GBH Programmers' Choice: What To Watch In January

As GBH’s Senior Director of Programming, Ron Bachman oversees programming for the Boston station’s slate of six public television channels.

In a world of seemingly unlimited TV choices, finding the programs that matter to our viewers is what I love most about my job as Senior Programming Manager. Working with GBH’s Senior Director of Programming, we acquire, curate and schedule shows and films across GBH’s channels and for Passport.

January 04, 2021

Updated August 08, 2023

Every month, the duo that puts together GBH's programming schedule offers up insights into the best of broadcast in the coming weeks. Read on to see what Ron Bachman, Senior Director of Programming, and Devin Karambelas, Programming Manager, have to offer this month.

The Musketeers

Thursday, January 7 at 9pm on GBH 44
1630 Paris meets Deadwood in this playful BBC adaptation of the Alexandre Dumas classic. The urban streets are bustling, the swordplay is plentiful and the Musketeers are all too willing to fight for honor, for love and for the sheer thrill of it as bodyguards for King Louis XIII (Ryan Gage, Endeavour). While the series captures the spirit of the novel, liberties have been taken to infuse contemporary concerns of racism, sexism and terrorism into some of the Musketeers’ more memorable adventures. Highlights for me include watching Peter Capaldi portray the conniving Cardinal Richelieu and Mamie McCoy (who you might recognize from Masterpiece’s Van der Valk) as Milady de Winter, the Cardinal’s chief spy and an unrepentant femme fatale. 17^th century Paris is a rough world to inhabit, but this cast sure seems to have a lot of fun doing it. Truly one for all. —Devin

Watch the trailer:

Antiques Roadshow

Mondays at 8pm on GBH 2
Believe it or not, this popular and venerable series kicks off its 25^th (!) year this month, but thanks to the travel-prohibiting coronavirus pandemic, there’s a little less “road” in Roadshow this year. Even so, you can look forward to three first-ever celebrity episodes, as Roadshow experts go into celebrities’ homes to offer insights into their favorite items and explore history through their personal stories. (Sorry, you’ll have to wait a bit to learn the identities of the celebrities. Even I don’t know yet!) Also coming this season: A behind-the-scenes look at what happened to some of Roadshow’s most famous finds after the TV cameras left town. Pandemic notwithstanding, there’s no keeping this series down! —Ron

Watch a clip from Season 25:

View previous episodes of Antiques Roadshow.

FRONTLINE: A Thousand Cuts

Friday, January 8 at 9pm on GBH 2
In one of Frontline’s finest films of the season, filmmaker Ramona S. Diaz follows key players from both sides of an increasingly perilous war between press and government. The intrepid Maria Resser, CEO of news site Rappler, leads one of the few Philippine media organizations that is openly critical of Philippines' President Rodrigo Duterte and his policies. Diaz has a skillfully firm grasp of all the complex issues in play: the arc of Duterte’s rise to power, Rappler’s efforts to hold his administration accountable and the ways in which social media can both enhance and silence free expression. The parallels to the sustained attacks on press freedom in the United States are sobering. —Devin

Watch the trailer:

View previous episodes of FRONTLINE.

Nature: The Alps

Wednesday, January 13 at 8pm on GBH 2
When I think of the Alps, visions of skiing, raclette and gluhwein dance in my head. Of course, the Alps are also some of Europe’s most iconic strongholds of rare and majestic nature. The extraordinary mountain range is the focus of Nature’s new two-part series. Part 1 explores the most extreme upper regions of the Alps and the creatures who call it home, like the ibex and lynx, offering intimate glimpses into their ways of living thanks to macro-photography and hidden nest cameras. In Part 2, we discover how wildlife adapts to changing Alpine seasons and learn how animal reintroduction programs have successfully brought back many species near extinction. —Devin

Watch a preview:

Watch previous episodes of Nature.

Agatha Christie’s Poirot

Monday, January 25 at 9pm on GBH 44
For nearly a quarter of a century, David Suchet brought to life Agatha Christie’s Belgian sleuth, Hercule Poirot — he of the “little grey cells,” the not-so-little ego, and the impeccably groomed mustaches — in a now-iconic series of adaptations that included all 33 of Christie’s Poirot novels and a good helping of the short stories. For my money, the series got better as it went along, so we’re bringing you some of its later seasons, starting with Five Little Pigs and including one of Dame Agatha’s best mysteries, Death on the Nile (also coming soon in a new big-screen adaptation starring Kenneth Branagh). January 2021 marks the 100^th anniversary of the US publication of Christie’s first novel, so in addition to these classic episodes, you can also mark the occasion with two new documentaries: Inside the Mind of Agatha Christie (Sunday, January 17 at 10pm on GBH 2) and Agatha Christie’s England (Sunday, January 24 at 10pm on GBH 2). Both shows will also stream, of course. —Ron

Watch a preview:

P.O.V.: The Mole Agent

Monday, January 25 at 9:30pm on GBH 2
When a family grows concerned for their mother’s well-being in a retirement home, private investigator Romulo Aitken hires 83-year-old Sergio Chamy to become a new resident and a mole inside the home. Sergio struggles to balance his undercover assignment with his increasing involvement in the lives of other residents. Sounds like the plot of a drama, doesn’t it? But no, it’s a documentary by Chilean filmmaker Maite Alberti — and one that has charmed and moved audiences around the world, with a payoff that the New York Times describes as “compassionate, humane and worth heeding.” —Ron

Watch a clip: