The Best TV Shows on PBS

As of the start of broadcasting Victoria Series One in January 2017, Masterpiece Classic was no longer branded as such, but simply Masterpiece (on screen, PBS Masterpiece online and social media), and it no longer had an on-screen host.

Journey to exciting places and build a lasting connection with your favorite books. Each episode centers on a theme from a book, or other children's literature, which is explored through a number of segments or stories.

Consistently stunning documentaries transport viewers to far-flung locations ranging from the torrid African plains to the chilly splendours of icy Antarctica. The show's primary focus is on animals and ecosystems around the world. A comic book based on the show, meant to be used an as educational tool for kids, was briefly distributed to museums and schools at no cost in the mid-2000s.

Revel in the beauty of awe-inspiring landscapes and the unique animals and people that inhabit them through an artist’s lens in Art Wolfe’s Travels to the Edge —a 26-episode series airing nationwide on your local public television station and syndicated in over 60 countries. Art Wolfe, an internationally acclaimed photographer, invites you to experience the world with him as he travels and photographs Patagonia, Peru, Bolivia, Alaska, Ethiopia, Madagascar, India, South Georgia Island and beyond. Watch as Art captures images of majestic glaciers, expansive deserts, teeming rainforests, remote mountain peaks, and exotic tribal gatherings right on location.

Since it began in 1983, Frontline has been airing public-affairs documentaries that explore a wide scope of the complex human experience. Frontline's goal is to extend the impact of the documentary beyond its initial broadcast by serving as a catalyst for change.

American Masters is a PBS television series which produces biographies on enduring writers, musicians, visual and performing artists, dramatists, filmmakers, and others who have left an indelible impression on the cultural landscape of the United States.

TV's most-watched history series brings to life the compelling stories from our past that inform our understanding of the world today.

This drama follows Inspector Kurt Wallander – a middle-aged everyman – as he struggles against a rising tide of violence in the apparently sleepy backwaters in and around Ystad in Skane, southern Sweden. Based on the international best-selling books by Henning Mankell.

On a special inner city street, the inhabitants—human and muppet—teach preschoolers basic educational and social concepts using comedy, cartoons, games, and songs.

With the help of his friend “The Man in the Yellow Hat,” a curious little monkey named George sets out on adventures to learn about the world around him.

PBS' premier science series helps viewers of all ages explore the science behind the headlines. Along the way, NOVA demystifies science and technology, and highlights the people involved in scientific pursuits.

Disguised as mild-mannered fifth-grader Becky Botsford, WordGirl arrived on Earth when she and her monkey sidekick Captain Huggy Face crashed their spaceship. Now they fight crime and defend the town from a plethora of madcap villains and scoundrels, while at the same time enriching viewers' vocabulary usage.

The Dick Cavett Show has been the title of several talk shows hosted by Dick Cavett on various television networks.

¿Qué Pasa, U.S.A.? is America's first bilingual situation comedy, and the first sitcom to be produced for PBS. It was produced and taped in front of a live studio audience at PBS member station WPBT in Miami, Florida and aired on PBS member stations nationwide. The program explored the trials and tribulations faced by the Peñas, a Cuban-American family living in Miami's Little Havana neighborhood, as they struggled to cope with a new country and a new language. The series was praised as being very true-to-life and accurately, if humorously, portraying the life and culture of Miami's Cuban-American population.

Tomes & Talismans is a 1986 educational television series produced by Mississippi Public Broadcasting, consisting of thirteen 20-minute episodes presented as a dramatic serial story. Each episode defines, illustrates, and reviews specific library research concepts.

TV's original home-improvement show, following one whole-house renovation over several episodes.

Barney & Friends is an American children's television series aimed at children from ages 2 to 5. The series, which first aired on April 6, 1992, features the title character Barney, a purple anthropomorphic Tyrannosaurus rex who conveys educational messages through songs and small dance routines with a friendly, optimistic attitude.

The best in the performing arts from across America and around the world including a diverse programming portfolio of classical music, opera, popular song, musical theater, dance, drama, and performance documentaries.

Chronicles the lives of four generations of an upper-class family of stockbrokers, set against the backdrop of a rapidly evolving late-Victorian world.