Every month, the duo that puts together GBH's programming schedule offers up insights into the best of broadcast in the coming weeks. Read on to see what Ron Bachman, Senior Director of Programming, and Devin Karambelas, Programming Manager, have to offer this month — and then go set your DVR.
Roadkill
on MASTERPIECE
Sunday, November 1 at 9pm on GBH 2
Ambition and corruption know no bounds in this political thriller starring Hugh Laurie as self-made Tory minister Peter Laurence (with nary a few shades of Boris Johnson). As adversaries unearth his scandalous past, Laurence keeps his eyes on the ultimate political prize, frequently at the expense of those closest to him. It’s a familiar premise for a slow burner but one sharply written by David Hare (Collateral, The White Crow) and bolstered by an all-star ensemble cast featuring Helen McCrory (Peaky Blinders), Saskia Reeves (Luther, Wolf Hall) Pip Torrens (The Crown) and Sidse Babett Knudsen (Borgen). If you’re looking for an election escape, this isn’t exactly it, but it’s nice to watch fictional political theater for a change. —Devin
Watch the official preview:
And tune into Facebook for Drama After Dark's coverage of the show all season long!
The Mallorca Files
Wednesday, November 4 at 8pm on GBH 44
In this delightful new series, ambitious young detective Miranda Blake (Elen Rhys) is dispatched to the spectacular Spanish island of Mallorca to escort a gangland witness back to England — only to find herself assigned there for the foreseeable when things go pear-shaped. The uptight, by-the-book Brit is assigned to work with a laid-back liaison from the German police, Max Winter (Julian Looman), causing sparks of more than one sort to fly. (Looman is quick to point out that while his character is German, he himself is Austrian.) A second season has been commissioned, but we’ll probably have to wait until 2022 for it. In the meantime, bask in these 10 episodes of sun, surf and sin. —Ron
Watch the trailer:
FRONTLINE
— Supreme Revenge: Battle for the Court
Tuesday, November 17 at 10pm on GBH 2
Washington, D.C. has seldom seemed more divisive than during Judge Amy Coney Barrett’s Supreme Court confirmation hearings. FRONTLINE’s latest investigation uncovers how the bitter, partisan battle that played out this fall is the natural result of a political grievance decades in the making. Filmmaker Michael Kirk’s previous FRONTLINE film on the subject,
Supreme Revenge, traced the roots of the Court’s growing politicization to the 1987 Democratic Senate’s rejection of Judge Robert Bork under President Richard Nixon; as one reviewer noted, that film could have been titled “McConnell’s Revenge.” In this update, Kirk’s flair for gripping narrative and context presents a sobering look at the present moment and the Court’s future —Devin
Watch Supreme Revenge (full episode):
Etched in Glass: The Legacy of Steve Ross
Thursday, November 12 at 9pm on GBH 2
This is not your typical Holocaust survivor story. Only nine years old when he was first taken by the Nazis, Polish-born Steve Ross miraculously survived no fewer than ten concentration camps. The compassion of a kind American soldier during the Dachau liberation led him to the United States — and to Boston, where he worked with disadvantaged youth and eventually established the iconic New England Holocaust Memorial near Faneuil Hall. Throughout his life, Ross continued his tireless search for the American soldier who changed his life, with surprising and moving results. Ross died in February of this year, but his legacy is ably captured in this documentary that was a 20-year labor of love for local filmmaker Roger Lyons. —Ron
Watch the trailer:
NOVA: Saving Notre Dame
Wednesday, November 25 at 9pm on GBH 2
When Notre Dame cathedral caught fire in April 2019 (and doesn’t that seem like a long time ago!), Paris came perilously close to losing more than 800 years of history. In the aftermath, NOVA swung into action to capture the efforts of engineers to rebuild the structure and to follow researchers as they use cutting-edge technology to piece together what happened and restore the cathedral. Stick around at 10pm for Secrets of the Dead: Building Notre Dame, which traces the centuries-long construction of the original edifice. —Ron
Watch the preview:
