Disclosure
An investigation of how Hollywood's fabled stories have deeply influenced how Americans feel about transgender people, and how transgender people have been taught to feel about themselves.
Lucy and Desi
Explore the unlikely partnership and enduring legacy of one of the most prolific power couples in entertainment history. Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz risked everything to be together.
Dangerously Funny
A dive into an incredible moment in comedy, culture, and politics when Tom and Dick Smothers challenged CBS censors, Presidents Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard Nixon, and ultimately each other. The duo did so via their comedy variety show The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, which in its two-year run on CBS, made a major impact with its political satire. The Smothers Brothers used the program as a platform to critique the Vietnam War and tackle other hot topics, coming into conflict with censors, who demanded cuts or last-minute edits to jokes, and fighting management to keep their material intact.
Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street
Take a stroll down Sesame Street and witness the birth of the most influential children's show in television history. From the iconic furry characters to the classic songs you know by heart, learn how a gang of visionary creators changed the world.
What We Left Behind: Looking Back at Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
A documentary exploring the legacy of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the reasons it went from the black sheep of Star Trek to a beloved mainstay of the franchise, and a brainstorm with the original writers on what a theoretical eighth season of the show could look like.
The Story of Soaps
This ABC/PEOPLE television special highlights the impact of the soap opera. In today's shifting television landscape, "The Story of Soaps" traces how female creators migrated from radio to television to become the dominant force in daytime for more than three decades. Today, the legacy of the soap opera continues all over prime time and reality t.v. An extensive look is taken at this iconic, impactful genre.
Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession
A documentary on the Z Channel, one of the first pay cable stations in the US, and its programming chief, Jerry Harvey. Debuting in 1974, the LA-based channel's eclectic slate of movies became a prime example of the untapped power of cable television.
An American Family at 50
TV special revisiting the documentary series that became a media sensation 50 years ago and birthed a new television genre. Examines the enduring significance of the series, which chronicled seven months in the lives of the Loud family of Santa Barbara, California.
Oops, Those Hollywood Bloopers!
A collection of bloopers and outtakes from an enormous selection of Hollywood classic productions spanning from the 1930s through the 1980s.
Exporting Raymond
A documentary on Phil Rosenthal's experiences during the making of "Voroniny," the Russian-language version of "Everybody Loves Raymond".
Television Event
An archive-based feature documentary viewing the dramatic climax of the Cold War through the lens of the ABC network, as it narrowly succeeds in producing the most watched, most controversial made-for-TV movie, THE DAY AFTER (1983). With irreverent humor and sobering apocalyptic vision, this film reveals how a commercial broadcaster seized a moment of unprecedented television viewership, made an emotional connection with an audience of over 100 million and forced an urgent conversation with the US President on how to collectively confront and resolve the most pressing issue of the time - nuclear proliferation.
Smothered: The Censorship Struggles of the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour
The history of the irreverent "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour" and the content battles it fought with its television network.
Synonymous With
A student's increasingly intimate line of questioning causes his interview with a local horror host to take a vulnerable turn.
The Orange Years: The Nickelodeon Story
A journey behind the scenes of the Nickelodeon television network to chronicle its unprecedented success, from its humble origins as a small local channel to its status as an international phenomenon that helped shape an entire generation of children.
Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You
Arguably the most influential creator, writer, and producer in the history of television, Norman Lear brought primetime into step with the times. Using comedy and indelible characters, his legendary 1970s shows such as All In the Family, Maude, Good Times, and The Jeffersons, boldly cracked open dialogue and shifted the national consciousness, injecting enlightened humanism into sociopolitical debates on race, class, creed, and feminism.
Blackadder's Most Cunning Moments
A countdown of the top 40 "Blackadder" moments chosen by cast and crew members, celebrity fans and 15 genuine Blackadders.
Monday Night Mayhem
The early years of a television sports powerhouse are chronicled as ABC becomes a player in the NFL coverage by putting their full resources into a major showcase. Executive Roone Arledge recruits former Dallas Cowboys quarterback 'Dandy' Don Meredith, Keith Jackson, and the combative Howard Cosell as commentators for the broadcasts, which become funny, odd trio events to millions of viewers. Jackson departs the show after the first year to take over the network's focus on college football, and former New York Giants star Frank Gifford takes his place, ruffling Cosell's feathers. Then things get really crazy!
Television Under the Swastika
A history of Nazi television programming and technology, from 1935 to 1944.
Saturday Night Live in the 2000s: Time and Again
Documentary looking back at the history of Saturday Night Live, focusing on the years 2000-2009.
Shari & Lamb Chop
Shari Lewis was a dancer, singer, and magician but is best known as the ventriloquist behind sock puppets Charlie Horse, Hush Puppy and, of course, Lamb Chop. This lively doc charts the life, loves, and career hits and misses of this spunky perfectionist, who forever changed the face of children’s television.