American Masters is a PBS television series which produces biographies on enduring writers, musicians, visual and performing artists, dramatists, filmmakers, and those who have left an indelible impression on the cultural landscape of the United States. It is produced by WNET in New York City. The show debuted on PBS in 1986.[1]
| Season | Episodes | Originally aired | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First aired | Last aired | |||
| 1 | 12 | June 23, 1986 | September 8, 1986 | |
| 2 | 10 | July 6, 1987 | November 25, 1987 | |
| 3 | 8 | July 11, 1988 | June 26, 1989 | |
| 4 | 10 | July 3, 1989 | December 20, 1989 | |
| 5 | 8 | July 2, 1990 | September 17, 1990 | |
| 6 | 9 | July 1, 1991 | May 1, 1992 | |
| 7 | 3 | March 14, 1993 | March 24, 1993 | |
| 8 | 2 | December 8, 1993 | May 13, 1994 | |
| 9 | 4 | November 30, 1994 | March 22, 1995 | |
| 10 | 5 | November 29, 1995 | May 22, 1996 | |
| 11 | 5 | November 25, 1996 | June 25, 1997 | |
| 12 | 6 | September 17, 1997 | June 17, 1998 | |
| 13 | 7 | October 28, 1998 | August 18, 1999 | |
| 14 | 7 | November 1, 1999 | May 31, 2000 | |
| 15 | 7 | September 27, 2000 | April 23, 2001 | |
| 16 | 8 | October 7, 2001 | March 1, 2002 | |
| 17 | 8 | October 2, 2002 | July 30, 2003 | |
| 18 | 8 | September 3, 2003 | August 18, 2004 | |
| 19 | 7 | May 11, 2005 | September 27, 2005 | |
| 20 | 8 | May 10, 2006 | January 3, 2007 | |
| 21 | 5 | April 4, 2007 | July 25, 2007 | |
| 22 | 7 | September 12, 2007 | May 7, 2008 | |
| 23 | 8 | September 23, 2008 | July 1, 2009 | |
| 24 | 7 | September 2, 2009 | July 21, 2010 | |
| 25 | 8 | September 20, 2010 | June 1, 2011 | |
| 26 | 9 | October 21, 2011 | May 14, 2012 | |
| 27 | 6 | September 24, 2012 | May 20, 2013 | |
| 28 | 9 | September 10, 2013 | August 29, 2014 | |
| 29 | 7 | September 23, 2014 | July 10, 2015 | |
| 30 | 9 | September 4, 2015 | May 27, 2016 | |
| 31 | 7 | October 25, 2016 | May 26, 2017 | |
| 32 | 9 | September 1, 2017 | August 31, 2018 | |
| 33 | 12 | September 7, 2018 | August 2, 2019 | |
| 34 | 7 | September 13, 2019 | July 10, 2020 | |
| 35 | 12 | October 20, 2020 | July 27, 2021 | |
| 36 | 8 | January 11, 2022 | December 27, 2022 | |
| 37 | 3 to date | January 24, 2023 | TBD | |
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Subject Discipline | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Arthur Miller: Private Conversations"[2] | Christian Blackwood | Writer | June 23, 1986 |
| 2 | 2 | "Philip Johnson: A Self Portrait"[3] | John Musilli | Architect | June 30, 1986 |
| 3 | 3 | "Katherine Anne Porter: The Eye Of Memory"[4] | Ken Harrison | Writer | July 7, 1986 |
| 4 | 4 | "Unknown Chaplin: Part 1"[5] | Kevin Brownlow, David Gill | Actor/Performer | July 14, 1986 |
| 5 | 4 | "Unknown Chaplin: Part 2"[5] | Kevin Brownlow, David Gill | Actor/Performer | July 21, 1986 |
| 6 | 4 | "Unknown Chaplin: Part 3"[5] | Kevin Brownlow, David Gill | Actor/Performer | July 28, 1986 |
| 7 | 7 | "Billie Holiday: The Long Night Of Lady Day"[6] | John Jeremy | Musician | August 4, 1986 |
| 8 | 8 | "James Levine: The Life In Music"[7] | Peter Weinberg | Musician | August 11, 1986 |
| 9 | 9 | "Aaron Copland: A Self Portrait"[8] | Allan Miller | Musician | August 18, 1986 |
| 10 | 10 | "Thomas Eakins: A Motion Portrait"[9] | T.W. Timreck | Visual Artist | August 25, 1986 |
| 11 | 11 | "Georgia O'Keeffe"[10] | Perry Miller Adato | Visual Artist | September 1, 1986 |
| 12 | 12 | "Eugene O'Neill: A Glory Of Ghosts"[11] | Perry Miller Adato | Writer | September 8, 1986 |
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Subject Discipline | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | 1 | "Isaac In America: A Journey With Isaac Bashevis Singer"[12] | Amram Nowak | Writer | July 6, 1987 |
| 14 | 2 | "Directed By William Wyler"[13] | Aviva Slesin | Director/Producer | July 13, 1987 |
| 15 | 3 | "Arthur Rubenstein: Rubenstein Remembered"[14] | Peter Rosen | Musician | July 20, 1987 |
| 16 | 4 | "Alwin Nikolais And Murray Louis: Nik And Murray"[15] | Christian Blackwood | Dancer/Choreographer | July 27, 1987 |
| 17 | 5 | "George Gershwin Remembered"[16] | Peter Adam | Musician | August 24, 1987 |
| 18 | 6 | "Maurice Sendak: Mon Cher Papa"[17] | Christopher Swann | Writer | August 31, 1987 |
| 19 | 7 | "The Negro Ensemble Company"[18] | Richard Kilberg | Institution | September 14, 1987 |
