Image from “Oh My Gourd!”
Christmas in New England

What to Watch: December 2024

Whether it’s national, local, new or an encore, here’s what to watch this December on Rhode Island PBS

6 min read
Share
Image from “Oh My Gourd!”
Christmas in New England
What to Watch: December 2024
Copy

“America’s Test Kitchen Celebrates 25 Years”Dec. 1 at 2 p.m.

In “America’s Test Kitchen Celebrates 25 Years,” we’re highlighting the food, science, kitchen ingenuity and fun that have made the show a fan favorite for over 600 episodes and bringing you behind the scenes to see how it all gets made.

“Showstoppers! Great Women of TV Variety”Dec. 1 at 8 p.m. and Dec. 3 at 1 p.m.

Hosted by three-time Grammy Award winner Debby Boone, this special salutes the history-making women of 1960s and ‘70s TV Variety. The program features classic performances from Carol Burnett, Lily Tomlin, Diahann Carroll, Cher, Mitzi Gaynor, Toni Tennille, Ann-Margret, Leslie Uggams and many more. Collectively these trailblazing icons reinvented a TV genre, in front of and behind the camera.

“The Brothers: Celebrating The Allman Brothers Band 50th Anniversary”Dec. 1 at 9:30 p.m. and Dec. 5 at 9:30 p.m.

Celebrate 50 years of the Allman Brothers Band’s music with Jaimoe, Warren Haynes, Derek Trucks, Oteil Burbridge and Marc Quinones. They’re joined by Reese Wynans, Duane Trucks and Chuck Leavell in this 2020 Madison Square Garden concert. Performances include signature classics “Statesboro Blues,” “No One to Run With,” “Midnight Rider,” “Trouble No More,” “Melissa,” “Come and Go Blues” and more.

“Peleliu: WWII’s Most Well-Preserved Battlefield”Dec. 2 at 3 p.m.

The remote island of Peleliu is considered the most well-preserved battlefield in the world. It is illegal to remove any relic from the island, so the battlefield remains almost as it was when the fight here ended in the fall of 1944. This year marks the 80th anniversary of the Marine and Army battle, which was supposed to last three days, but instead took 72 days of hard fighting.

“Playing Like a Girl: The House That Rob Built”Dec. 5 at 3:30 p.m.

In an era when gender discrimination in sports was the norm, Coach Selvig built a “house” of inclusion and empowerment at the University of Montana by recruiting female athletes from ranches, farms and Native reservations.

“Ken Burns: One Nation, Many Stories”Dec. 5 at 8 p.m., Dec. 8 at 3:30 p.m. and Dec. 9 at 1 p.m.

Explore the acclaimed filmmaker’s more recent work in new interviews with Burns and his colleagues. Featuring excerpts from “Country Music,” “Muhammad Ali,” “Benjamin Franklin,” “The U.S. and the Holocaust,” “The American Buffalo,” “The Vietnam War” and others.

“Remember Pearl Harbor”Dec. 6 at 3 p.m.

Commemorating the 75th anniversary of Pearl Harbor, PBS member station WYES-TV/New Orleans and The National WWII Museum have crafted an Electronic Field Trip that will teach students across the country the lessons of the historic day in U.S. history.

“REVIVAL69: The Concert That Rocked the World”Dec. 7 at 8:30 p.m. and Dec. 9 at 1 p.m.

Explore the remarkable, behind-the-scenes story of how an all-star music festival came together against all odds in 1969. Called “the second most important event in rock n’ roll history,” the concert united legends Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, Bo Diddley, Gene Vincent with The Doors, and John Lennon and the Plastic Ono Band.

“Mary Berry’s Highland Christmas”Dec. 8 at 2 p.m., Dec. 10 at 1 p.m. and Dec. 22 at 2 p.m.

Much loved home cook Dame Mary Berry travels to her mother’s homeland, Scotland, for a magical winter break. Inspired by her own family holidays, she cooks up an array of sumptuous dishes. She’s joined by friends Andy Murray, Iain Stirling and Emeli Sandé to cook indulgent Christmas dishes that can be enjoyed anytime over the holidays.

“Christmas in New England”Dec. 10 at 2:30 p.m., Dec. 23 at 9 p.m. and Dec. 25 at 1:30 p.m.

From the coast of Maine to the hills of the Berkshires, New England is a uniquely magical place to celebrate the holidays. Join host Lindsay Paris as she visits eight regional destinations to look at the traditions and events that make Christmas in New England so special.

“Our Town: Jamestown Part II”Dec. 11 at 8 p.m.

“Christmas with Sir John Rutter at Preston Hollow Presbyterian Church”Dec. 12 at 3:30 p.m. and Dec. 19 at 9 p.m.

