There are no new British dramas premiering on PBS in November, but there’s more than enough programming to see you through the penultimate month of 2024. Ken Burns is premiering his new documentary, Leonardo da Vinci, about the world’s most famous Renaissance man, artist, and inventor. And PBS has several other documentary and nature programs slated to run throughout the month.
PBS’ non-partisan coverage of the 2024 presidential election will culminate on Tuesday, November 5. But if you’re really missing your British dramas, there are encore presentations of All Creatures Great & Small and Call the Midwife coming as well.
If you missed the best shows on PBS from October, you can still stream those online. But you must wait for the premiere dates listed below to catch everything coming to PBS in November.
Are you looking for more shows to watch this month? If so, check out our guides on the best new shows to stream, the best shows on Netflix, the best shows on Hulu, and the best shows on Disney+.
Great Performances — Land of Gold
Premieres: Friday, November 1
This documentary explores the making of John Adams and Peter Sellars’ San Francisco Opera premiere of their latest collaboration, Girls of the Golden West, dramatizing the turbulent history of the California gold rush. With the new opera’s title referencing Puccini’s 1910 romantic favorite The Girl of the Golden West, Adams and Sellars’ work tells a harsher and more complex story through the letters of writer Louise Clappe, who lived in a miners’ settlement for a year and a half. Land of Gold examines the historical characters of 1851 on a cultural collision course and goes behind the scenes at San Francisco Opera with the cast and creatives excavating that same history within today’s cultural turmoil. Amid the backstage hubbub, composer Adams, singers Julia Bullock, Paul Appleby, J’Nai Bridges, and director Sellars wrestle their bittersweet opera onto the stage.
PBS News Vote 2024: Election Coverage
Premieres: Tuesday, November 5
Live special coverage of the 2024 presidential and congressional elections will air on PBS stations and stream on PBS News’ digital and social platforms on Tuesday, November 5. Co-anchored by Amna Nawaz and Geoff Bennett, coverage will include reporting from the PBS News Hour team, analysis from guests, and results for the presidential, vice presidential, House of Representatives, and Senate elections.
Nature — San Diego: America’s Wildest City
Premieres: Wednesday, November 6
This is a story of dazzling biological diversity thriving incongruously in a transformed landscape of manmade wilderness. Despite its 3.3 million human residents and utterly transformed landscape, San Diego County is the most biologically diverse county in America. Follow three animal families through the ups and downs of life in San Diego: western grebes, California ground squirrels, and harbor seals. Woven through these three main stories are cameos by a colorful cast of supporting characters, whose lives have been equally transformed by our reshaping of San Diego’s ecosystems: gray whales, coyotes, skunks, hummingbirds, leopard sharks, and mountain lions.
Nova — Decoding the Universe: Quantum
Premieres: Wednesday, November 6
When we look at the world at the tiniest scales, things get very weird in the subatomic realm. Welcome to the quantum universe, where particles can spin in two directions at once, observing something changes it, and a thing on one side of the galaxy can instantly affect something on the other, as if the space between them didn’t exist. Buckle up for a wild ride through the discoveries that proved all of this to be true and paved the way for the digital technologies we enjoy today — and the powerful quantum sensors and computers of tomorrow.
Salute To Service 2024: A Veterans Day Celebration
Premieres: Friday, November 8
On Veterans Day, country music superstar Mickey Guyton hosts Salute To Service, a musical celebration of our nation’s heroes past and present. Country music legend Craig Morgan joins jazz bassist Christian McBride and pop trombonist Aubrey Logan with the United States Army Field Band for this hour-long special, which also shares inspiring stories of distinguished veterans such as General Patrick Brady, our nation’s most decorated living veteran, and Colonel Danielle Ngo, who escaped Saigon just before its fall and went from refugee to Army Colonel. This program unites the nation in gratitude and serves as a reminder that service members represent the American ideal of unity, regardless of backgrounds or beliefs.
A Wu-Tang Experience: Live At Red Rocks Amphitheatre
Premiere: Monday, November 11
Combining performances, interviews, and revealing insights from various group members and associates, classical musicians, and concertgoers, this feature documents the extraordinary concert at the iconic Red Rocks Amphitheatre where the Wu-Tang Clan, backed by the 60-piece Colorado Symphony Orchestra, weaves together songs from their vast discography of group and solo albums to create a live score for a real-time screening of the seminal martial arts film The 36th Chamber of Shaolin, which inspired the Clan’s aesthetic and the title of their groundbreaking debut album Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers). Through exploring whether hip-hop has earned the legitimacy of more established and prestigious musical genres, A Wu-Tang Experience delivers answers that inform, reveal, and inspire.
