Television

Experience Ivo van Hove’s production of composer Jake Heggie’s opera in its Met premiere.

Great Performances at the Met: Dead Man Walking airs Friday, March 15 at 9 p.m. on WXXI-TV.

Experience Tony Award-winning director Ivo van Hove’s production of composer Jake Heggie’s opera based on a true story. With a libretto by Tony Award winner Terrence McNally, famed soprano Joyce DiDonato stars as Sister Helen alongside bass-baritone Ryan McKinny as the death row inmate Joseph De Rocher. The cast also features Latonia Moore as Sister Rose, and mezzo-soprano Susan Graham, who sang Helen Prejean in the opera’s 2000 premiere, plays De Rocher’s mother. Based on Sister Helen’s real-life memoir about the fight for the soul of a condemned murderer, Met Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts this Metropolitan Opera premiere. Grammy winner Rhiannon Giddens hosts the broadcast.

Photo: Ryan McKinny and Joyce DiDonato • Credit: Provided by PBS

Join the legendary superstar for a magical concert taped in her hometown in October 2012.

Barbra Streisand: Back to Brooklyn airs Sunday, March 10 at 4 p.m. on WXXI-TV.

This special includes nine songs that Barbra had never performed on stage, and features special guests trumpeter Chris Botti, Italian singing group Il Volo, and Streisand’s son, actor-director Jason Gould.

Photo: Barbara Streisand • Credit: Russell James

In memory of Steve Lawrence, who passed away last Thursday, WXXI presents this special that celebrates the musical duo of Steve and Eydie Gorme.

Steve and Eydie: Memories of My Mom and Dad airs Saturday, March 9 at 8 p.m. on WXXI-TV.

For over six decades, the musical duo of Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme delighted audiences both young and old. This special brings back warm and nostalgic memories as told by their son David, from the early days of ’50s Rock and Roll, ’60s Pop, Tin Pan Alley, Broadway and The American Songbook. Amazingly, there has never been a television show celebrating their long, illustrious careers as individuals or as a duo singing together, that is, until now, and exclusively for public television stations.

Photo: Steve and Eydie • Provided by APT

Photo: Potter Credit: PBS

WXXI-TV and WXXI News provide live coverage of President Biden’s State of the Union Address.

2024 State of the Union airs Thursday, March 7 at 9 p.m. on WXXI-TV + WXXI News.

As he seeks reelection, President Joe Biden will use his State of the Union address to tout his administration’s accomplishments in his first three years in office. Alongside that will likely be a promise: There’s more to come in a second term.

There are multiple crises at home and abroad that could undermine the 46th president’s pitch for another four years in office. The Biden administration has been sharply criticized for its handling of Israel’s war in Gaza, Republicans have stalled Ukraine aid in Congress, and the humanitarian urgency at the southern border means immigration will again play a key role in November’s election.

WXXI-TV presents special coverage from PBS NewsHour. WXXI News presents special coverage from NPR, which can be heard on WXXI-FM 105.9 and online at WXXINews.org.

Photo: President Biden • Credit: Provided by PBS NewHour

Daniel Patrick Moynihan was the quintessential American poet-politician.

American Masters: Moynihan premieres Friday, March 29 at 9 p.m. on WXXI-TV.

He alone infused public policy with a language, literature, and lyricism that no American public figure in the latter half of the twentieth century could match. American Masters takes a personal look at a public man who was not only an intellectual but also an aesthete who was deeply committed to making an inimitable impact on the world. 

With unprecedented access to the Moynihan archives made available by his family, the film will capture and define a character whose life embodied a quintessential American story. The range of Moynihan’s interests was extraordinary: architecture, urban planning, public works, transportation safety, international diplomacy, government secrecy and above all, an unyielding commitment to creating systemic change for the American underclass. Directed by Joe Dorman.

Caption: Daniel Patrick Moynihan • Credit: WNET/American Masters

Four Midwestern farm families persevere through climate change, industrialization, and mental health crises.

Independent Lens: Greener Pastures premieres Monday, March 25 at 10 p.m. on WXXI-TV.

There is a mental health crisis happening for many American farmers. A combination of climate change, the pandemic, and the domination of megafarms have contributed to increasing economic uncertainty and isolation. Following four family farms in the Midwest over several years, the documentary Greener Pastures is a story of perseverance and survival within the farming industry in the heartland.

Caption: Dairy farmer Jay Simeral saws wood at the backdrop of his Adena, Ohio farm as one of his mini blue heelers patiently waits for him to finish. • Credit: Sam Mirpoorian