| 20 | 8 | "Unanswered Prayers: The Life And Times Of Truman Capote"[19] | Andrew Harries | Writer | September 21, 1987 |
| 21 | 9 | "The Ten Year Lunch: The Wit And Legend Of The Algonquin Round Table"[20] | Aviva Slesin | Writer | September 28, 1987 |
| 22 | 10 | "Buster Keaton: A Hard Act To Follow Part 1"[21] | Kevin Brownlow, David Gill | Actor/Performer | November 18, 1987 |
| 23 | 10 | "Buster Keaton: A Hard Act To Follow Part 2"[21] | Kevin Brownlow, David Gill | Actor/Performer | November 25, 1987 |
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Subject Discipline | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 | 1 | "Lillian Gish: The Actor'S Life For Me"[22] | Terry Sanders | Actor/Performer | July 11, 1988 |
| 25 | 2 | "A Duke Named Ellington"[23] | Terry Carter | Musician | July 18, 1988 |
| 26 | 3 | "Andre Kertesz Of The Cities"[24] | Teri Wehn-Damisch | Photographer | August 8, 1988 |
| 27 | 4 | "Aretha Franklin: The Queen Of Soul"[25] | Cathe Neukum | Musician | August 22, 1988 |
| 28 | 5 | "Diego Rivera: Rivera In America"[26] | Rick Tejada-Flores | Visual Artist | August 29, 1988 |
| 29 | 6 | "Augustus Saint Gaudens: Masque Of The Golden Bowl"[27] | T.W.Timreck | Visual Artist | September 5, 1988 |
| 30 | 7 | "Broadway'S Dreamers: The Legacy Of The Group Theatre"[28] | David Heeley | Institution | June 26, 1989 |
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Subject Discipline | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31 | 1 | "Harold Clurman: A Life Of Theatre"[29] | Tom Klein, Alan Kaplan | Director/Producer | July 3, 1989 |
| 32 | 2 | "Stella Adler: Awake And Dream!"[30] | Merrill Brockway | Actor/Performer | July 10, 1989 |
| 33 | 3 | "Satchmo: The Life Of Louis Armstrong"[31] | Gary Giddins | Musician | July 31, 1989 |
| 34 | 4 | "James Baldwin: The Price Of The Ticket"[32] | Karen Thorsen | Writer | August 14, 1989 |
| 35 | 5 | "Charlie Parker : Celebrating Bird"[33] | Gary Giddins, Kendrick Simmons | Musician | August 17, 1989 |
| 36 | 6 | "Simply Simon: Not Just For Laughs"[34] | Amram Nowak | Writer | August 21, 1989 |
| 37 | 7 | "Jasper Johns: Ideas In Paint"[35] | Rick Tejada-Flores | Visual Artist | September 11, 1989 |
| 38 | 8 | "Mort Sahl: Shaping Laughter"[36] | Robert B. Weide | Actor/Performer | September 18, 1989 |
| 39 | 9 | "W. Eugene Smith: Photography Made Difficult"[37] | Gene Lasko | Photographer | September 25, 1989 |
| 40 | 10 | "Harold Lloyd: The Third Genius"[38] | Kevin Brownlow, David Gill | Actor/Performer | November 15, 1989 |
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Subject Discipline | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 41 | 1 | "Milos Forman: Portrait"[39] | Vojtech Jasny | Director/Producer | December 20, 1989 |
| 42 | 2 | "Preston Sturges: The Rise And Fall Of An American Dreamer"[40] | Ken Bowser | Writer/Director | July 2, 1990 |
| 43 | 3 | "John Cassavetes"[41] | Deborah Geller | Director/Producer | July 9, 1990 |
| 44 | 4 | "Martin Scorsese Directs"[42] | Joel Sucher, Steven Fischler | Director/Producer | July 16, 1990 |
| 45 | 5 | "You're The Top: The Cole Porter Story"[43] | Allan Albert | Musician | July 23, 1990 |
| 46 | 6 | "Edward R. Murrow: This Reporter"[44] | Susan Steinberg | Journalist | July 30, 1990 |
| 47 | 7 | "John Hammond: From Bessie Smith To Bruce Springsteen"[45] | Hart Perry | Musician | August 20, 1990 |
| 48 | 8 | "Sanford Meisner: The Theatre's Best Kept Secret" | Nick Doob | Actor/Performer | August 27, 1990 |
| 49 | 9 | "John Cage: I Have Nothing To Say And I'm Saying It"[46] | Allan Miller | Musician | September 17, 1990 |
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Subject Discipline | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50 | 1 | "Helen Hayes: First Lady Of The American Theatre"[47] | Reuben Aaronson, Timothy Marx | Actor/Performer | July 1, 1991 |
| 51 | 2 | "Miracle On 44Th Street: A Portrait Of The Actor'S Studio"[48] | Dennis Powers | Institution | July 8, 1991 |
| 52 | 3 | "Albert Einstein: How I See The World"[49] | Richard Kroehling | Scientist | July 22, 1991 |
| 53 | 4 | "Sarah Vaughan: The Divine One"[50] | Matthew Seig | Musician | July 29, 1991 |
| 54 | 5 | "Frederic Remington: The Truth Of Other Days"[51] | Tom Neff | Visual Artist | August 5, 1991 |
| 55 | 6 | "Menuhin: A Family Portrait"[52] | Tony Palmer | Musician | August 12, 1991 |
| 56 | 7 | "Robert Motherwell And The New York School: Storming The Citadel"[53] | Catherine Tatge | Visual Artist | August 26, 1991 |
| 57 | 8 | "Ray Charles: The Genius Of Soul"[54] | Yvonne Smith | Musician | January 3, 1992 |
| 58 | 9 | "Superstar: The Life And Times Of Andy Warhol" | Chuck Workman | Visual Artist | April 10, 1992 |
| 59 | 10 | "Waldo Salt: A Screenwriter'S Journey"[55] | Eugene Corr/ Robert Hillmann | Writer | May 1, 1992 |
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Subject Discipline | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 60 | 1 | "Paul Simon: Born At The Right Time"[56] | Susan Steinberg | Musician | March 8, 1993 |
| 61 | 2 | "George Lucas: Heroes, Myths And Magic"[57] | Larry Price and Jane Paley | Director/Producer | March 17, 1993 |
| 62 | 3 | "D.W. Griffith: Father Of Film"[58] | Kevin Brownlow and David Gill | Director/Producer | March 24, 1993 |
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Subject Discipline | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 63 | 1 | "Benny Goodman: Adventures In The Kingdom Of Swing"[59] | Oren Jacoby | Musician | December 8, 1993 |
| 64 | 2 | "Martha Graham: Revolt And Passion"[60] | Catherine Tatge | Dancer/Choreographer | May 13, 1994 |
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Subject Discipline | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 65 | 1 | "Rediscovering Will Rogers"[61] | Stephan Chodorov | Actor/Performer | November 30, 1994 |
| 66 | 2 | "Tennessee Williams: Orpheus Of The American Stage"[62] | Merill Brockway | Writer | December 19, 1994 |
| 67 | 3 | "Placido Domingo: A Musical Life"[63] | Mick Csaky | Musician | February 15, 1995 |
| 68 | 4 | "Edgar Allan Poe: Terror Of The Soul" | Karen Thomas | Writer | March 22, 1995 |
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Subject Discipline | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 69 | 1 | "Rod Serling: Submitted For Your Approval"[64] | Susan Lacy | Writer | November 29, 1995 |
| 70 | 2 | "William Styron: The Way Of The Writer"[65] | Variety Moszynski | Writer | January 22, 1996 |
| 71 | 3 | "Richard Avedon: Darkness And Light"[66] | Helen Whitney | Photographer | January 24, 1996 |
| 72 | 4 | "Buckminster Fuller: Thinking Out Loud"[67] | Karen Goodman, Kirk Simon | Architect | April 10, 1996 |
| 73 | 5 | "Nichols & May--Take Two"[68] | Phillip Schopper | Actor/Performer | May 22, 1996 |
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Subject Discipline | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 74 | 1 | "Lena Horne: In Her Own Words"[69] | Susan Lacy | Actor/Performer | November 25, 1996 |
| 75 | 2 | "Danny Kaye: A Legacy Of Laughter"[70] | Bob Marty | Actor/Performer | December 10, 1996 |
| 76 | 3 | "Man Ray: Prophet Of The Avant-Garde"[71] | Mel Stuart | Visual Artist | April 9, 1997 |
| 77 | 4 | "Jack Paar: As I Was Saying . . ."[72] | Michael Macari Jr. | Television Personality | May 7, 1997 |
| 78 | 5 | "Isamu Noguchi: Stones And Paper"[73] | Bill Smock | Visual Artist | June 25, 1997 |
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Subject Discipline | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 79 | 1 | "The Life And Times Of Allen Ginsberg"[74] | Jerry Aronson | Writer | September 17, 1997 |
| 80 | 2 | "Vaudeville: An American Masters Special"[75] | Rosemary Garner, Greg Palmer | Actor/Performer | November 26, 1997 |
| 81 | 3 | "Billy Wilder: The Human Comedy"[76] | Mel Stuart | Director/Producer | February 4, 1998 |
| 82 | 4 | "Lou Reed: Rock And Roll Heart"[77] | Timothy Greenfield-Sanders | Musician | April 29, 1998 |
| 83 | 5 | "Don Hewitt: 90 Minutes On 60 Minutes"[78] | Susan Steinberg | Journalist | May 20, 1998 |
| 84 | 6 | "Alexander Calder"[79] | Roger Sherman | Visual Artist | June 17, 1998 |
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Subject Discipline | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 85 | 1 | "Leonard Bernstein: Reaching For The Note"[80] | Susan Lacy | Musician | October 28, 1998 |
| 86 | 2 | "Al Hirschfeld: The Line King"[81] | Susan Warms Dryfoos | Visual Artist | January 6, 1999 |
| 87 | 3 | "Paul Robeson: Here I Stand"[82] | St. Clair Bourne | Actor/Performer | February 24, 1999 |
| 88 | 4 | "Robert Rauschenberg: Inventive Genius"[83] | Karen Thomas | Visual Artist | April 7, 1999 |
| 89 | 5 | "Dashiel Hammett"[84] | Joshua Waletsky | Writer | June 30, 1999 |
| 90 | 6 | "Lillian Hellman"[85] | Philip Schopper | Writer | June 30, 1999 |
| 91 | 7 | "Yours For A Song: The Women Of Tin Pan Alley"[86] | Terry Benes | Musician | August 18, 1999 |
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Subject Discipline | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 92 | 1 | "Hitchcock,Selznick And The End Of Hollywood"[87] | Michael Epstein | Director/Producer | November 1, 1999 |
| 93 | 2 | "Norman Rockwell: Painting America"[88] | Elena Mannes | Visual Artist | November 24, 1999 |
| 94 | 3 | "Ella Fitzgerald: Something To Live For"[89] | Charlotte Zwerin | Musician | December 8, 1999 |
| 95 | 4 | "Paul Taylor: Dancemaker"[90] | Matthew Diamond | Dancer/Choreographer | January 5, 2000 |
| 96 | 5 | "Sidney Poitier: One Bright Light"[91] | Lee Grant | Actor/Performer | February 2, 2000 |
| 97 | 6 | "Isaac Stern: Life’S Virtuoso"[92] | Karen Thomas | Musician | April 12, 2000 |
| 98 | 7 | "The Source: The Story Of The Beats And The Beat Generation"[93] | Chuck Workman | Writer | May 31, 2000 |
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Subject Discipline | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 99 | 1 | "Clint Eastwood: Out Of The Shadows"[94] | Bruce Ricker | Actor/Performer | September 27, 2000 |
| 100 | 2 | "Norman Mailer: Mailer On Mailer"[95] | Christine Le Goff and Tamar Hacker | Writer | October 4, 2000 |
| 101 | 3 | "George Cuckor: On Cukor"[96] | Robert Trachtenberg | Director/Producer | November 22, 2000 |
| 102 | 4 | "Lucille Ball: Finding Lucy"[97] | Pamela Mason Wagner | Television Personality | December 3, 2000 |
| 103 | 5 | "Bob Marley: Rebel Music"[98] | Jeremy Marre | Musician | February 14, 2001 |
| 104 | 6 | "Alfred Stieglitz: The Eloquent Eye"[99] | Perry Miller Adato | Photographer | April 16, 2001 |
| 105 | 8 | "A Conversation With Gregory Peck"[100] | Barbara Kopple | Actor/Performer | April 18, 2001 |
| 106 | 7 | "Edward Curtis: Coming To Light"[101] | Anne Makepeace | Photographer | April 23, 2001 |
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Subject Discipline | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 107 | 1 | "Samuel Goldwyn"[102] | Peter Jones & Mark Catalena | Director/Producer | October 7, 2001 |
| 108 | 2 | "F. Scott Fitzgerald – Winter Dreams"[103] | DeWitt Sage | Writer | October 14, 2001 |
| 109 | 3 | "Richard Rodgers: The Sweetest Sounds"[104] | Roger Sherman | Musician | November 4, 2001 |
| 110 | 4 | "Quincy Jones: In The Pocket"[105] | Michael Kantor | Musician | November 18, 2001 |
| 111 | 5 | "Good Rockin’ Tonight: The Legacy Of Sun Records"[106] | Bruce Sinofsky | Musician | November 28, 2001 |
| 112 | 6 | "Merce Cunningham: A Lifetime Of Dance"[107] | Charles Atlas | Dancer/Choreographer | December 16, 2001 |
| 113 | 7 | "Ralph Ellison: An American Journey"[108] | Avon Kirkland | Writer | February 19, 2002 |
| 114 | 8 | "Gene Kelly: Anatomy Of A Dancer"[109] | Robert Trachtenberg | Actor/Performer | March 3, 2002 |
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Subject Discipline | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 115 | 1 | "Willie Nelson: Still Is Still Moving"[110] | Steven Cantor | Musician | October 2, 2002 |
| 116 | 2 | "Lon Chaney: Thousand Faces"[111] | Kevin Brownlow | Actor/Performer | October 30, 2002 |
| 117 | 3 | "Juilliard"[112] | Maro Chermayeff | Institution | January 29, 2003 |
| 118 | 4 | "Alice Waters And Her Delicious Revolution"[113] | Doug Hamilton | Chef | March 19, 2003 |
| 119 | 5 | "Joni Mitchell: Woman Of Heart And Mind"[114] | Susan Lacy | Musician | April 2, 2003 |
| 120 | 6 | "Muddy Waters: Can’T Be Satisfied"[115] | Morgan Neville/ Robert Gordon | Musician | April 23, 2003 |
| 121 | 7 | "Robert Capa: In Love And War"[116] | Anne Makepeace | Photographer | May 28, 2003 |
| 122 | 8 | "The Education Of Gore Vidal"[117] | Deborah Dickson | Writer | July 30, 2003 |
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Subject Discipline | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 123 | 1 | "Arthur Miller, Elia Kazan And The Blacklist: None Without Sin"[118] | Michael Epstein | Director/Producer | September 3, 2003 |
| 124 | 2 | "James Brown: Soul Survivor"[119] | Jeremy Marre | Musician | October 29, 2003 |
| 125 | 3 | "Balanchine - Master Of The Dance"[120] | Merrill Brockway | Dancer/Choreographer | January 14, 2004 |
