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Screen Time: Week of March 29, 2021

By Tom White


From Jacqueline Olive's 'Death Is Our Business.' Courtesy of L. Kasimu Harris/FRONTLINE (PBS) The photo depicts a Black woman standing over an open casket, her right arm raised in praise; she wears a protective face mask, as well as a dark suit.

Screen Time is your curated weekly guide to excellent documentaries and nonfiction programs that you can watch at home. 

Starting April 4, Eyes on the Prize, the seminal series on the American civil rights movement, will air on WORLD Channel every Sunday. The first six episodes will also be available on-demand for a limited time after broadcast on all station-branded PBS platforms, including WORLDChannel.org, PBS.org and the PBS Video app. When it premiered in 1987, Eyes on the Prize, from the legendary production company Blackside, was acclaimed as the defining series on race in America.  Today, it still resonates and is relevant to an entirely new generation of people seeking answers about how we arrived at this moment in our country. 

Now streaming on FRONTLINE, Death Is Our Business, from Jacqueline Olive, examines in intimate and moving detail how Black funeral homes in New Orleans have had to adapt to the devastating impact of COVID-19 in their community. A co-production with Firelight Media and WORLD Channel

Premiering March 30 on Lifetime, Women Making History, from Dawn Porter, spotlights such trailblazers as Vice President Kamala Harris, immunologist Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett, activist Crystal Echo Hawk and Nobel Peace Prize winner Amanda Nguyen. 

The sixth season of Reel South, the documentary series that tackles the richness and complications of the American South through a uniquely Southern lens, opens April 5 on PBS. The films in this edition—two features and two shorts—explore themes of ritual and participation, absolution and equity through stories about rural youth activism, civil rights through sport, and suburban Americana.

Another series returning on April 5 is AfroPop: The Ultimate Cultural Exchange, the only documentary series dedicated solely to bringing contemporary stories of the African Diaspora to public media audiences. Presented by Black Public Media and streaming on WORLD Channel, the 13th season of AfroPop will showcase shorts and features about individuals who challenge systems of oppression and inequality, and those who create new avenues of expression through the arts.

With a wealth of never-before-seen footage, audio tapes, personal photos and new interviews, including with the singer herself, TINA presents an unvarnished and dynamic account of the life and career of music icon Tina Turner. Directed by Dan Lindsay and T.J. Martin, TINA charts Tina Turner’s early fame, the private and public personal and professional struggles, and her return to the world stage as a global phenomenon in the 1980s. Now streaming on HBO MAX