What To Watch Now: GBH Passport Picks For March

In a world of seemingly unlimited TV choices, finding the programs that matter to our viewers is what I love most about my job as Senior Programming Manager. Working with GBH’s Senior Director of Programming, we acquire, curate and schedule shows and films across GBH’s channels and for Passport.

As GBH’s Senior Director of Programming, Ron Bachman oversees programming for the Boston station’s slate of six public television channels.

March 15, 2021

Updated August 08, 2023

Looking for some great shows to dig into this month? GBH Passport is where you should be looking, and below are some top selections from Ron Bachman, Senior Director of Programming, and Devin Karambelas, Programming Manager. The member benefit that provides you with extended access to an on-demand library of quality public television programming, GBH Passport features current and past seasons of PBS and GBH shows — including drama, science, history, and the arts. Watch anytime on GBH.org or on the PBS App.

Downton Abbey

(Seasons 1-6 now streaming on Passport) Break out the good silver and get polishing, Carson — all six seasons of Downton Abbey are streaming on PBS Passport for your binge-viewing pleasure! The return of Julian Fellowes’ glittering saga of the artistocratic Grantham and Crawley families is the cherry on top of Masterpiece’s 50^th anniversary. By the time the series reached American viewers in 2011, it was already an international smash hit. Rebecca Eaton, Masterpiece’s Executive Producer at Large, has credited at least some of its original popularity to the power of escapism during a global financial crisis. Not to mention the caustic wit of the Dowager Countess (Dame Maggie Smith), which steals every scene. Will the series provide the same antidote as we get through COVID? —Devin

Watch a preview:

Stream Downton Abbey on GBH Passport

Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution

(Available now on GBH Passport) The feature film Judas and the Black Messiah has been getting a lot of buzz lately — and recently scored a Best Supporting Actor Golden Globe Award for Daniel Kaluuya’s mesmerizing turn as Black Panther Party leader Fred Hampton — so it’s an apt time to catch up with (or revisit) Stanley Nelson’s feature-length documentary recounting the full story of the revolutionary Black organization. The film explores the party’s significance to the broader American culture, its cultural and political awakening for Black people, and its painful derailment, and features an abundance of previously unseen archival footage. Resonant history and riveting filmmaking. —Ron

Watch a preview:

Stream Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution on GBH Passport

VOCES: Children of Giant

(Streaming on Passport through April 17, 2021) How the making of a classic Hollywood film put the dusty West Texas town of Marfa on the map and transformed the lives of its residents is the subject of this excellent documentary from VOCES, the acclaimed PBS series produced by Latino Public Broadcasting. Giant, the 1956 film directed by George Stevens and based on Edna Ferber’s novel, was a Western of epic proportions. Starring James Dean (his final film), Elizabeth Taylor and Rock Hudson, Giant has earned a notable spot in cinema history for its unflinching exploration of the frontier myth, the role of women and the Southwest’s racial divide. Sixty years later, filmmaker Hector Galan returns to Marfa to explore the dramatic story of its making, combining interviews with surviving cast and crew and commentary from the residents who participated in the production. This is a must-see for film history fans, but hurry — VOCES: Children of Giant leaves Passport on April 17. —Devin

Watch a preview:

Stream VOCES: Children of Giant on GBH Passport

Secrets of the Six Wives

(Available now on GBH Passport) The six wives in question are, of course, those of Henry VIII, and in this three-part series, historian Lucy Worsley travels back in time to the monarch’s Tudor court to witness some of the most dramatic moments in their lives. Mixing dramatizations based on eyewitness accounts and historical sources with Worsley’s own contemporary commentary, the series sets out to explore the stories of Henry’s wives from their own perspectives. —Ron

Watch a preview:

Stream Secrets of the Six Wives now on GBH Passport

Before We Die

Season 1

(Streaming on Passport through March 30, 2021) Things are not going well for police officer Hanna Svensson (Marie Richardson) when we first meet her in this Swedish thriller from Walter’s Choice. She’s bored by her transfer to the financial crime unit, her younger boss is encouraging her to take early retirement and her relationship with her son has soured. When her colleague and lover (you know how these things go) is kidnapped, Hanna is pulled into the seedy Stockholm underground. As Nordic noir goes, this one ticks the boxes: troubled detective, grim Scandinavian backdrop and serpentine plot. Season 1 expires at the end of March, but look out for Season 2 in Passport starting August 2021. —Devin

Watch a preview:

Stream Before We Die now on GBH Passport

Mansfield Park

(Available now on GBH Passport) This classic 1983 BBC production was the first television adaptation of Jane Austen’s 1814 novel (there’s only been one other since), but it’s never been seen on public television in the US. We’re pleased to make it available to the many Janeites on this side of the pond. As they well know, it’s the story of young and impoverished Fanny Price (Sylvestra Le Touzel), who arrives at her uncle’s country estate, only to be snubbed by everyone in the family except her cousin Edmund (Nicholas Farrell). Her struggle to be accepted by her shallow relatives is just the first of the challenges she faces. A cuppa is not a requirement for enjoying this delicious costume drama, but it’s highly recommended. —Ron

Watch a preview: