WXXI TV

American Masters – Janis Ian: Breaking Silence • WXXI-TV

Diving into the story behind Janis Ian’s musical artistry, this documentary charts her beginnings as a precocious teenager who transforms into a groundbreaking voice in folk music and beyond.

American Masters – Janis Ian: Breaking Silence premieres Friday, June 20, 2025 at 9 p.m. on WXXI-TV and streams on the WXXI app.

Featuring archival footage, animations, mood shots and new interviews, Janis Ian: Breaking Silence follows the artist’s life, showing how her politically active parents influenced her songwriting, particularly the song “Society’s Child,” which cemented her place as a stalwart in the folk genre. As Ian’s growing fame came with pressures to conform to the music industry’s expectations of young female artists and took an emotional toll on her, Ian continued to hone her craft and stay true to her evolving artistic voice. Her Grammy Award-winning record “At Seventeen” tapped into the pain of isolation, struggles with self-worth, and the angst of a generation, solidifying her as one of the most celebrated female songwriters of the 20th century.

Along with her musical accomplishments spanning several decades, the film gives an intimate look into Ian’s relationships and her struggles to hide her sexual identity before coming out as a lesbian during the release of her 1993 album “Breaking Silence.” Janis Ian: Breaking Silence made its world premiere at the DOC NYC Festival in November 2024 and has a star-studded lineup of interviews including Lily Tomlin, Joan Baez, Arlo Guthrie, Jean Smart, Laurie Metcalf and more.

Photo: Janis Ian performing at the piano, 1976
Credit: Peter Cunningham

Connections: State of Caregiving in our Community • WXXI-TV

In anticipation of the premiere of Caregiving, Connections with Evan Dawson looks at the state of caregiving locally.

Connections: State of Caregiving in our Community airs Tuesday, June 24 at 8 p.m. on WXXI-TV and streaming live on the PBS app.

In this special edition of “Connections” with a live audience and taped for television, host Evan Dawson discuss the Medical Aid in Dying Act and other legislation that can affect the disability community with his panelist. How often are people with disabilities — and caregivers — brought into the discussion? What are the risks of legislating without that input, whether it’s Medical Aid in Dying or other proposals? Who should be helping guide policy?

Then, Evan is joined by a panel to talk about caregiving for people with dementia. For caregivers, that can mean myriad challenges: providing the right kind of support; understanding disease progression; financial difficulties; and more. We discuss what the experts say, and we hear from a local caregiver.

This broadcast is an edited version of the two-hour talk show.

About the Caregiving documentary, which premieres Tuesday, June 24 at 9 p.m. on WXXI-TV.
From Executive Producer Bradley Cooper, this is the story of paid and unpaid caregivers navigating the challenges and joys of this deeply meaningful work. Intertwining intimate personal stories with the untold history of caregiving, the documentary reveals the state and the stakes of care in America today. Narrated by Uzo Aduba (The Residence, Orange is the New Black) and directed by Chris Durrance.

Caregiving • WXXI-TV

Created with executive producer Bradley Cooper, this film highlights the challenges and triumphs of caregiving in America.

Caregiving premieres Tuesday, June 24, 2025 at 9 p.m. on WXXI-TV and streams live on the WXXI app.

Narrated by Award-winning actress Uzo Aduba, who share her own experience as a caregiver for her mother, this documentary interweaves the broader context of the cultural and economic conditions in the U.S., centered on the personal experiences of caregivers providing for loved ones, and the challenges and triumphs they face each day. Caregiving examines the historical and contemporary efforts to address this often unrecognized and rapidly increasing need, leading to a care system tipping into crisis.

The documentary will also repeat on Thursday, June 26 at 4 p.m. and Saturday, June 28 at 3 p.m. on WXXI-TV.

Photo: Caregiver Malcoma Brown-Ekeogu and her husband, Kenneth, dance on their wedding anniversary. Both are featured in Caregiving.
Credit: Ark Media

The Last Independent Automaker • WXXI-TV

Take a wild ride through history as nostalgia and great cars combine in this uniquely American story of grit, innovation, and hard work.

The Last Independent Automaker airs Sunday, June 22 at 1 p.m. on WXXI-TV and streaming live on the WXXI app.

The Last Independent Automaker is a documentary series featuring six half-hour episodes that detail the unlikely rise and tragic fall of American Motors Corporation (AMC). Through more than 40 exclusive interviews with CEOs, engineers, designers, salespeople, journalists, factory workers, and labor union members, the seres is a deep, unvarnished look at the inner workings of a car company. It traces AMC’s history through more than four decades and tells its story through hours of lost film archives combined with thousands of historic photographs and new 4K footage of gorgeous classic cars. Each episode focuses on a different period, weaving together the drama of a cutthroat industry packed with big personalities and iconic cars.

Photo: 1970 Pacer Clay Sculpters
Credit: APT

POV “The Ride Ahead” • WXXI-TV

Samuel Habib is a typical 21-year-old, itching to move out, start a career, and find love. But no one tells you how to be an adult, let alone an adult with a disability.

POV “The Ride Ahead” airs Monday, July 21 at 10 p.m. on WXXI-TV and streaming live on the WXXI app.

Meet Samuel Habib. His goals are pretty typical for a 21-year-old. Moving out of his family’s New Hampshire home. College. Establishing his career. Dating. Sex.