Independent Lens — Make Peace or Die: Honor the Fallen
Premieres: Monday, November 11
Returning from a tour of duty in Afghanistan, riddled with survivor’s guilt after his unit lost 17 men, Marine Corps veteran Anthony Marquez makes it his mission to help the Gold Star Families of the fallen find healing through art and reconnection. By carving and hand-delivering a battlefield cross for each of the families affected by loss, Anthony finds the path to heal himself.
American Experience — American Coup: Wilmington 1898
Premieres: Tuesday, November 12
Discover the little-known story of the deadly 1898 race massacre and coup d’état in Wilmington, North Carolina, when white supremacists overthrew the multi-racial government of the state’s largest city through a campaign of violence and intimidation that destroyed Black political and economic power and imposed white control. The film combines the story of the coup with an examination of present-day efforts to seek the truth about this intentionally buried history.
Nature — Lions of the Skeleton Coast
Premieres: Wednesday, November 13
Expert lion filmmakers Will and Lianne Steenkamp (Nature — The Leopard Legacy) have set their sights on the lions of the Skeleton Coast of Namibia, a place they know well. Here they have been following three orphaned cubs, left abandoned by their mother, who died unexpectedly. At less than a year old, they were not expected to live, but they defied the odds.
Over five years, the Steenkamps returned to the desert to follow the story of the cubs as they matured — starting with their scavenging abilities that secured their survival as orphaned youngsters, to their specialized bird hunting strategies at the oases, and their endless explorations across unknown desert territory to their newfound food source on the coast.
Nova — Building Stuff: Boost It!
Premieres: Wednesday, November 13
Around the world, engineers are finding ingenious ways to amplify our abilities and senses, allowing us to access and shape the world way beyond our natural abilities. From helping a blind man see without the use of his eyes to building a sling so powerful it can shoot rockets into space, see why engineering just might be the closest thing to a superpower we humans have.
Secrets of the Dead — Lost Treasures of Angkor (Two-parts)
Premieres: Wednesday, November 13 and November 20
For the first time, a secret hoard of gold and silver artifacts discovered in Laos in 2008 will be revealed to the world. What makes this treasure truly priceless is its mysterious origins and the extraordinary story it tells. Explore the tumultuous rise of the Khmer Empire, one of the greatest civilizations in human history, with the immense temple complex of Angkor Wat at its heart.
Part One, The Discovery, airs Wednesday, November 13. Part Two, Kings Gold, airs the following Wednesday, November 20.
Leonardo da Vinci
Premiere: Monday, November 18
Leonardo da Vinci, Ken Burns’ first non-American subject, explores the life and work of the 15th-century polymath Leonardo da Vinci. The film looks at how the artist influenced and inspired future generations, and it finds in his soaring imagination and profound intellect the foundation for a conversation we are still having today: what our relationship is with nature and what it means to be human.
Set against the rich and dynamic backdrop of Renaissance Italy, at a time of skepticism and freethinking, regional war, and religious upheaval, Leonardo da Vinci brings the artist’s towering achievements to life through his prolific personal notebooks, primary and secondary accounts of his life, and on-camera interviews with modern scholars, artists, engineers, inventors, and admirers.
Nature — Attenborough’s Life Journey
Premieres: Wednesday, November 20
As Sir David Attenborough enters his 98th year, this unique and charming film documents the highlights of his incredible life. Follow Attenborough’s journey from his boyhood days as a fossil hunter through his time as a host on Zoo Quest, to his programs using pioneering technology of the day such as 3D and 4K.
This intimate portrait depicts Attenborough’s years on the road, from the islands of the Galapagos to the mountains of Canada to the jungles of Borneo. Combining exclusive behind-the-scenes footage, candid interviews with Sir David on location, and stunning excerpts from his ground-breaking documentaries, this episode captures an Attenborough you have never seen before.
Nova — Building Stuff: Reach It!
Premieres: Wednesday, November 20
From the time our species first evolved, we’ve been on the move. Not content to stay in one place, we’ve schemed, invented, and built our way from one place to the next. From affordable deep-sea subs, flying taxis, and next-gen space habitats, see how today’s engineers are designing and building creative new ways for us to get all around — and even off — our planet.
