Huell Howser's 'California Missions,' 'Prime Suspect' Marathons Begin Sunday

Nothing says quintessential KCET programming quite like a Huell Howser show and a British police procedural. So it's only fitting that we're cerebrating our 50th anniversary with marathons of Huell's "California Missions" and the critically-acclaimed (on both sides of the Atlantic) Helen Mirren drama "Prime Suspect," among other programs.

KCET begins its semicentennial commemoration on Sunday at 7 p.m. with 10 episodes of "Missions." The eps will re-air Monday, September 15 through Friday, September 26 in the regular Huell weeknight timeslot at 7:30 p.m.

Huell visited all 21 missions, stretching from San Diego in the south to San Francisco in the north, to share California's rich history and cultural heritage. The 10-part miniseries features three missions in each 30-minute episode as well as profiles of the Pala Indian Reservation, mission gardens, and mission art.

This series details not only the individual missions and their unique architecture, but also the religious and political motivation of the Spanish missionaries who built the churches for the indigenous people along El Camino Real.

"Prime Suspect" (the original series, not the NBC reboot) will also pay homage to the station's historic past from Monday, September 15 at 8 p.m. through Sunday, September 21.

The award-winning show, which originally ran on ITV from 1991 to 2006, earned Mirren two Emmys for her iconic role as Jane Tennison, one of the first female Detective Chief Inspectors in London's Metropolitan Police Service. The drama follows the no-nonsense detective as she battles to prove herself in a male-dominated profession.

The show, which was featured on KCET after the station's split from PBS, not only blazed new trails for the portrayal of women in detective series, as KCET forged a new independent path in public media, but redefined the crime genre.