What to Watch This June: 20 Programs You Don't Want to Miss
Travel shows, new dramas, and Pride — that's June for you on KCET!
This month, uncover L.A.'s rich history of activism for the gay civil rights movement in "L.A.: A Queer History," wander around Scotland in "Miriam and Alan: Lost in Scotland" as Miriam Margoyles and Alan Cumming rediscover the country of their youth, see David Tennant and Olivia Colman star in "Broadchurch," when a small town gets thrown into media's full glare after a boy's murder, and so much more.
Also, catch a new KCET series "Off the Beaten Path," exploring how unseen forces shape where and how we live now and in the future, and "Planet California" celebrating California's wildlife and wild places, narrated by Val Zavala, former host of KCET's "SoCal Connected."
Read on for all programs available to stream this month.
Wednesday, June 1
Great Performances: Keeping Company with Sondheim – 8 p.m.
Take an inside look at the reimagined gender-swapped production as it returns to Broadway during the COVID-19 pandemic. Features new interviews with Tony and Grammy-winning cast members Katrina Lenk, Patti LuPone, Sondheim and more. Watch Now.
Saturday, June 4
Frontline: Police on Trial – 10 p.m.
Investigating the Minneapolis police in the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd. With Pulitzer Prize winning reporters from the Star Tribune — from the killing and protests to the trial of Derek Chauvin to the struggle for accountability. Watch Now.
Saturday, June 11
Mending Walls: The Documentary – 12 a.m.
Artist Hamilton Glass challenges 30 artists from different cultural backgrounds to collaborate on 16 murals about race, status, and experiences. See how the artists get to know each other through difficult conversations, and how working together ultimately opens their eyes and hearts to our differences. Watch Now.
Tuesday, June 14
The Island Diaries (New Season) – Tuesdays, 8 p.m.
In the second season of "The Island Diaries," visit different islands and hear interviews with locals about what makes their island unique. The show scratches the surface of daily life to explore themes such as food access, transportation, identity, culture and environment. Watch Now.The Hunter – Tuesdays, 10 p.m.
Based on a true story. Saverio Barone is a young and ambitious provincial Sicilian prosecutor with a killer instinct for tracking down top Mafiosi. He becomes known as "The Hunter," but success will come at a huge personal cost. Watch Now.
Wednesday, June 15
L.A.: A Queer History – 8 p.m.
Most consider the New York Stonewall Riots of 1969 to be the birth of the gay civil rights movement. But there have been activists, artists and innovators in L.A. since the turn of the 20th century. Watch "L.A.: A Queer History" for an educational, exciting and emotional epic saga spanning nearly a century featuring artists, scholars and first-hand accounts from LGBTQ elders who lived it. Watch Now.American Masters: Brian Wilson: Long Promised Road – 10 p.m.
Explore the life and career of Brian Wilson, singer, songwriter and co-founder of The Beach Boys, as he and Rolling Stone editor Jason Fine drive around Los Angeles. Featuring Wilson's candid reflections on his life and legendary career. Watch Now.
Thursday, June 16
Broadchurch – Thursdays, 9 p.m.
When a young boy is murdered, this small town of Broadchurch in Dorset suddenly becomes the focus of a major event in the full glare of the media spotlight. DI Alec Hardy (David Tennant) and DS Ellie Miller (Olivia Colman) lead the investigation. Watch Now.Miriam and Alan: Lost in Scotland – Thursdays, 10 p.m.
Miriam Margolyes and Alan Cumming get cozy traveling in a mobile home, mixing wit and memories as they return to their Scottish roots. Part-rediscovery, part-revelation and a total laugh riot, follow the two beloved actors as they uncover the country of their youth. Watch Preview.
Saturday, June 18
Don Quixote in Newark – 10 p.m.
The story of Dr. James Oleske, the pioneering pediatrician who first discovered HIV/AIDS in children and led the fight to end the childhood epidemic in America. Watch Now.Independent Lens: Made in Boise – 11:30 p.m.
Go inside the lives of four surrogates in Boise, Idaho and the intended parents whose children they carry. Follows the women as they navigate the rigors of pregnancy and the mixed feelings of their own families, who struggle to understand. Watch Preview.
Sunday, June 19
Black College Football Hall of Fame: Journey to Canton – 4:30 p.m.
The story of the formation of Black college football, the contributions that players from historically Black colleges and universities have made to the NFL, the founding of its Hall of Fame, and why the Hall is in the unexpected location of Canton. Watch Now.Lines Broken: The Story of Marion Motley – 4 p.m.
In 1946, Marion Motley was one of four African American men to break pro football's color barrier when he joined the Cleveland Browns. Those men's efforts to play a physically brutal game in the face of societal racism and state-sanctioned Jim Crow laws trailblazed a path for Black athletes in the highest echelons of professional sports, including baseball's Jackie Robinson. Watch Now.
Wednesday, June 22
American Masters: Ballerina Boys – 8 p.m.
Discover Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo (The Trocks), an all-male company that for 45 years has offered audiences their passion for ballet classics mixed with exuberant comedy. With every step they poke fun at their strictly gendered art form. Watch Now.
Jon Stewart: The Mark Twain Prize – 10 p.m.
Celebrate the comedic talents of Jon Stewart, this year's recipient of the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. A star-studded lineup pays tribute to the comedian, producer, author and social activist from the Kennedy Center stage in Washington, D.C. Watch Now.
Saturday, June 25
POV: Who Killed Vincent Chin? – 10 p.m.
On a hot summer night in Detroit in 1982, Ronald Ebens, an autoworker, killed Vincent Chin, a young Chinese American engineer with a baseball bat. Although he confessed, he never spent a day in jail. This gripping Academy Award-nominated film relentlessly probes the implications of the murder, for the families of those involved, and for the American justice system. Watch Now.
Sunday, June 26
Alzheimer's: What You Can Do – 4 p.m.
Delve into the research that shows how our social interactions, diet, sleep patterns, exercise, stress levels, and other daily health habits have dramatic effects on our cognitive abilities as we age. The film explores the discoveries that are changing the medical profession's view of dementia. Watch Now.Off the Beaten Path – 7 p.m.
An original series from PBS SoCal/KCET and Lodger Films, "Off the Beaten Path" features the beauty, danger and endless wonder of our local environments, and how unseen forces shape where we live and how we live now and will in the future. Watch Preview.Planet California – 8 p.m.
A celebration of California’s wildlife and wild places, and their coexistence with the 40 million people who call it home. Watch Preview.
Wednesday, June 29
Queer Silicon Valley – 10 p.m.
"Queer Silicon Valley" casts a fresh lens on a not well-known but significant history. Trace the rich history of the LGBTQ+ Community's challenges and successes in Silicon Valley, from its early beginnings in a 1970s vibrant bar scene through the challenges posed by AIDS and the religious right, the fight for political representation and marriage equality, to what it was like to come out in the high-tech industry. Watch Now.