| 126 | 4 | "Judy Garland: By Myself"[121] | Susan Lacy | Actor/Performer | February 25, 2004 |
| 127 | 5 | "A Vision Of Empire: Henry Luce And Time Life’S America"[122] | Stephen Stept | Writer | April 28, 2004 |
| 128 | 6 | "Cary Grant: A Class Apart"[123] | Robert Trachtenberg | Actor/Performer | May 25, 2004 |
| 129 | 7 | "Hank Williams: Honky Tonk Blues"[124] | Morgan Neville & Colin Escott | Musician | June 23, 2004 |
| 130 | 8 | "Julia! America’s Favorite Chef"[125] | Marilyn Mellowes | Chef | August 18, 2004 |
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Subject Discipline | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 131 | 1 | "James Dean: Sense Memories"[126] | Gail Levin | Actor/Performer | May 11, 2005 |
| 132 | 2 | "Sweet Honey In The Rock: Raise Your Voice"[127] | Stanley Nelson | Musician | June 29, 2005 |
| 133 | 3 | "George Stevens: A Filmmaker’S Journey"[128] | George Stevens, Jr. | Director/Producer | July 13, 2005 |
| 134 | 4 | "Bob Newhart: Unbuttoned"[129] | Kyra Thompson | Television Personality | July 20, 2005 |
| 135 | 5 | "Willa Cather: The Road Is All"[130] | Joel Geyer | Writer | September 7, 2005 |
| 136 | 6 | "Ernest Hemingway: Rivers To The Sea"[131] | DeWitt Sage | Writer | September 14, 2005 |
| 137 | 7 | "Bob Dylan: No Direction Home"[132] | Martin Scorsese | Musician | September 26, 2005 (Part 1) September 27, 2005 (Part 2) |
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Subject Discipline | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 138 | 1 | "John Ford/John Wayne: The Filmmaker And The Legend"[133] | Sam Pollard | Actor/Performer | May 10, 2006 |
| 139 | 2 | "The World Of Nat King Cole"[134] | Ian A. Hunt | Musician | May 17, 2006 |
| 140 | 3 | "Woody Guthrie: Ain’t Got No Home"[135] | Peter Frumkin | Musician | July 12, 2006 |
| 141 | 4 | "Marilyn Monroe: Still Life"[136] | Gail Levin | Actor/Performer | July 19, 2006 |
| 142 | 5 | "Walter Cronkite: Witness To History"[137] | Catherine Tatge | Journalist | July 26, 2006 |
| 143 | 6 | "Andy Warhol: A Documentary"[138] | Ric Burns | Visual Artist | September 20, 2006 |
| 144 | 7 | "Sketches Of Frank Gehry"[139] | Sydney Pollack | Architect | September 27, 2006 |
| 145 | 8 | "Annie Leibovitz: Life Through A Lens"[140] | Barbara Leibovitz | Photographer | January 3, 2007 |
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Subject Discipline | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 146 | 1 | "Novels Reflections On The American Dream"[141] | Michael Epstein | Writer | April 4, 2007 |
| 147 | 2 | "Atlantic Records: The House That Ahmet Built"[142] | Susan Steinberg | Musician | May 2, 2007 |
| 148 | 3 | "Les Paul: Chasing Sound"[143] | John Paulson | Musician | July 11, 2007 |
| 149 | 4 | "David Hockney: The Colors Of Music"[144] | Maryté Kavaliauskas, Seth Schneidman | Visual Artist | July 18, 2007 |
| 150 | 5 | "John James Audubon: Drawn From Nature"[145] | Lawrence Hott | Visual Artist | July 25, 2007 |
| 151 | 6 | "Tony Bennett: The Music Never Ends"[146] | Bruce Ricker | Musician | September 12, 2007 |
| 152 | 7 | "Orozco: Man Of Fire"[147] | Laurie Coyle, Rick Tejada-Flores | Visual Artist | September 19, 2007 |
| 153 | 8 | "Good Ol’ Charles Schulz"[148] | David Van Taylor | Visual Artist | October 29, 2007 |
| 154 | 9 | "Carol Burnett: A Woman Of Character"[149] | Kyra Thompson | Television Personality | November 5, 2007 |
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Subject Discipline | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 155 | 1 | "Pete Seeger: The Power Of Song"[150] | Jim Brown | Musician | February 27, 2008 |
| 156 | 2 | "Zora Neale Hurston - Jump At The Sun"[151] | Sam Pollard | Writer | April 9, 2008 |
| 157 | 3 | "Marvin Gaye: What’S Going On"[152] | Sam Pollard | Musician | May 7, 2008 |
| 158 | 4 | "You Must Remember This: The Warner Brothers Story - Part 1"[153] | Richard Schickel | Producers | September 23, 2008 |
| 159 | 4 | "You Must Remember This: The Warner Brothers Story - Part 2"[153] | Richard Schickel | Producers | September 24, 2008 |
| 160 | 4 | "You Must Remember This: The Warner Brothers Story - Part 3"[153] | Richard Schickel | Producers | September 25, 2008 |
| 161 | 4 | "The Brothers Warner"[154] | Cass Warner Sperling | Producers | September 25, 2008 |
