50th Anniversary of Moon Landing Commemorated As PBS SoCal and KCET Launch ‘SUMMER OF SPACE’ With Over 20 New Hours of Out of This World Programming
CONTACT
Allison Gray
agray@pmgsocal.org
747-201-5298
Southern California Viewers Get Exclusive First Look At
New KCET Original Aerospace Documentary Miniseries BLUE SKY METROPOLIS
PBS SoCal Lineup Anchored by ‘Chasing the Moon’ from AMERICAN EXPERIENCE;
Also Includes New Five-Part NOVA ‘The Planets’ and More
(KCET Original BLUE SKY METROPOLIS and AMERICAN EXPERIENCE “Chasing the Moon,”
both part of PBS’ “Summer of Space”)
pbssocal.org/summerofspace
kcet.org/summerofspace
Burbank, Calif. – June 13, 2019 – PBS SoCal and KCET, Southern California’s home for PBS and award-winning original public media programs, announced today a special “SUMMER OF SPACE” programming slate to commemorate the semicentennial moon landing anniversary. Among the more than 20 hours of new space-themed content are the eagerly anticipated AMERICAN EXPERIENCE: Chasing the Moon and NOVA: The Planets miniseries, as well as the four-part KCET Original documentary series BLUE SKY METROPOLIS, produced in partnership with Emmy Award®-winning filmmaker Peter Jones (Johnny Carson: King of Late Night and the Peabody Award-winning Inventing LA: The Chandlers and Their Times).
The “SUMMER OF SPACE” is anchored by the epic and highly anticipated “Chasing the Moon” from AMERICAN EXPERIENCE. The three-part, six-hour film tells the entire story of the space race, from its earliest beginnings to the first lunar landing in 1969. Written and directed by Academy Award® nominee Robert Stone, “Chasing the Moon” premieres Mon.-Wed., July 8-10 from 9-11 p.m. PT on PBS SoCal. It will be supported by a multi-platform digital experience, anchored by an immersive web site featuring original short form video, collaborations with leading digital publishers and additional forms of experimental storytelling that will expand upon the characters and stories presented in the documentary.
Next up for PBS’ “SUMMER OF SPACE” is a special space-themed episode of the beloved viewer favorite ANTIQUES ROADSHOW “Out of This World” (Mon., July 8 at 8 p.m. PT on PBS SoCal), which commemorates the series’ 50th anniversary features stellar appraisals that include NASA memorabilia, space travel treasures, science fiction finds and more.
Launching for Southern California viewers exclusively on Sun., July 14 at 8 p.m. PT on KCET and on Thurs., Aug. 1 at 7 p.m. PT on PBS SoCal before becoming available to PBS stations across the country in August, the four-part documentary miniseries BLUE SKY METROPOLIS focuses on the people behind the aerospace movement in Southern California, the hub of modern-day aerospace engineering. The documentary explores aerospace in Southern California from multiple perspectives including science, culture, politics, race, business, labor, environment and gender. BLUE SKY METROPOLIS features many of the current major players in the aerospace industry in California and is narrated by actor Tony Goldwyn (Scandal, The Last Samurai, Ghost).
Premiering Wed., July 17 at 9 p.m. PT on PBS SoCal is 8 DAYS: TO THE MOON AND BACK, a new BBC Studios documentary co-produced with PBS that takes viewers on a unique journey with the crew of Apollo 11. The film seamlessly blends authentic, rare mission audio featuring candid conversations between Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins with newly shot studio footage, NASA and news archive, as well as stunning CGI recreations of the historic journey and landing to tell this amazing story in a riveting new way.
In the limited three-part series ANCIENT SKIES (July 24 – August 7), premiering Wed., July 24 at 8 p.m. PT on PBS SoCal, audiences will discover how centuries of knowledge, experimentation and engineering helped our ancestors explore outer space. Expert contributors demystify astronomical myths with scientific explanations.
Also debuting on Wed., July 24 at 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. PT on PBS SoCal, the five-part NOVA “The Planets” (July 24 – August 14) kicks off with two back-to-back episodes telling the dramatic story of our solar system, spanning billions of years through the discoveries of the most groundbreaking space missions. The miniseries treats viewers to an up-close look at faraway worlds, including Saturn’s 45,000-mile-wide rings, Mars’s ancient waterfalls and Neptune’s winds—five times stronger than any hurricane felt on Earth.
