Antiques Roadshow: Celebrating Asian-Pacific Heritage

Monday, May 5

at 7:00 p.m.

Travel with Roadshow as we celebrate Asian-Pacific Heritage and turn the spotlight on incredible items with Asian and Pacific Islands origins. The items include a Hawaiian Kou bowl, a Gandhi presentation spinning wheel, and an 1888 Joseph Nawahi painting. Watch to see what item is valued at $250,000-$300,000?

Finding Your Roots: Children of Exile

Tuesday, May 6

at 7:00 p.m.

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. retraces the ancestral journeys of David Chang and Raúl Esparza, whose families fled their homelands, leading them to find lost parts of themselves along the way.

Finding Your Roots: Far From Home

Tuesday, May 13

at 7:00 p.m.

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. maps the family trees of pop icon Cyndi Lauper and actors Jamie Chung and Danny Trejo, exploring records in Italy, Korea, and Mexico to uncover ancestors whose stories were lost when their families immigrated to America.

Great Performances: Yellow Face

Friday, May 16

at 8:00 p.m.

Enjoy Tony winner David Henry Hwang’s comedy starring Daniel Dae Kim as an Asian American playwright who protests “yellowface” casting in the musical “Miss Saigon” only to mistakenly cast a white actor as the Asian lead in his own play.

PBS Arts Talk: Ann Curry with Min Jin Lee

Friday, May 16

at 10:00 p.m.

Award-winning journalist Ann Curry conducts a deep, frank interview with author and New York State Writers Hall of Fame inductee Min Jin Lee about her book “Pachinko” and beyond. Lee shares her personal connection to the material of her bestselling novel, and also discusses her close relationship with religion and her tenacity in the fight against Asian hate.

Reel South: Called to the Mountain

Monday, May 19

at 10:00 p.m.

Enjoy Tony winner David Henry Hwang’s comedy starring Daniel Dae Kim as an Asian American playwright who protests “yellowface” casting in the musical “Miss Saigon” only to mistakenly cast a white actor as the Asian lead in his own play.

Finding Your Roots: Larger Than Life

Tuesday, May 20

at 7:00 p.m.

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. introduces actors Lea Salonga and Amanda Seyfried to ancestors who are every bit as dramatic as the characters they’ve played on stage and screen. Moving from a naval base in the Philippines to a small town bakery in Pennsylvania to steamships on the Atlantic Ocean, Lea and Amanda hear stories of relatives who survived wars, murders, and heart-wrenching ordeals.

Finding Your Roots: Stranger Than Fiction

Tuesday, May 27

at 7:00 p.m.

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. maps the roots of two award-winning writers: novelist Amy Tan and poet Rita Dove, tracing lineages that run from a plantation in Maryland to a speakeasy in Washington, DC to a village in central China. Along the way, Amy and Rita reimagine themselves as they learn the true stories of the people who laid the groundwork for their success—and inspired their art.

American Masters: Tyrus

Tuesday, May 27

at 8:00 p.m.

Until his death at the age of 106, Tyrus Wong was America’s oldest living Chinese American artist and one of the last remaining artists from the golden age of Disney animation. The quiet beauty of his Eastern-influenced paintings had a pioneering impact on American art and popular culture.

Amache: An American Injustice

Tuesday, May 27

at 9:30 p.m.

The civil rights of 120,000 innocent Japanese Americans were violated during WW2 when they were incarcerated without charge or trial after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. 7500 were sent to Amache in SE Colorado. For years, archeologists and survivors have been digging into the past and discovering how the community built a life behind barbed wire and created beauty in the desolation of the desert.

Snapshots of Confinement

Tuesday, May 27

at 10:00 p.m.

During World War II, the US government initially imposed policies that limited the use of cameras by Japanese Americans in the confinement sites, while simultaneously utilizing photography for propaganda. Despite the ban, Japanese American families found ways to document their lives. The photo albums reveal stories of community and resilience, transforming how this history is understood today.