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Subject Discipline | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 162 | 1 | "Jerome Robbins: Something To Dance About"[155] | Judy Kinberg | Dancer/Choreographer | February 18, 2009 |
| 163 | 2 | "Glass: A Portrait Of Philip In Twelve Parts"[156] | Scott Hicks | Musician | April 8, 2009 |
| 164 | 3 | "Hollywood Chinese"[157] | Arthur Dong | Actor/Performer | May 27, 2009 |
| 165 | 4 | "Neil Young: Won’T Be Denied"[158] | Unknown | Musician | June 10, 2009 |
| 166 | 5 | "Garrison Keillor: The Man On The Radio In The Red Shoes"[159] | Peter Rosen | Actor/Performer | July 1, 2009 |
| 167 | 6 | "Trumbo"[160] | Peter Askin | Writer | September 2, 2009 |
| 168 | 7 | "Joan Baez : How Sweet The Sound"[161] | Mary Wharton | Musician | October 14, 2009 |
| 169 | 8 | "Louisa May Alcott: The Woman Behind Little Women"[162] | Nancy Porter | Writer | December 28, 2009 |
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Subject Discipline | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 170 | 1 | "Sam Cooke: Crossing Over"[163] | John Antonelli | Musician | January 11, 2010 |
| 171 | 2 | "I.M. Pei: Building China Modern"[164] | Anne Makepeace | Architect | March 31, 2010 |
| 172 | 3 | "When You’Re Strange: A Film About The Doors"[165] | Tom DiCillo | Musician | May 12, 2010 |
| 173 | 4 | "Merle Haggard: Learning To Live With Myself"[166] | Gandulf Hennig | Musician | July 21, 2010 |
| 174 | 5 | "Cachao: Uno Más"[167] | Dikayl Rimmasch | Musician | September 20, 2010 |
| 175 | 6 | "A Letter To Elia/Reflecting On Kazan"[168] | KENT JONES | Director/Producer | October 4, 2010 |
| 176 | 7 | "LennoNYC"[169] | Michael Epstein | Musician | November 22, 2010 |
| 177 | 8 | "Genius Within: The Inner Life Of Glenn Gould"[170] | Michèle Hozer & Peter Raymont | Musician | December 27, 2010 |
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Subject Discipline | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 178 | 1 | "Jeff Bridges: The Dude Abides"[171] | Gail Levin | Actor/Performer | January 12, 2011 |
| 179 | 2 | "Troubadours: Carole King / James Taylor & The Rise Of The Singer-Songwriter"[172] | Morgan Neville | Musician | March 2, 2011 |
| 180 | 3 | "John Muir In The New World"[173] | Catherine Tatge | Environmentalist | April 18, 2011 |
| 181 | 4 | "James Levine: America’S Maestro"[7] | Susan Froemke | Musician | June 1, 2011 |
| 182 | 5 | "Pearl Jam Twenty"[174] | Cameron Crowe | Musician | October 21, 2011 |
| 183 | 6 | "Bill T. Jones: A Good Man"[175] | Gordon Quinn & Bob Hercules | Dancer/Choreographer | November 11, 2011 |
| 184 | 7 | "Woody Allen: A Documentary"[176] | Bob Weide | Director/Producer | November 20, 2011 |
| 185 | 9 | "Charles And Ray Eames: The Architect And The Painter"[177] | Jason Cohn and Bill Jersey | Architect | December 19, 2011 |
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Subject Discipline | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 186 | 1 | "Phil Ochs: There But For Fortune"[178] | Kenneth Bowser | Musician | January 23, 2012 |
| 187 | 2 | "Margaret Mitchell: American Rebel"[179] | Pamela Roberts and Kathy White | Writer | February 2, 2012 |
| 188 | 3 | "Cab Calloway: Sketches"[180] | Gail Levin | Musician | February 27, 2012 |
| 189 | 4 | "Harper Lee: Hey Boo!"[181] | Mary McDonagh Murphy | Writer | April 2, 2012 |
| 190 | 5 | "Johnny Carson: King Of Late Night" | Peter Jones & Mark Catalena | Television Personality | May 14, 2012 |
| 191 | 6 | "The Day Carl Sandburg Died"[182] | Paul Bonesteel | Writer | September 24, 2012 |
| 192 | 7 | "Inventing David Geffen"[183] | Susan Lacy | Director/Producer | November 20, 2012 |
| 193 | 8 | "Joffrey: Mavericks Of American Dance"[184] | Bob Hercules | Dancer/Choreographer | December 28, 2012 |
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Subject Discipline | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 194 | 1 | "Sister Rosetta Tharpe: The Godmother Of Rock And Roll"[185] | Mick Csaky | Musician | February 22, 2013 |
| 195 | 2 | "Philip Roth: Unmasked"[186] | William Karel and Livia Manera | Writer | March 29, 2013 |
| 196 | 3 | "Mel Brooks: Make A Noise"[187] | Robert Trachtenberg | Director/Producer | May 20, 2013 |
| 197 | 4 | "Billie Jean King"[188] | James Erskine | Athlete | September 10, 2013 |
| 198 | 5 | "Jimi Hendrix - Hear My Train A Comin'"[189] | Bob Smeaton | Musician | November 5, 2013 |