Great Performances — Patsy Cline: Walkin’ After Midnight
Premieres: Friday, November 22
With her music transcending generations, country music legend Patsy Cline was a crossover trailblazer in her genre, paving the way for artists who followed in her footsteps. Featuring commentary from fellow artists and those who knew Patsy Cline, the star-studded concert celebrates her life and legacy, and music from the Ryman Auditorium.
Performers include Annie Bosko, Ashley McBryde, Beverly D’Angelo, Crystal Gayle, Grace Potter, Home Free, The Isaacs, Kellie Pickler, Kristin Chenoweth, Mandy Barnett, Mickey Guyton, Natalie Grant, Rita Wilson, Pam Tillis, Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo, Reyna Roberts, Tami Neilson, Tiera Kennedy, Tigirlily Gold, Wynonna, and more. Music legend Willie Nelson, Patsy Cline’s husband Charlie Dick, and other personal friends also share anecdotes about her life and music.
Call the Midwife Holiday Specials
Premiere: Monday, November 25
Call the Midwife follows the nurses, midwives, and nuns from Nonnatus House who visit the expectant mothers of Poplar, providing the poorest women with the best possible care.
POV — The Body Politic
Premieres: Monday, November 25
The Body Politic is a harbinger of hope in a country plagued by gun violence. In Baltimore, Brandon Scott, an idealistic young leader with an ambitious plan to stop chronic violence in the city, is elected mayor. Throughout his first year in office, we follow him as he fights powerful political forces to save lives in Baltimore and reveals a pathway toward healing for the nation.
Lidia Celebrates America — Changemakers
Premieres: Tuesday, November 26
Celebrity chef Lidia Bastianich was born in Pula, a small city on the southern tip of the Istrian Peninsula. While she grew up in a poor community where food was scarce, when it came to cooking and eating, she and her neighbors demonstrated a remarkable spirit of ingenuity.
Resourcefulness remains a fundamental part of who Lidia is today, a chef bolstered by the belief that food is increasingly being wasted. With this in mind, Lidia Celebrates America will follow Lidia on her 13th journey across America — this time meeting up with chefs, farmers, and artisans who are all actively trying to predict what the future of food could look like.
Frontline — China, The U.S. & The Rise of Xi Jinping
Premieres: Tuesday, November 26
The rise of Xi Jinping, his vision for China, and the global implications are the subject of this Frontline investigation. Correspondent Martin Smith traces the defining moments for the Chinese leader, how he’s exercising power, and the impact on China and relations with the U.S. and the world.
Nova — Building Stuff: Change It!
Premieres: Wednesday, November 27
For as long as humans have been around, we’ve been altering the spaces around us to better suit our needs. From accessing ancient wisdom to build a better water filter to designing a robot that uses acoustics to bring coral reefs back to health, see how today’s engineers are applying their craft to reshape the natural world and create new human-made environments to enhance our lives in amazing ways.
All Creatures Great & Small on Masterpiece
Premiere: Thursday, November 28
James Herriot’s adventures as a veterinarian in 1930s Yorkshire get a glorious new adaptation in a series based on his internationally celebrated books. Nicholas Ralph makes his television debut as the iconic vet who became renowned for his inspiring humor, compassion, and love of life. Catch up on all four seasons before the season 5 premiere on January 12, 2025.
Great Performances — Henry Mancini 100 at the Hollywood Bowl
Premieres: Friday, November 29
The Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, along with special guests, celebrates the centennial birthday of Henry Mancini, the peerless composer of film, television, and popular song. The four-time Oscar and 20-time Grammy-winning composer of Moon River and the Pink Panther made 29 conducting appearances on the iconic Bowl’s stage. Michael Bublé, Cynthia Erivo, saxophonist Dave Koz, and Mancini’s daughter Monica Mancini gathered to perform classic renditions of Mancini’s signature songs, interspersed with clips from Mancini’s beloved movies and TV shows.
In addition, behind-the-scenes documentary footage captures the recording sessions for The Henry Mancini 100th Sessions-Henry Has Company, a new, all-star album featuring a diverse range of artists including Gustavo Dudamel, Herbie Hancock, Quincy Jones, Lizzo, Stevie Wonder, Pat Metheny, Take 6, Snarky Puppy, and more.
