered into a strategic partnership with NPR to share news content between the two organizations as part of its PBS Election 2016 news, public affairs, documentary and digital programming surrounding the year’s politics. PBS and NPR team up to integrate content on PBS.org (beginning in February) and on the Politics section of NPR.org. PBS announced 16 for ’16 (working title), a 16-week documentary series that spotlights unforgettable presidential and vice-presidential candidates whose campaigns weren’t successful but earned them a significant place in the history books. Subjects […]

#TCA16: Netflix’s Ted Sarandos calls “Making a Murderer” a “remarkable turn of events”

January 17, 2016 Jeff Pfeiffer

You may well be among the large group of people who, since Christmastime, has been inundated with raves, opinions and theories from friends and family about the Netflix documentary series Making a Murderer. Or, you yourself may be one of those people who has become addicted to the true crime series, which was filmed over 10 years and follows the story of Steven Avery, a Wisconsin man who served 18 years in prison for the sexual assault and attempted murder of Penny Beerntsen, and who was exonerated in 2003. Avery was then arrested in 2005, and convicted in 2007, of the […]

Amazon Studios talks Mad Dogs, Bosch, Catastrophe, The New Yorker Presents at Television Critics Association Press Tour

January 11, 2016 Lori Acken

Amazon Studios presented its upcoming slate of original series premieres and returns today at the Television Critics Association Press Tour. Amazon chief Roy Price started the session by touting the previous night’s Golden Globe successes for Mozart in the Jungle and its star Gael Garcia Bernal plus Transparent’s Globe nominations and Amazon’s 60 other award nominations and 20 wins. Noting that Hand of God, Red Oaks, Mozart in the Jungle, The Man in the High Castle (the service’s most successful launch yet) and Transparent all received new seasons, Price said the streaming service constantly seeks “visionary creators with voices that will stand out […]