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Hi, Ellis Bromberg, with more Thinking Inside the Box, on mptv.org. January marks the start
of the Winter/Spring season on Milwaukee Public Television and I am truly excited by all the
new series and season premieres of old favorites coming to Channels 10&36 in the new year.
We'll start off with the program everyone has been talking about and marking on their
calendars for months -- Sunday nights at 8 on Channel 10 starting January 6, its DOWNTON
ABBEY back for its third season on MASTERPIECE CLASSIC. In the seven new episodes we see
social changes, romantic intrigue, and personal crises grip the Crawley's country estate -- and
the indomitable Shirley MacLaine joins the cast as Cora's mother (wait until you see
the interaction on camera between two of our greatest actresses, Ms. MacLaine and Dame
Maggie Smith!). One year ago, our breakout local hit, with
terrific audience response, was AROUND THE CORNER WITH JOHN McGIVERN -- and we're expecting
great things from it again this year. Its first play each week is Thursdays at 7 o'clock
on Channel 10 with 13 new episodes taped all across Wisconsin -- a wider geographical reach
than the first season -- and they look wonderful! The first few episodes feature Shorewood,
Mineral Point, and Kenosha. Like last year, John McGivern and historian sidekick John
Gurda will be on hand for free local screenings in virtually every community featured throughout
the season. The place to find out more about those local screenings is right here on mptv.org.
We also have high hopes for another new MPTV weekly series launching January 12. It's THE
ARTS PAGE with popular radio personality Sandy Maxx. The arts scene in southeastern Wisconsin
is as vibrant as ever, and we will give it the attention that no other local TV station
does: background stories about local shows and exhibits; interviews with talented artists,
performers and writers; reports on trends in the arts. Since we know our viewers like
to travel across the country, THE ARTS PAGE will also include segments shot by our sister
public television stations in other major cities. The series will be seen at 5 o'clock
on Saturdays on Channel 10. Three other long-running local productions
are back with new seasons. 4th STREET FORUM, our lively weekly town hall meeting on issues
of significance to the community, returns Friday night, January 18 at 9 o'clock with
new host Marcus White. (And don't forget you can attend the FORUM tapings Thursdays at
noon at Historic Turner Hall in Milwaukee.) The granddaddy of all outdoor shows, OUTDOOR
WISCONSIN with Dan Small, kicks off its 29th season on January 10 at a new time, Thursday
nights at 9. And WISCONSIN FOODIE, the entertaining series dedicated to discovering the stories
behind the food we eat, returns to the schedule, Thursday nights at 7:30 beginning January
10, right after AROUND THE CORNER WITH JOHN McGIVERN. The first episode of the new season
features two iconic Milwaukee spots, the Fondy Food Market and Speed Queen Barbeque.
Our good friends at the Milwaukee-based Boettcher Media Group are bringing a new season of their
popular national series, PIONEERS OF TELEVISION, to MPTV in January. Four new episodes, Tuesday
nights at 7 o'clock, premiering January 15, focus on groundbreaking women comediennes;
nighttime soap operas; superheroes; and TV's best-known miniseries. Ryan Seacrest narrates
PIONEERS OF TELEVISION. And finally, AMERICAN EXPERIENCE explores
the struggles of the men and women who fought to end slavery in a new three-part series
THE ABOLITIONISTS, Tuesday nights at 8, beginning January 8.
It's really an extraordinary month of great television on MPTV. So please join us. And
from the entire MPTV family, the best staff in public television, our board, volunteers
and students, we wish you all a happy and healthy New Year.
And I'll be back soon with more Thinking Inside the Box.