Yet every rite of passage is fraught with challenges. Unexpected seizures and uncontrollable movements caused by his rare genetic disorder. Friends’ homes that are inaccessible to his wheelchair. His labored speech and use of a communication device are barriers to a social life. He craves more independence and a family of his own one day. “But no one tells you how to be an adult,” he says, “let alone an adult with a disability.”

Samuel is determined to avoid the statistical realities: unemployment, isolation, institutionalization.

A turning point comes when he starts talking to disabled adults, who have been through all he is going through now. And when he begins to channel their insights, a roadmap for himself, and for other young adults like him, begins to take shape.

This program is presented by Move to Include^TM, an award-winning national initiative to promote disability inclusion, representation, and accessibility in public media.

Walking with Dinosaurs • WXXI-TV

Twenty-five years after it first stomped across our TV screens, the iconic Walking with Dinosaurs returns in a major new BBC Studios production for BBC and PBS, co-produced with ZDF and France Télévisions.

Walking with Dinosaurs airs Wednesdays, June 25-July 30 at 8 p.m. on WXXI-TV and streaming live on the WXXI app.

This six-part series will take you on a unique journey back through time, revealing the incredible life stories of these long-lost giants.

In an exciting reimagining of one of the BBC’s best loved factual shows, each episode of Walking with Dinosaurs will tell the dramatic story of an individual dinosaur whose remains are currently being unearthed by the world’s leading dinosaur hunters. Thanks to cutting-edge science, experts can reveal how these prehistoric creatures lived, hunted, fought and died more accurately than ever before. As the dinosaur’s bones emerge from the ground, the series will bring these prehistoric stories to life with state-of-the-art visual effects – making each episode a gripping dinosaur drama based on the very latest evidence. Across the six episodes, audiences will meet a range of spectacular dinosaur species in an array of prehistoric landscapes. These include a Spinosaurus – the largest carnivorous dinosaur to ever walk the earth – roaming the rivers of ancient Morocco; a youthful Triceratops battling a ravenous T. rex in North America; and a lonely giant Lusotitan risking it all for a love in Portugal. There’s never been a better time to travel back to the prehistoric times.

Around 50 new species are being identified every year, and science is revealing extraordinary new details about dinosaur biology and behavior. Across the globe, hundreds of dinosaur experts are currently scouring the wilds for new dig sites, and this series has exclusive access to some of the very best.

Episode titles + air dates:
6/25 The Orphan An orphaned baby Triceratops must outwit a deadly T. Rex. Can she survive?
7/2 The River Dragon A Spinosaurus struggles to keep his family alive in the deadliest place in Earth’s history.
7/9 Band of Brothers Follow a gang of armored dinosaurs battle to reach adulthood, pursued by ferocious raptors
7/16 The Pack A young Albertosaurus, a relative of T. Rex, earns her place in a fierce hunting pack.
7/23 The Journey North Travel back in time to the dangerous journey of the Pachyrhinosaurus, where survival is at stake.
7/30 Island of Giants Discover the story of Lusotitan, one of the largest dinosaurs ever.

Photo: A PACHYRHINOSAURUS mom and baby
Credit: BBC Studios

Patience • WXXI-TV

An adaptation of the popular French series Astrid, this series brings a unique and authentic perspective to the crime drama genre.

Patience premieres on Sundays in June at 8 p.m. on WXXI-TV and streaming live on the WXXI app,

Patience follows Patience Evans, played by Ella Maisy Purvis (A Kind of Spark), a neurodivergent woman who works in the Criminal Records Office in the city of York. Patience is autistic and views the world in a unique way. When Detective Inspector Bea Metcalf, played by Laura Fraser (Breaking Bad), recognizes her talents, she takes Patience under her wing to assist with complex criminal investigations. Together, they tackle a series of challenging cases, with Patience offering extraordinary insight that transforms the way crimes are solved.

The ensemble cast includes Nathan Welsh (The Ledge), Mark Benton (Anna and the Apocalypse), Ali Ariaie (“The Great”), Adrian Rawlins (The Harry Potter Franchise) and others.
The series is presented as part of Move to Include^TM, a partnership between WXXI and The Golisano Foundation that is an award-winning national initiative to promote disability inclusion, representation, and accessibility in public media.

Photo: Ella Maisy Purvis as Patience
Credit: Eagle Eye Drama/Robert Viglasky

Grown Up Dad• WXXI-TV

On Father’s Day, binge all five episodes of this series that explores the generational changes of fatherhood and asks what it means to be a good dad today

Grown Up Dad airs Sunday, June 15 from 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. on WXXI-TV and streaming live on the WXXI app.

Historically, being a dad meant providing financially – putting food on the table and a roof overhead. Yet, this norm feels incomplete. With important societal discussions about toxic masculinity and evolving gender roles, defining good fatherhood has never been more complex. Host Joseph Gidjunis grew up seeing fathers as drive-by parents who often missed out on real family time. Wanting to be more present for his son, Joseph embarks on a journey across the United States and Australia to discover what that means for him and his family. Along the way, Joseph meets up with experts and other fathers to discuss fatherhood, parenting, work and life balance, and being a role model.

Photo: Host Joseph Gidjunis with son Gabe. Credit: Provided by APT