Press Releases

Travel across the world with PBS ‘Summer of Adventure’ Lineup includes ‘The Story of China’ ‘Great Yellowstone Thaw’ ‘Big Pacific’

by Rouhollah Goudarzi

June 19, 2017

WCNY, Central New York’s community-owned multimedia organization, presents a new series that will take viewers to some of the world’s most amazing places and cultures, beginning June 20 on WCNY-TV.

For viewing information, visit wcny.org/wheretowatch.

 THE STORY OF CHINA

Tuesdays, June 20 and 27 and July 11 at 8 p.m.

“THE STORY OF CHINA” is an unprecedented, six-part series exploring the 4,000-year history of China, home to more than a billion people and an emerging global superpower. Host and historian Michael Wood, who brings a contagious curiosity to the series that is matched only by the warmth and enthusiasm of the Chinese people, suggests that to understand China today, we must examine its past.

 GREAT YELLOWSTONE THAW

Wednesdays, June 21-July 5, at 9 p.m.

Journey with National Museum of Natural History’s Sant Director Kirk Johnson to Yellowstone, where wolves, grizzlies, beavers and Great Gray owls survive one of the greatest seasonal changes on the planet. As the temperature swings 140 degrees, cameras capture how these animals cope.

BIG PACIFIC

Wednesdays, June 21-July 19, at 8 p.m.

Plunge into the Pacific with researchers and cinematographers who display the ocean’s rare and dazzling creatures in a way never before seen on television. Filmed in cinematic 4K, the program breaks the boundaries between land and sea, examining an ocean that covers one-third of the Earth’s surface, holds half of the world’s water and hides the deepest place on the planet.

NATURE’S GREAT RACE

Wednesdays, July 12-26, at 9 p.m.

Traverse the Arctic wilderness and African bush as scientific teams utilize new technology to track caribou, zebras and elephants as they overcome obstacles and face fearless predators on their epic journeys.

WEEKEND IN HAVANA

Tuesday, July 18, at 8 p.m.

Join Geoffrey Baer as he travels to Havana, where dancers, musicians, architects and writers invite him into their lives to experience the color, culture and history of a beautiful and seductive city only recently re-opened to Americans.

RARE – CREATURES OF THE PHOTO ARK

Tuesdays, July 18-Aug. 1, at 9 p.m.

Renowned National Geographic photographer Joel Sartore, a natural-born storyteller, is on a quest to document Earth’s species at risk of extinction. His 11-year “Photo Ark” project is the focus of this three-part series, which follows Sartore into the field as he captures rare species on camera — at zoos, preserves and elsewhere. This captivating and visually stunning PBS special reveals why ensuring species’ future matters to us all.

WILD ALASKA LIVE

Sunday, July 23, Wednesday, July 26 and Sunday, July 30 at 8 p.m.

Broadcasting live over three nights with hosts Chris Kratt and Martin Kratt, PBS, in partnership with the BBC, will turn the cameras on a must-see natural spectacle as thousands of the world’s wildest animals gather to take part in Alaska’s amazing summer feast.

IRELAND’S WILD COAST

Wednesday, Aug. 2, ay 8 p.m.

Join Emmy-winning wildlife cameraman Colin Stafford-Johnson on an authored journey along Ireland’s rugged Atlantic coast, providing insights into the wild animals and wild places of the island he calls home.

“THE STORY OF CHINA,”” BIG PACIFIC,” “RARE – CREATURES OF THE PHOTO ARK,” “WEEKEND IN HAVANA,” “IRELAND’S WILD COAST,” “NATURE’S GREAT RACE” and “GREAT YELLOWSTONE THAW” will be available to stream the morning after broadcast on PBS platforms, including pbs.org and PBS apps for iOS, Android, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and Chromecast. All three episodes of WILD ALASKA LIVE will live-stream on PBS.org simultaneously with broadcast and on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter; viewers will get a behind-the-scenes look at the massive production each night, from its base in Juneau to the multiple locations out in the field.