Preston Hollow Presbyterian Church of Dallas, Texas presents “A Christmas with Sir John Rutter at Preston Hollow!” The featured guest star of the production is world-renowned composer/conductor John Rutter. The production will include Rutter favorites “Star Carol” and “I Saw Three Ships” as well as many of his beloved settings of familiar carols including “Away in a Manger,” “Go Tell It on the Mountain,” and “Silent Night.”

“Savoy at Christmas”Dec. 19 at 3:30 p.m. and Dec. 20 at 10 p.m.

The holiday season has arrived at The Savoy and staff welcome hundreds of guests and diners across Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve. The six weeks from mid-November to New Year’s Day are of utmost importance, as they generate £3.5 million in revenue. Go behind the scenes during the holiday festivities as every department prepares. Narrated by Celia Imrie (“The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel”).

“Ball and Vase”Dec. 19 at 3 p.m., Dec. 22 at 3:30 p.m., Dec. 26 at 3 p.m. and Dec. 27 at 10 p.m.

The short dramatic film “Ball and Vase” follows an ailing professor and magician named Ed Coleman during the holidays. He is a 92-year-old, widowed World War II veteran who lives alone in a small apartment in Hoboken, N.J. He has been all but forgotten, but Ed has one thing that keeps him going – an upcoming visit by his grandson on Christmas. When a change in those plans finds Ed alone at a local pub he used to visit with his late wife, he discovers one last opportunity to reconnect with the world.

“Cultural Expressions: Kwanzaa”Dec. 20 at noon and Dec. 26 at 9 p.m.

“Cultural Expressions: Kwanzaa” is a one-hour documentary that explores the seven principles that are the foundation of Kwanzaa by sharing seven real-life stories of impact. These stories reveal how each principle plays a role in the Black community, enhanced by cultural elements of dance, storytelling, music, and spoken word.

“Too Hot to Handel: The Gospel Messiah”Dec. 23 at 9:30 p.m. and Dec. 24 at 1:30 p.m.

Handel’s 18th-century masterpiece, “The Messiah,” has been reimagined and infused with gospel, jazz and R&B. The result is an uplifting reinterpretation of this seasonal favorite, captured at its European premiere at London’s Royal Albert Hall.

“Joy: Christmas with the Tabernacle Choir”Dec. 24 at 9:30 p.m. and Dec. 25 at 1 p.m.

Broadway star Michael Maliakel and beloved actress Lesley Nicol (“Downton Abbey”) inspire in this holiday special that weaves Christmas classics with the story of Victor Hugo to show that opening our hearts to all is the true meaning of the season.

“Midsomer Murders”Saturdays at 10 p.m. starting Dec. 28

The town of Causton’s detective chief investigator and his detective sergeant investigate the scandals and deadly deeds that lurk just beneath the well-manicured surface of the county of Midsomer.

“Art of Music”Dec. 29 at 10 p.m.

The nine-time Grammy Award winner and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, Sheryl Crow, reflects on her career and songwriting inspiration in the American Wing of The Metropolitan Museum of Art as she prepares to tour for her 11th full-length studio album, “Evolution.” Crow’s friend and collaborator (“Everything is Broken”) accompanies her on guitar on “Every Day is a Winding Road,” “My Favorite Mistake,” “If It Makes You Happy” and more.

“Clive Davis: The Soundtrack of Our Lives”Dec. 30 at 9 p.m. and Dec. 31 at 1 p.m.

“Clive Davis: The Soundtrack of Our Lives” is a guided tour of a cultural revolution that deeply impacted the music industry through the career of a man who consistently caught the next wave before everyone else— if he didn’t just create the wave himself. From the ’60s to the rise of hip-hop, Davis discovered, mentored, or oversaw an incredible range of performers during his career including Janis Joplin, Bruce Springsteen, Simon & Garfunkel, Santana, Miles Davis, Billy Joel, Barry Manilow, Patti Smith, The Grateful Dead, Kenny G, Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston and Alicia Keys.

For our full broadcast schedule, click here.

Bill Gale, former theater critic for The Public’s Radio, passed away Nov. 26 at the age of 87. Before reviewing plays for The Public’s Radio, Bill wrote for The Providence Journal for more than 35 years
Medicare Advantage was supposed to find efficiencies, but instead is costing taxpayers an extra $83 billion a year
About 40% of dementia cases could be delayed or prevented by addressing 14 modifiable risk factors, according to a Lancet commission report
NOV. 29, 2024 - JAN. 4, 2025
Whether it’s national, local, new or an encore, here’s what to watch this December on Rhode Island PBS
‘It’s not just that this is a history. It’s a legacy that we need to reckon with’