Starring LA’s Historic Past, KCET Premieres New Season of ‘LOST LA’ October 10
CONTACT:
Allison Gray
agray@kcet.org /747.201.5298
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New Episodes Explore the Surprising Cultural Evolution of Los Angeles
Also streaming on YouTube, Roku and Apple TV.
BURBANK, Calif. – Sept. 15, 2017 – KCET, the nation’s largest independent public television station, has announced the return of its history series LOST LA, a co-production with the University of Southern California Libraries. In its second season, which is sponsored by Union Bank, LOST LA uncovers the hidden past of this region through the documents, photos and archives that give a new perspective on the creation of modern-day Los Angeles. LOST LA premieres on Tues., Oct. 10 at 8:30 p.m. on KCET in Southern California.
LOST LA brings Southern California history to life by marrying archival materials from the L.A. as Subject research alliance with innovative forms of documentary storytelling. Hosted by public historian Nathan Masters of USC Libraries, each episode of LOST LA brings the primary sources of Los Angeles history to the screen in surprising new ways. Much of L.A.’s past is lost to history – but through the region’s archives we can rediscover a forgotten LA that preceded the arrival of Anglo settlers and learn how it transformed so quickly into a sprawling, culturally diverse metropolis.
“LOST LA explores LA’s past using different interpretive frameworks to the broad sweep of Southern California history,” says Juan Devis, KCETLink’s Chief Creative Officer. “We’re excited to bring the second season of LOST LA to our viewers so they can join us again as we investigate how the region’s explosive and surprising growth inevitably erased or marginalized parts of the city’s identity along the way.”
Catherine Quinlan, Dean of the USC Libraries, said, “LOST LA shares important stories from our collections – and those of LA as Subject members – with a tremendous audience in inventive ways. As we launch our Collections Convergence Initiative at USC, I'm grateful to our KCET partners for highlighting how essential primary sources are to public and academic explorations of our shared history as Southern Californians.”
“Union Bank is proud to continue our partnership with KCET to bring KCET viewers programming that supports and celebrates the rich history and cultural diversity of Los Angeles,” said Leticia Aguilar, Regional President Los Angeles Central Coast Division, Union Bank.
The episodes will be telecast as follows (subject to change):
Episode One: “EL PUEBLO DE LOS ANGELES” – Tues., Oct. 10
American history has long been told as a triumphant march westward from the Atlantic coast, but in Southern California our history stretches back further in time. This episode explores the interconnected lives of three people who lived through California’s transition from native land to Spanish colony and from to Mexican province to American state. Featuring the stories of native leader Toypurina, who led the revolt against the San Gabriel Mission, Spanish soldier José María Pico, who served at the mission, and his son Pío Pico, who became the last Mexican Governor of California.
Episode Two: “WILD WEST” – Tues., Oct. 17
Before Hollywood imagined the Wild West, Los Angeles was a real frontier town of gunslingers, lynch mobs, and smoke-belching locomotives. This episode examines L.A.’s efforts to reckon with its violent past by examining hanging trees, remnants of vigilante justice; the massacre of eighteen Chinese immigrants that took place in 1871 near what is now Olvera Street; and railroad promotional campaigns that painted a picture of Los Angeles as a verdant paradise.
Episode Three: “BUILDING A METROPOLIS” – Tues., Oct. 24
Adobe, wood, tin, steel, concrete – these are the materials that gave form to Los Angeles and shaped its identity in the national imagination. This episode also questions the cultural legacy and environmental costs of the city’s relentless growth.
Episode Four: “DREAM FACTORY” – Tues., Oct. 31
Los Angeles is often identified with Hollywood, but there's more to the entertainment industry than its facade of movie stars and blockbuster films. This episode explores the career of Lois Weber, a filmmaker who rose to greatness in a nascent film industry that welcomed women into creative leadership positions; as well as a Central Casting Bureau that capitalized on the city’s segregated ethnic enclaves when filling background roles.
Episode Five: “CODED GEOGRAPHIES” – Tues., Nov. 7
What if the stories L.A. told about itself relegated you to the margins? This episode explores two underground guidebooks – The Negro Travelers’ Green Book and The Address Book – that reveal the hidden geographies many Angelenos had to navigate, exposing Los Angeles as a place of coded segregation and resistance.
Episode Six: “PACIFIC RIM” – Tues., Nov. 14
American history once looked at the California shore and saw the end of the continent. Instead, this half-hour documentary interprets that sandy edge as the beginning of a Pacific world – one that has long influenced Los Angeles through the basic earth forces of geology and climate and the transoceanic flows of people, goods, capital, technology, and cultural ideas.
This project was made possible with support from California State Library, The Ralph M. Parsons Foundation and California Humanities, a non-profit partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Visit www.calhum.org.
For more information about LOST LA and to watch episodes online, visit kcet.org/LostLA.
Join the conversation on social media using #LostLA
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 52-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. KCET is a part of the KCETLink Media Group. Select original programming from KCET is also available for streaming on Apple TV and Roku platforms.
ABOUT USC LIBRARIES AND L.A. AS SUBJECT
The USC Libraries actively support the discovery, creation, and preservation of knowledge at the University of Southern California and beyond. The libraries serve as host institution for L.A. As Subject, an association of more than 230 libraries, cultural institutions, official archives, and private collectors dedicated to preserving and telling the sometimes-hidden histories of the Los Angeles region. The history of Los Angeles as a Pacific Rim metropolis is among the USC Libraries’ prominent collections strengths.
About MUFG Union Bank, N.A.
MUFG Union Bank, N.A., is a full-service bank with offices across the United States. We provide a wide spectrum of corporate, commercial and retail banking and wealth management solutions to meet the needs of customers. We also offer an extensive portfolio of value-added solutions for customers, including investment banking, personal and corporate trust, global custody, transaction banking, capital markets, and other services. With assets of $116.7 billion, as of June 30, 2017, MUFG Union Bank has strong capital reserves, credit ratings and capital ratios relative to peer banks. MUFG Union Bank is a proud member of the Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (NYSE: MTU), one of the world’s largest financial organizations with total assets of approximately ¥304.2 trillion (JPY) or $2.7 trillion (USD)¹, as of June 30, 2017. The corporate headquarters (principal executive office) for MUFG Americas Holdings Corporation, which is the financial holding company and MUFG Union Bank, is in New York City. The main banking office of MUFG Union Bank is in San Francisco, California.
1 Exchange rate of 1 USD=¥112.0 (JPY) as of June 30, 2017