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Subject Discipline | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 199 | 1 | "Marvin Hamlisch: What He Did For Love"[190] | Dori Berinstein | Musician | December 27, 2013 |
| 200 | 2 | "Salinger"[191] | Shane Salerno | Writer | January 21, 2014 |
| 201 | 3 | "Alice Walker: Beauty In Truth"[192] | Pratibha Parmar | Writer | February 7, 2014 |
| 202 | 4 | "A Fierce Green Fire"[193] | Mark Kitchell | Environmentalists | April 22, 2014 |
| 203 | 5 | "Plimpton! Starring George Plimpton As Himself"[194] | Luke Poling & Tom Bean | Writer | May 16, 2014 |
| 204 | 6 | "Tanaquil Le Clercq: Afternoon Of A Faun"[195] | Nancy Buirski | Dancer/Choreographer | June 20, 2014 |
| 205 | 7 | "Dorothea Lange: Grab A Hunk Of Lightning"[196] | Dyanna Taylor | Photographer | August 29, 2014 |
| 206 | 8 | "The Boomer List"[197] | Timothy Greenfield-Sanders | Institution | September 23, 2014 |
| 207 | 9 | "Joan Rivers: A Piece Of Work"[198] | Ricki Stern | Television Personality | September 23, 2014 |
| 208 | 10 | "Bing Crosby Rediscovered"[199] | Robert Trachtenberg | Actor/Performer | December 2, 2014 |
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Subject Discipline | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 209 | 1 | "Ricky Jay: Deceptive Practice"[200] | Molly Bernstein | Actor/Performer | January 23, 2015 |
| 210 | 2 | "August Wilson: The Ground On Which I Stand"[201] | Sam Pollard | Writer | February 20, 2015 |
| 211 | 3 | "Jascha Heifetz: God'S Fiddler"[202] | Peter Rosen | Musician | April 16, 2015 |
| 212 | 4 | "American Ballet Theatre: A History"[203] | Ric Burns | Dancer/Choreographer | May 15, 2015 |
| 213 | 6 | "Althea"[204] | Rex Miller | Athlete | September 4, 2015 |
| 214 | 7 | "Pedro E. Guerrero: A Photographer'S Journey"[205] | Raymond Telles & Yvan Iturriaga | Photographer | September 18, 2015 |
| 215 | 9 | "The Women'S List"[206] | Timothy Greenfield-Sanders | Institution | September 25, 2015 |
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Subject Discipline | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 216 | 1 | "Mike Nichols"[207] | Elaine May | Director/Producer | January 29, 2016 |
| 217 | 2 | "B.B. King: The Life Of Riley"[208] | Jon Brewer | Musician | February 12, 2016 |
| 218 | 3 | "Carole King: Natural Woman"[209] | George Scott | Musician | February 19, 2016 |
| 219 | 4 | "Fats Domino And The Birth Of Rock 'N' Roll"[210] | Joe Lauro | Musician | February 26, 2016 |
| 220 | 5 | "Loretta Lynn: Still A Mountain Girl"[211] | Vikram Jayanti | Musician | March 4, 2016 |
| 221 | 6 | "Janis Joplin: Little Girl Blue"[212] | Amy Berg | Musician | May 3, 2016 |
| 222 | 7 | "The Highwaymen: Friends Til The End"[213] | Jim Brown | Musician | May 27, 2016 |
| 223 | 8 | "Norman Lear: Just Another Version Of You"[214] | Heidi Ewing & Rachel Grady | Director/Producer | October 25, 2016 |
| 224 | 9 | "Eero Saarinen: The Architect Who Saw The Future"[215] | Peter Rosen | Architect | December 27, 2016 |
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Subject Discipline | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 225 | 1 | "By Sidney Lumet"[216] | Nanc y Buirski | Director/Producer | January 3, 2017 |
| 226 | 2 | "Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise"[217] | Bob Hercules & Rita Coburn Whack | Writer | February 21, 2017 |
| 227 | 3 | "Patsy Cline: American Masters"[218] | Barbara J. Hall | Musician | March 4, 2017 |
| 228 | 4 | "James Beard: America'S First Foodie"[219] | Elizabeth Federici | Chef | May 19, 2017 |
| 229 | 5 | "Jacques Pépin: The Art Of The Craft"[220] | Peter L. Stein | Chef | May 26, 2017 |
| 230 | 6 | "Richard Linklater - Dream Is Destiny"[221] | Karen Bernstein, Louis Black | Director/Producer | September 1, 2017 |
| 231 | 7 | "Tyrus"[222] | Pamela Tom | Visual Artist | September 8, 2017 |
| 232 | 8 | "Edgar Allan Poe: Buried Alive"[223] | Eric Stange | Writer | October 30, 2017 |
| 233 | 10 | "This Is Bob Hope…"[224] | John Scheinfeld | Actor/Performer | December 29, 2017 |
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Subject Discipline | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 234 | 1 | "Lorraine Hansberry: Sighted Eyes/Feeling Heart"[225] | Tracy Heather Strain | Writer | January 19, 2018 |
| 235 | 3 | "Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story"[226] | Alexandra Dean | Actor/Performer | May 18, 2018 |
