Looking for some great shows to dig into this month? GBH Passport is where you should be looking, and below are some top selections from Ron Bachman, Senior Director of Programming, and Devin Karambelas, Programming Manager. GBH Passport is the member benefit that provides you with extended access to an on-demand library of quality public television programming, features current and past seasons of PBS and GBH shows — including drama, science, history and the arts. Watch anytime on GBH.org or on the PBS App.
American Experience: The Swamp
Streaming now with GBH Passport on GBH.org or on the PBS App until January 14
If you’ve yet to see this compelling documentary, you’ve still got a few weeks to catch up with it before The Swamp leaves GBH Passport. It tells the dramatic story of humanity’s attempts to conquer one of nature’s most mysterious and unique ecosystems—the Florida Everglades. In the 19th century, most Americans believed swamps were disease-filled obstacles to the nation’s progress. Entrepreneurs, politicians and salesmen saw great potential in turning the massive wetland into a profitable enterprise by draining it. But altering the landscape of the Everglades unleashed a torrent of unintended consequences, from catastrophic floods to brutal droughts. Told through the lives of a handful of colorful and resolute characters, from hucksters to politicians to unlikely activists, The Swamp explores the repeated efforts to transform what was seen as a vast and useless wasteland into an agricultural and urban paradise, ultimately leading to a passionate campaign to preserve America’s greatest wetland. —Ron
Call the Midwife Holiday Special
Streaming with GBH Passport on GBH.org or the PBS App starting December 25
If you’re a fan of this long-running series (with at least three more seasons to come!), we’ve got a real holiday treat for you. The pandemic didn’t stop the intrepid cast and crew of the series from producing its 10th annual holiday special, and while little is known about the story at this writing, we’ve learned this much: It takes place at Christmas in 1966, and Miriam Margolyes—who was forced to take a break from the series due to pandemic-induced travel restrictions—returns as Mother Mildred. But the details don’t really matter. If you’ve read this far, you’re already going to watch, aren’t you? —Ron
RFDS (Royal Flying Doctor Service)
Streaming now with GBH Passport on PBS.org or on the PBS App
Since this series is exclusive to GBH Passport, it may have passed you by. It’s a new Australian drama about the real-life Royal Flying Doctor Service, which for 93 years has provided emergency and primary health care services to people living in the vast and remote expanses of the Australian outback. To ensure an accurate portrayal of the service, the creators spent a year visiting bases and clinics and interviewing doctors, nurses, pilots and patients. Filming took place at the RFDS Broken Hill base—where movies like Mad Max 2 and Mission: Impossible II were shot—running parallel to its day-to-day medical operations without interfering with its work. The series was a hit in its debut earlier this year in Australia, and now that you know about it, you can see what all the fuss is about! —Ron
Roadfood
Available with GBH Passport (date TBD) on the PBS App and on the PBS Living Amazon Prime channel
The road to good food is paved with local dishes and colorful encounters in GBH’s newest lifestyle series. Across 13 episodes, host and actor Misha Collins (of Supernatural fame) hits the highways and byways of America, meeting local cooks, pit masters, bakers, café owners and other culinary artisans with a dish to share and a story to tell. The series is inspired by Jane and Michael Stern, who published ten editions of their popular Roadfood guide that helped put comfort foods like mac and cheese and meatloaf on the culinary map. Collins is picking up where the Sterns left off, one American regional specialty at a time. Roadfood airs Saturdays at 1p on GBH 2 and will also stream with GBH Passport on the PBS App and the PBS Living Amazon Prime channel. —Devin
Mary Berry's Country House at Christmas
Streaming now with GBH Passport on the PBS App
When it comes to holiday food and entertaining, no one does it better than Dame Mary Berry, best known in this country as a former judge on The Great British Baking Show. In this sumptuous special, Mary visits the stately Harewood House in Yorkshire, where a small army of volunteers are preparing the house for Christmas. Traditions from past and present collide as Mary assembles wreaths, bakes gingerbread cookies and whips up time-honored recipes like Yorkshire Pie and the medieval Twelfth Cake. It doesn’t get much more festive (or British) than this. —Devin
Dickens Collection (Bleak House, Little Dorrit, Oliver Twist)
Streaming with GBH Passport on the PBS App starting December 16
If this time of year puts you in a Dickensian mood, look no further: Passport has three star-studded adaptations of literary classics for your bingeing pleasure. In Bleak House (2005), acclaimed writer Andrew Davies brings to life one of Dickens’ most brilliant novels, starring Gillian Anderson as the beautiful Lady Dedlock, who nurses a dark secret. Three years later, Davies and Masterpiece returned to Dickens with an award-winning production of Little Dorrit (2008) featuring Claire Foy and Matthew Macfadyen in a tale about rags, riches and romance. And don’t miss Sophie Okonedo as Nancy in the five-part series Oliver Twist (2005), which breathes new, emotional life into the popular Dickens story. —Devin
View more selections for November 2021 and beyond in the GBH Passport highlights collection.
GBH Passport is a GBH member benefit that provides you with extended access to an on-demand library of quality public television programming, GBH Passport features current and past seasons of PBS and GBH shows — including drama, science, history and the arts. Watch anytime on GBH.org or on the PBS App.
