History and Accomplishments of LGBTQ+ Community Celebrated in New Pride Month Programming on PBS SoCal
Press Contact
Allison Gray
agray@pbssocal.org
747.201.5298
Select programming will also be available to stream on PBS.org and the free PBS App. Members of PBS SoCal get extended access through PBS Passport.
Los Angeles, Calif. – May 23, 2024 – PBS SoCal, Southern California’s flagship PBS station, proudly honors Pride Month with a robust programming slate of LGBTQ+ content throughout June. The station will showcase a lineup of enlightening programs to celebrate the rainbow of visionaries, advocates and unsung heroes who have inspired the world to see love without labels by premiering new documentaries and specials throughout the month. Starting with the new three-part limited docuseries DISCO: SOUNDTRACK OF A REVOLUTION, which tells the remarkable story of how a global phenomenon began in the loft apartments and basement bars of New York City. The three-part docuseries premieres with “Rock the Boat” on Tues., June 4 at 8:30 p.m. on PBS SoCal and Sat., June 8 at 5:30 p.m. on PBS SoCal Plus. This BBC Studios Production will have a special early release of all three episodes on PBS.org and the PBS app on June 1.
The surprising and overlooked history of disco – the preeminent popular music of the 1970s – comes to Southern California viewers in a three-part series, DISCO: SOUNDTRACK OF A REVOLUTION. The docuseries captures the story of disco: its rise, its fall, and its legacy. Embodying the height of 1970s glamour, Disco was inextricably linked to the major liberation movements of the 1970s and speaks to some of the biggest issues of today including LGBTQ+ identity and empowerment. Examining the dance floor culture that went on to take over the world, along with iconic tracks and remarkable footage, the docuseries offers a powerful, revisionist history of the disco age. Told by the original musicians, promoters, and innovators as well as modern-day musical icons – including The Village People’s Victor Willis, Labelle’s Nona Hendryx, Scissor Sisters’ Ana Matronic and Jake Shears, Jocelyn Brown, Jessie Ware and more.
Later in June, PBS SoCal will host TO BE TAKEI, the story of actor and LGBTQ+ activist George Takei who boldly journeyed from a WWII internment camp to the helm of the starship Enterprise. The film chronicles seven decades of the actor’s playful and profound trek for life, liberty and love. TO BE TAKEI airs Thurs., June 20 at 9 p.m. on PBS SoCal and Wed., June 19 at 8 p.m. on PBS SoCal Plus.
Additional content for Southern California viewers includes AMERICAN EXPERIENCE “Stonewall Uprising.” The Stonewall riots marked a major turning point in the modern gay civil rights movement in the United States and around the world. AMERICAN EXPERIENCE “Stonewall Uprising” airs Thurs., June 20 at 10 p.m. on PBS SoCal and Sat., June 22 at 9:30 p.m. on PBS SoCal Plus.
Last year, PBS SoCal hosted the world broadcast premiere of UNIDAD: GAY & LESBIAN LATINOS UNIDOS, the story of the Los Angeles area’s first major Queer Latin@ organization. The film chronicles events at a pivotal time in the history of LGBTQ equality and will be broadcast again during Pride Month 2024.
Additional award-winning, locally-produced content airing throughout the month includes LA: A QUEER HISTORY, DEAR IKE: LOST LETTERS TO A TEEN IDOL, ARTBOUND: LGBTQ Nightlife and several other relevant programs.
Select content slated to air during Pride Month is listed as follows (*schedule subject to change):
L.A.: A QUEER HISTORY – Sat., June 1 at 9 p.m. on PBS SoCal Plus and Thurs., June 20 at 7 p.m. on PBS SoCal
The 1969 Stonewall Uprising in New York has been widely regarded as the beginning of the Gay Civil Rights Movement, but the true heart of the movement, and what we know as "Gay Culture" was born in Los Angeles. This film sheds light on historical figures who are largely unacknowledged, creating a newfound dialogue about LGBTQ history but also a better understanding of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.
AMERICAN MASTERS: Ballerina Boys – Sat., June 1 at 11:30 p.m. on PBS SoCal Plus
The story of Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, a company of men who dance on pointe as ballerinas.
DISCO: SOUNDTRACK OF A REVOLUTION “Rock the Boat” – Tues., June 4 at 8:30 p.m. on PBS SoCal and Tues., June 18 at 9 p.m. on PBS SoCal as well as Sat., June 8 at 5:30 p.m. and Wed, June 19 at 10 p.m. on PBS SoCal Plus
The opening episode of the series looks at the roots of disco – how it emerged from a basic desire for inclusion, visibility, and freedom among persecuted Black, gay and minority ethnic communities of New York City. It tells the remarkable story of how a global phenomenon began in the loft apartments and basement bars of New York City, where a new generation of DJs and musicians, like David Mancuso, Nicky Siano, Francis Grasso and Earl Young (The Trammps), pioneered a distinct sound and a new way of spinning records.
DISCO: SOUNDTRACK OF A REVOLUTION “Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now” – Tues., June 4 at 9:30 p.m. on PBS SoCal and Tues., June 25 at 9 p.m. on PBS SoCal as well as Sat., June 8 at 6:30 p.m. and Wed, June 26 at 10 p.m. on PBS SoCal Plus
Set against the backdrop of Black power and sexual liberation, the second episode takes viewers to the high watermark of disco in the mid ’70s. It was the birth of the “disco diva” from Gloria Gaynor and Candi Staton to Donna Summer and Thelma Houston. However, mainstream success by The Bee Gees’ soundtrack album “Saturday Night Fever,” The Rolling Stones’ “Miss You,” Rod Stewart’s “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy” and Studio 54 took disco further and further from its roots of inclusivity and freedom, as straight, white men started to embrace and repackage the sound.
DISCO: SOUNDTRACK OF A REVOLUTION “Stayin’ Alive” – Tues., June 4 at 11 p.m. on PBS SoCal and Tues., July 2 at 9 p.m. on PBS SoCal as well as Sat., June 8 at 8 p.m. and Wed, July 3 at 10 p.m. on PBS SoCal Plus
The final episode documents the wellspring of resentment from white, straight, male-dominated, rock-loving middle Americans, as they targeted disco for its hedonism, femininity and queerness. A vocal “Disco Sucks” movement began to gain momentum, culminating in the “Disco Demolition Derby” at Comiskey Park Stadium in Chicago, where organizers destroyed thousands of disco records in front of a baying audience of baseball fans. In addition, the hedonism and sexual liberation embodied by disco found itself stopped in its tracks by the AIDS crisis. Pushed out of the mainstream, the pioneers of disco retreated and regrouped.
DEAR IKE: LOST LETTERS TO A TEEN IDOL – Sat., June 8 at 10 p.m. on PBS SoCal Plus
The story of a teenager's all-consuming childhood quest to contact his boyhood idol, Ike Eisenmann, and ask him to star in an animated science-fiction epic that he was forever developing in an overstuffed three-ring binder.
UNIDAD: GAY & LESBIAN LATINOS UNIDOS – Sat., June 15 at 9 p.m. on PBS SoCal Plus
Gay and Lesbian Latinos Unidos was founded in 1981, only a few years before HIV/AIDS began to ravage LGBTQ communities. GLLU was the Los Angeles area’s first major Queer Latin@ organization, and the film chronicles events at a pivotal time in the history of LGBTQ equality, women’s rights and civil rights movements that shaped the destinies of GLLU’s communities.
TO BE TAKEI – Wed., June 19 at 8 p.m. on PBS SoCal Plus and Thurs., June 20 at 9 p.m. on PBS SoCal
This award-winning documentary features Star Trek legend, marriage equality advocate and spokesperson for racial justice; superstar George Takei.
ARTBOUND: LGBTQ Nightlife – Wed., June 19 at 9 p.m. and Sun., June 23 at 4 p.m. on PBS SoCal Plus
In this episode of ARTBOUND, see how a roving LGBTQ night club event in Los Angeles called “Mustache Mondays” became a creative incubator for today’s leading edge contemporary artists. This film examines the history of these spaces and how they shaped the Queer cultural fabric unique to Southern California.
AMERICAN EXPERIENCE “Stonewall Uprising” – Thurs., June 20 at 10 p.m. on PBS SoCal and Sat., June 22 at 9:30 p.m. on PBS SoCal Plus
When police raided the Stonewall Inn, a popular gay bar in the Greenwich Village section of New York City on June 28, 1969, the street erupted into violent protests that lasted for the next six days.
LOST LA: Coded Geographies – Sat., June 22 at 9 p.m. on PBS SoCal Plus
This episode of LOST LA explores two underground guidebooks, The Negro Travelers' Green Book and The Address Book, that reveal the hidden geographies many Angelenos had to navigate, exposing Los Angeles as a place of coded segregation and resistance.
OUTRAGE OF DANNY SOTOMAYOR: American Stories – Sun., June 23 at 5 p.m. on PBS SoCal Plus
Danny Sotomayor was a man on a mission to address injustice. The fiery, openly gay AIDS activist, political cartoonist and organizer took to the streets of Chicago, using civil disobedience to wage war on city officials who marginalized the LGBTQ+ community and turned a blind eye to the AIDS crisis – all while fighting a losing battle with the disease himself.
CLIVE DAVIS: The Soundtrack of Our Lives – Sat., June 29 at 9 p.m. on PBS SoCal Plus
A look at the life and work of record executive and producer Clive Davis, whose five-decade career has launched many superstars, including Janis Joplin, Whitney Houston, Bruce Springsteen and Aerosmith.
JUSTLY WED: Scenes from the Marriage Equality Movement – Sun., June 30 at 5 p.m. on PBS SoCal Plus
An exploration of the experience and legacy of the 2004 gay marriages in San Francisco.
PBS SoCal’s commitment to sharing diverse and inclusive stories will continue in additional digital content exploring the impacts made by the LGBTQ community in Southern California and beyond at pbssocal.org/Pride.
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