BOSTON (August 9, 2018) – From coq au vin to mousse au chocolat, Julia Child introduced French cuisine to American cooks though WGBH’s pioneering television series The French Chef. In celebration of what would have been her 106th birthday, WGBH is bringing back more than 50 episodes of the original series. The first 12 episodes will be available to stream through WGBH Passport starting on Thursday, August 9 with an additional 40 episodes added by Wednesday, September 5, 2018.
Available to WGBH members and available on WGBH.org, WGBH Passport offers online access to an extensive library of public television's premier programming — including drama, science, history, and the arts. Members can watch anytime, from any device. WGBH.org also features WGBH’s award-winning journalism, original digital content, and Kids programming and educational materials.
“Julia Child was a pioneer, bringing her culinary talents to WGBH before anyone was offering cooking shows on television” said Bob Kempf, WGBH’s Vice President for Digital Services. “We are thrilled to now be able to offer The French Chef through WGBH Passport that our members can once again experience Julia Child, now when they want to see it and on whatever platform they prefer,”
One of the first cooking shows to ever appear on television, The French Chef debuted on WGBH on February 11, 1963. Child attracted a wide audience with her joie de vivre, distinctively charming voice and unaffected manner. Child was passionate about food and she changed the way Americans cook and eat.
The show ran nationally for ten years and won both a Peabody Award in 1964 and a Primetime Emmy Award for Achievements in Educational Television – Individuals in 1966, the first-ever Emmy award for an educational program. The October 31, 1971 episode was the first U.S. television show to be captioned for deaf viewers.
This special collection of The French Chef will be available to stream on WGBH Passport beginning August 9, 2018. In this special Passport collection, chefs of all ages and abilities can experience Child’s celebration of French food and learn to cook some of the treasured and classic dishes from her original public television series.
In addition to The French Chef, WGBH Passport features episodes from American Experience, Antiques Roadshow, FRONTLINE, NOVA and Masterpiece, along with many of public television’s other programs. For more information about WGBH Passport, visit https://www.wgbh.org/support/passport.
About WGBH
WGBH Boston is America’s preeminent public broadcaster and the largest producer of PBS content for TV and the Web, including Masterpiece, Antiques Roadshow, Frontline, Nova, American Experience, Arthur, Pinkalicious & Peterrific, and more than a dozen other primetime, lifestyle and children’s series. WGBH’s television channels include WGBH 2, WGBX 44, and the digital channels World and Create. WGBH TV productions focusing on the region’s diverse community include Greater Boston, Basic Black and High School Quiz Show. WGBH Radio serves listeners across New England with 89.7 WGBH, Boston’s Local NPR®; 99.5 WCRB Classical Radio Boston; and WCAI, the Cape and Islands NPR® Station. WGBH also is a major source of programs for public radio (among them, PRI’s The World®), a leader in educational multimedia (including PBS LearningMedia™, providing the nation’s educators with free, curriculum-based digital content), and a pioneer in technologies and services that make media accessible to deaf, hard of hearing, blind and visually impaired audiences. WGBH has been recognized with hundreds of honors: Emmys, Peabodys, duPont-Columbia Awards and Oscars. Find more information at wgbh.org.
