Television

National Memorial Day Concert

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On the eve of Memorial Day, join co-hosts Joe Mantegna (“Criminal Minds”) and Gary Sinise (“CSI: New York”) for a night of remembrance featuring an all-star line-up performing with the National Symphony Orchestra. The 24th annual broadcast of the NATIONAL MEMORIAL DAY CONCERT airs live from the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol before a concert audience of hundreds of thousands, millions more at home, and to our troops around the world on the American Forces Network.

TV: Sunday, 5/26 at 7:00pm

Live From The Lincoln Center: Audra McDonald – Go Back Home

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Join five-time Tony Award-winner and series host Audra McDonald as she takes a turn as the featured performer, singing songs from her new album and other favorites in a special spring concert at Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall.

TV: Friday, 5/24 at 9:30pm

Pacific Heartbeat: Let’s Play Music

Master slack key musician Cyril Pahinui (featured in Pacific Heartbeat 100 – Waimea ‘Ukulele and Slack Key Guitar), jams with some of the best musicians in Hawai‘i in these intimate backyard performances. Cyril is the son of Gabby “Pop” Pahinui, who is considered the “Godfather” of Hawaiian slack key guitar and whose music was featured prominently in the Academy Award winning film, The Descendants.

Thursday, 5/23 at 8:00pm

Secrets of the Dead: Airmen and Headhunters

Watch Airmen and the Headhunters – Preview on PBS. See more from Secrets of the Dead.

Investigate the extraordinary survival story of a crew of airmen shot down over the jungles of Japanese-occupied Borneo during World War II. This film recounts the rescue of a U.S. bomber crew by Dayak tribesmen, known for taking the heads of their enemies. The Dayaks fed and protected the airmen before leading them to the base of the maverick British special ops officer, Major Tom Harrisson, who was fighting a guerrilla war against the Japanese with a band of Australian commandoes. The program features an exclusive interview with the sole surviving member of the U.S. crew, as well as interviews with a number of the Dayak tribespeople and Japanese and Australian veterans.

TV: Wednesday, 5/22 at 9:00 p.m.

The Ghost Army

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War, deception and art come together in this astonishing true story of American G.I.s who tricked the enemy with rubber tanks, sound effects and carefully crafted illusions during WWII. This remarkable tale of a top-secret mission that was at once absurd, deadly and amazingly effective is told through the stories of the veterans, many of whom — like Bill Blass and Ellsworth Kelly — would go on to have illustrious careers in art, design and fashion.

TV: Tuesday, 5/21 at 7:00pm

American Masters: Mel Brooks

Watch Mel Brooks: American Masters Preview on PBS. See more from WNIT Specials.

“Mel Brooks: Make a Noise” profiles the larger-than-life, yet very private comedy giant. He has never authorized a biography and has requested that his friends not talk about him, making his participation in this AMERICAN MASTERS film a genuine first. Features new interviews with Brooks, Matthew Broderick, Nathan Lane, Cloris Leachman, Carl Reiner and Joan Rivers.

TV: Monday, 5/20 at 8:00pm

Masterpiece Classic: Mr. Selfridge – Part 8

Tragedy strikes on the day polar explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton comes to the store. An even greater celebrity plans a visit, and Harry and Rose attend a shocking play.

TV: Sunday, 5/19 at 8:00 p.m.

Great Performances at the Met: Rigoletto

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Tony Award-winning director Michael Mayer (Spring Awakening) makes his Met debut with a new production of Verdi’s Rigoletto. The new staging moves the opera’s tragic events from a decadent 16th-century Italian court to the glitzy, depraved setting of the Las Vegas strip circa 1960.

TV: Friday, 5/17 at 9:30pm

Nature: Great Zebra Exodus

When thunderclouds begin to gather over Botswana’s Kalahari each year, 20,000 zebras get itchy feet. As the first fat raindrops hit the dust, southern Africa’s biggest animal migration gets underway.

TV: Wednesday, 5/22 at 9:00 p.m.

Constitution USA: It’s A Free Country

Ask Americans what the Constitution’s most important feature is and most will say it’s the guarantees of liberty enshrined in the Bill of Rights. In this episode, Sagal explores the history of the Bill of Rights and addresses several stories — ripped from the headlines — involving freedom of speech, freedom of religion and right to privacy.

TV: Tuesday, 5/14 at 8:00 p.m.

American Experience: Annie Oakley

Annie Oakley, the star of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show, thrilled audiences around the world with her daring shooting feats. While her act helped fuel turn-of-the-century nostalgia for the vanished, mythical world of the American West, the legend of Annie Oakley had little to do with the real Annie. Although famous as a western sharpshooter, Oakley lived her entire life east of the Mississippi.

TV: Tuesday, 5/14 at 7:00 p.m.