POLDARK Drama and Unprecedented Look at Sea Life in BIG BLUE LIVE Spark PBS 05 Summer Season

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Left: Aidan Turner as Ross Poldark. Credit: Courtesy of Robert Viglasky/Mammoth Screen for MASTERPIECE. Top Right: Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) adult breaching. Credit: Bertie Gregory. Bottom Right: Atomic Test. Courtesy of Ken Hackman.

POLDARK Drama and Unprecedented Look at Sea Life in BIG BLUE LIVE

Spark PBS' 2015 Summer Season

Highlights Include New Dramas, Atomic Bomb 70 Years Later, Indie Films

and Fresh Lineup of Science, Nature and History Programs

ARLINGTON, VA; May 7, 2015 PBS' 2015 wide-ranging summer season lineup launches with the premiere of a new version of the romantic saga POLDARK ON MASTERPIECE (watch a clip here) and culminates with BIG BLUE LIVE, a first-time, live-event co-production with the BBC documenting the late-summer confluence of whales, and other sea life, as it is happening in Monterey Bay, California. This summer marks the third season of the award-winning LAST TANGO IN HALIFAX, season two of the British comedy VICIOUS with Ian McKellen and Derek Jacobi, and two new science and nature miniseries in PBS' Think Wednesday programming block: FIRST PEOPLES (watch a clip here), which chronicles how Homo sapiens became the dominant human species, and LIFE ON THE REEF (watch a clip here), which dives deep into the inner world of Australia's Great Barrier Reef. And, as the country marks the 150th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's assassination and the end of the Civil War, PBS announced that THE CIVIL WAR, the award-winning film produced and directed by Ken Burns, will be rebroadcast over five consecutive nights in September 2015. The broadcast, coinciding with the 25th anniversary of the original broadcast of THE CIVIL WAR in September 1990, will present a newly restored high-definition version.

New thought-provoking specials THE BOMB and URANIUM TWISTING THE DRAGON'S TAIL provide fascinating insights into the first detonation of the atomic bomb on its 70th anniversary and the lasting impacts of the nuclear age; four years after one of history's worst nuclear accidents, NOVA Fukushima (w.t.) reveals the minute-by-minute story of Japan's nuclear energy crisis and its ongoing aftermath. POV returns with engrossing documentaries from the world's best independent filmmakers telling intimate stories and exploring current issues in such films as Out in the Night, Tough Love and The Overnighters. Also back this summer is the popular Independence Day celebration A CAPITOL FOURTH (performers to be announced), as well as Friday night arts programming and new episodes of FRONTLINE on Tuesdays.

We're breaking new ground on PBS this summer, says Beth Hoppe, PBS Chief Programming Executive and General Manager, General Audience Programming. Our first live TV event with the BBC, BIG BLUE LIVE promises to be an amazing in-the-moment program about a once-a-year confluence of marine life in California's Monterey Bay. Back on land, FIRST PEOPLES will rivet viewers interested in the history of humans on Earth. We also have a not-to-be-missed drama, with a fresh new version of POLDARK ON MASTERPIECE, one of our best-remembered and most-requested programs.

In addition, the fourth annual PBS Online Film Festival will return this summer from June 15 through July 17. The festival, which was recently nominated for a 2015 Webby Award, features diverse short-form films from PBS member stations, public media partners and independent filmmakers. Titles featured in this year's festival will be announced in the coming weeks.

Sundays

British comedies and dramas continue to hold court Sunday nights on PBS. The seven-part classic romance POLDARK ON MASTERPIECE, a swashbuckling new adaptation of the iconic hit series, premieres June 21. The re-imagined saga stars Aidan Turner (The Hobbit) as the dashing squire Ross Poldark and includes original Poldark protagonist Robin Ellis as Reverend Halse. The World War I nursing drama THE CRIMSON FIELD follows POLDARK on June 21. Viewers are treated to a double-dose of British life with season three of the award-winning LAST TANGO IN HALIFAX, premiering on June 28, and season two of VICIOUS, starring Ian McKellen and Derek Jacobi, on August 23.

Mondays

On Mondays, independent films return June 15 with INDEPENDENT LENS Limited Partnership, documenting the front lines in the battle for legal immigration status for same-sex spouses. The acclaimed documentary series POV premieres its 28th season June 22 with 10 new specials, including the award-winning, crowd-funded film Out in the Night, which examines the role that race, gender identity and sexuality play in the criminal justice system, Tough Love, the riveting story of two parents navigating America's child welfare system after being deemed unfit, and the Sundance Award-winning The Overnighters, an unforgettable story of the dark side of America's oil boom. Also on Mondays, ANTIQUES ROADSHOW Vintage episodes, hosted by Mark L. Walberg, look at memorable objects originally appraised 15 years ago to disclose their current value and market changes, beginning June 15. BIG BLUE LIVE, a live, three-part co-production with BBC that documents the amazing confluence of whales, sharks, sea lions, seals and otters in California's Monterey Bay, bows August 31.

Tuesdays

On Tuesdays, PBS continues to offer timely, relevant programs that look at history and the human experience. Two two-hour programs coincide with the 70th anniversary of the first explosion of an atomic bomb and the bombing of Hiroshima: THE BOMB, a history of nuclear weapons and how they shaped our world, premieres July 28; URANIUM TWISTING THE DRAGON'S TAIL, premiering July 28, is an epic adventure with physicist and YouTube sensation Dr. Derek Muller to find the most desired and hated rock on Earth. AMERICAN EXPERIENCE Bla

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