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A Look Ahead at Fall on WTTW

Julia Maish
Rick Steves at Vienna's Schoenbrunn Palace
Rick Steves explores centuries of European art in person in his new series. Photo: Courtesy American Public Television

Fall brings a wide array of new and exciting programs to WTTW. From an eagerly anticipated returning detective series to several scintillating new dramas to a nostalgic look back at an iconic how-to program to a whirlwind tour of European art history, you can watch it all on WTTW, online at wttw.com/watch, or on the PBS Video app for mobile, smart TVs, and streaming devices. Here are a few highlights.

Ladies Who Sleuth


On Sundays beginning October 16 at 7:00 pm, settle in for an engaging “lady detective” triple bill. There’s a second season of Miss Scarlet and the Duke as the intrepid private eye Eliza Scarlet (Kate Phillips) returns to investigate more baffling cases in Victorian London. Then, travel northeast to Suffolk to meet the inquisitive book editor-turned-amateur sleuth Susan Ryeland (Lesley Manville) in Magpie Murders, in a new miniseries based on the novel by Anthony Horowitz. Finally, head north to the waters around Glasgow, Scotland in Annika, as detective inspector Annika Strandhed (Nicola Walker) fishes numerous murder victims from waterways while navigating an equally turbulent homelife.

Add to that the new feminist Spanish series La Otra Mirada on Sundays beginning October 2 at 11:00 pm, Broadchurch costarring Oscar winner Olivia Colman on Thursdays at 9:00 pm, and Sister Boniface Mysteries, Shakespeare & Hathaway, and The Fall on Saturday nights starting at 7:00 pm, and you’ve got an abundance of strong, resourceful women who are taking down names and kicking…well, you get the idea.

Intrepid Girls

Rosie and Gatita in Rosie's RulesRosie and Gatita in 'Rosie's Rules.' Image: Ruby Productions, Inc.

Speaking of strong women, here’s another one in training! In Rosie’s Rules, a new series for preschoolers, five-year-old Rosie is just beginning to learn about the fascinating, baffling, thrilling world beyond her home. Laugh along with your kids as she tries to make sense of the world's most mystifying concepts. Hint: It doesn’t always go according to plan. Rosie's Rules airs weekdays at 10:00 am and 1:30 pm.

Plus, Molly of Denali begins a third season on Monday, November 7.

Black History and Its Icons


If Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. hosts, writes, and produces a series, it’s sure to be fascinating, and his latest, Making Black America: Through the Grapevine, is no exception. “For centuries, 'the Grapevine' has connected Black Americans in formal and informal networks not just as a way of communicating but of building and sustaining communities large and small,” he says. “From churches to fraternal organizations to Black Twitter, this is the story of how a people did more than survive the onslaught of enslavement and segregation. They redefined America and its cultural gifts to the world.” The series, airing Tuesdays beginning October 4 at 9:00 pm, takes us from 1775 through the present day, highlighting the vibrant cultural and social spaces at the heart of the African American experience.

Also this month, enjoy new and revealing profiles of the legendary freedom fighter Harriet Tubman (yet another strong woman!) on Tuesday, October 4 at 10:00 pm, and influential abolitionist leader Frederick Douglass on Tuesday, October 11 at 10:00 pm.

Construction Masters

Norm Abram on This Old HouseNorm Abram is retiring from 'This Old House' at the age of 73. Photo: Courtesy This Old House

As the groundbreaking how-to home improvement series This Old House kicks off its 44th season along with a new season of Ask This Old House (Saturdays at 10:00 and 10:30 am), enjoy The House that Norm Built, a nostalgic look back at the career of the show’s master carpenter Norm Abrams, who is retiring at age 73. Whether you’re a professional home renovator or someone who wouldn’t know a lug wrench from a level, take a moment to celebrate a man who most certainly would. Fun fact: this program airs on October 3 at 9:00 pm, Norm’s birthday!

The development of artificial intelligence is its own kind of construction process. NOVA explores its use in policing in Computers V. Crime on October 12 at 9:00 pm, then turns to human minds in Can Psychedelics Cure? on October 19.

Europe's Art and History

Fridays beginning October 14 at 8:00 pm, travel expert and author Rick Steves delves into a new aspect of his familiar stomping ground: art history. In Rick Steves Art of Europe, he climbs deep into prehistoric tombs, gets up close and personal with Michelangelo’s dome in Vatican City, and marvels at the works of such masters as Van Gogh and Picasso.

And on October 19 at 10:00 pm, Secrets of the Dead visits the legendary site of Pompeii to discover what the site was like before Vesuvius erupted. 

And More...

There's plenty more to make you think, learn, and gasp. PBS NewsHour examines gun violence in Ricochet: An American Trauma on Wednesday, October 5 at 10:00 pm. POV looks at higher education's promise in Accepted on October 10 at 10:00 pm and the perspective of Muslim Americans in An Act of Worship on October 17 at 10:00 pm. Nature follows wildebeest migrations and Canada's wild north on Wednesdays, and NOVA profiles the invasive lionfishThe prolific and admired jazz bassist Ron Carter Friday, October 21 at 9:00 pm. Dive into the unbelievably popular app TikTok October 24 at 10:00 pm. And follow Frontline and the Associated Press as they document Putin's war crimes in Ukraine October 25 at 10:00 pm.