PBS UK picks up raft of docs for Autumn schedule

The UK version of US public broadcasting service PBS has acquired a raft of docs for its Autumn grid.

PBS America, which is a pay TV channel in the UK, has acquired almost 90 hours of new programming in all.

From PBSi, the distribution arm of parent broadcaster PBS, the UK channel has taken shows including WGBH doc JFK (pictured), HG Wells one-off War of the Worlds and Ken Burns’ feature doc The Central Park Five.

From Off the Fence PBS has picked up titles including Children of Waco and Aerial America. From Content Media is has Children who Cheated the Nazis. From Electric Sky it has bought D-Day: The Shortest Day and Science of Interrogation. From TVF it has acquired FBI: Critical Incident and from Cineflix Rights titles including Cheating Vegas.

“Our ambition is to make PBS America the destination for viewers to indulge in Americana; how America came to be, its great cities and landscapes, its cultural jewels and the quirky modern tales that make it unique,” says Richard Kingsbury, general manager of PBS America. This autumn, a strong schedule from PBS supplemented with an eclectic range of acquisitions will help us build that reputation.”