To round out PBS’ “SUMMER OF SPACE” for Southern Californian viewers, additional new space-themed content on PBS SoCal includes NOVA “Back to the Moon” (Wed., July 10, 8 p.m. PT), WHEN WE WERE APOLLO (Thurs., July 18 at 8:30 p.m. PT), and SPACE CHASE USA (Thurs, July 18 at 10 p.m. PT) as well as encores of popular specials that have previously aired including SECRETS OF THE DEAD “Galileo’s Moon” (Tues., July 2 at 8 p.m. PT), NOVA “Black Hole Apocalypse” (Weds., July 3 at 9 p.m. PT), NOVA “Black Hole Universe” (Weds., July 3 at 10 p.m. PT), AMERICAN EXPERIENCE “Space Men” (Tues., July 9 at 8 p.m. PT), NOVA “Apollo’s Daring Mission” (Tues., July 16 at 10 p.m. PT), A YEAR IN SPACE (Wed., July 17, 8 p.m. PT), and BEYOND A YEAR IN SPACE (Tues., July 30, 10 p.m. PT). KCET will also air encore presentations of many of the programming selections from PBS’ “SUMMER OF SPACE” at various times over the weekend throughout the month of July.
Visit PBSsocal.org and KCET.org for additional digital content exploring aviation and aerospace history here in Southern California, through articles, interactive timelines and maps, photos and video content. Additional celestial-based programming is available by visiting the “Summer of Space” interactive hub on PBS.org, which also invites viewers to submit videos, photos, audio recordings and text entries sharing how they experienced the Apollo mission or their passion for space exploration.
Families can get in on the fun with PBS SoCal’s 5th Annual Summer Learning Day Sat., June 22 from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. at Downey’s Columbia Memorial Space Center. This year’s space-themed “Lift Off to Learning” event is inspired by the 50th anniversary of the moon landing featuring free educational activities, entertainment, music and photo opportunities with PBS KIDS characters that include Jet from READY JET GO! and Luna from LET’S GO LUNA!. Attendees will also have access to the Columbia Memorial Space Museum exhibit, which features a robotics lab, a mission control center, interactive exhibits and a screening of the new hour-long special READY JET GO!: ONE SMALL STEP which premieres on PBS SoCal on Mon., June 17 at 7 a.m.
For a full schedule of Southern California’s SUMMER OF SPACE offering on KCET and PBS SoCal go to kcet.org/summerofspace and pbssocal.org/summerofspace.
Join the conversation on social media using #SummerOfSpace and #BlueSkyMetropolis
ABOUT KCET
On-air, online and in the community, KCET plays a vital role in the cultural and educational enrichment of Southern and Central California. KCET offers a wide range of award-winning local programming as well as the finest public television programs from around the world. Throughout its 54-year history, KCET has won hundreds of major awards for its local and regional news and public affairs programming, its national drama and documentary productions, its quality educational family and children's programs, its outreach and community services and its website, kcet.org. KCET is a donor-supported community institution. For additional information about KCET productions, web-exclusive content, programming schedules and community events, please visit kcet.org. Select original programming from KCET is also available for streaming on Apple TV, YouTube, Amazon and Roku platforms. For more information please visit kcet.org/apps. KCET is a content channel of the Public Media Group of Southern California.
ABOUT PBS SOCAL
PBS SoCal delivers content and experiences that inspire, inform and entertain – over the air, online, in the community and in the classroom. We offer the full slate of beloved PBS programs including MASTERPIECE, NOVA, PBS NewsHour, Frontline, Independent Lens, a broad library of documentary films including works from Ken Burns; and educational PBS KIDS programs including Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood and Curious George. Our programs are accessible for free through four broadcast channels, and available for streaming at pbssocal.org, on the PBS mobile apps, and via connected TV services Android TV, Roku, Apple TV and Amazon Fire TV. PBS SoCal is a donor-supported community institution that is a part of Public Media Group of Southern California, the flagship PBS station for 19 million diverse people across California.