| 236 | 4 | "Ted Williams:"The Greatest Hitter Who Ever Lived""[227] | Nick Davis | Athlete | July 23, 2018 |
| 237 | 5 | "Eva Hesse"[228] | Marcie Begleiter | Visual Artist | August 31, 2018 |
| 238 | 6 | "Everybody Knows… Elizabeth Murray"[229] | Kristi Zea | Visual Artist | September 7, 2018 |
| 239 | 7 | "Wyeth"[230] | Glenn Holsten | Visual Artist | September 7, 2018 |
| 240 | 8 | "Basquiat: Rage To Riches"[231] | David Shulman | Visual Artist | September 14, 2018 |
| 241 | 9 | "Itzhak"[232] | Alison Chernick | Musician | October 14, 2018 |
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Subject Discipline | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 242 | 1 | "Decoding Watson"[233] | Mark Mannucci | Scientist | January 2, 2019 |
| 243 | 2 | "Sammy Davis, Jr.: I'Ve Gotta Be Me"[234] | Sam Pollard | Musician | February 19, 2019 |
| 244 | 3 | "Charley Pride: I'M Just Me"[235] | Barbara Hall | Musician | February 22, 2019 |
| 245 | 4 | "Holly Near: Singing For Our Lives"[236] | Jim Brown | Musician | March 1, 2019 |
| 246 | 5 | "Joseph Pulitzer: Voice Of The People"[237] | Oren Rudavsky | Journalist | April 12, 2019 |
| 247 | 6 | "Garry Winogrand: All Things Are Photographable"[238] | Sasha Waters Freyer | Photographer | April 19, 2019 |
| 248 | 8 | "Terrence Mcnally: Every Act Of Life"[239] | Jeff Kaufman | Writer | June 14, 2019 |
| 249 | 7 | "Robert Shaw: Man Of Many Voices"[240] | Pamela Roberts, Peter Miller | Musician | June 21, 2019 |
| 250 | 9 | "Worlds Of Ursula K. Le Guin"[241] | Arwen Curry | Writer | August 2, 2019 |
| 251 | 10 | "Raul Julia: The World's A Stage"[242] | Ben DeJesus | Actor/Performer | September 13, 2019 |
| 252 | 11 | "Rothko: Pictures Must Be Miraculous"[243] | Eric Slade | Visual Artist | October 25, 2019 |
| 253 | 12 | "N. Scott Momaday: Words From A Bear"[244] | Jeffrey Palmer | Writer | November 18, 2019 |
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Subject Discipline | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 254 | 1 | "Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool"[245] | Stanley Nelson | Musician | February 25, 2020 |
| 255 | 2 | "Mae West: Dirty Blonde"[246] | Sally Rosenthal, Julia Marchesi | Actor/Performer | June 16, 2020 |
| 256 | 3 | "Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am"[247] | Timothy Greenfield-Sanders | Writer | June 23, 2020 |
| 257 | 4 | "Unladylike2020: The Changemakers"[248] | Charlotte Mangin, Sandra Rattley | Institution | July 10, 2020 |
| 258 | 5 | "Walter Winchell: The Power Of Gossip"[249] | Ben Loeterman | Journalist | October 20, 2020 |
| 259 | 6 | "Michael Tilson Thomas: Where Now Is"[250] | Susan Froemke | Musician | October 23, 2020 |
| 261 | 7 | "Laura Ingalls Wilder: Prairie To Page"[251] | Mary Murphy | Writer | December 29, 2020 |
| 260 | 8 | "Keith Haring: Street Art Boy"[252] | Ben Anthony | Visual Artist | December 4, 2020 |
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Subject Discipline | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 262 | 1 | "How It Feels To Be Free"[253] | Yoruba Richen | Actors/Performers | January 18, 2021 |
| 263 | 2 | "Flannery"[254] | Elizabeth Coffman, Mark Bosco | Writer | March 23, 2021 |
| 264 | 3 | "Twyla Moves"[255] | Steven Cantor | Dancer/Choreographer | March 26, 2021 |
| 265 | 4 | "Never Too Late: The Doc Severinsen Story"[256] | Kevin S. Bright, Jeff Consiglio | Musician | April 2, 2021 |
| 266 | 5 | "Oliver Sacks: His Own Life"[257] | Ric Burns | Scientist | April 9, 2021 |
| 267 | 6 | "Amy Tan: Unintended Memoir"[258] | Jamie Redford | Writer | May 3, 2021 |
| 268 | 7 | "Ballerina Boys"[259] | Chana Gazit, Martie Barylick | Dancers/Choreographers | June 4, 2021 |
| 269 | 8 | "Buddy Guy: The Blues Chase The Blues Away"[260] | Devin Amar, Matt Mitchener, Charles Todd | Musician | July 27, 2021 |
| 270 | 9 | "Rita Moreno: Just A Girl Who Decided To Go For It"[261] | Mariem Pérez Riera | Actor/Performer | October 5, 2021 |
| 271 | 10 | "Becoming Helen Keller"[262] | Michael Pressman | Writer | October 19, 2021 |
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Subject Discipline | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 272 | 1 | "Ailey"[263] | Jamila Wignot | Dancer/Choreographer | January 11, 2022 |
| 273 | 2 | "Marian Anderson: The Whole World in Her Hands"[264] | Rita Coburn | Singer | May 10, 2022 |
| 274 | 3 | "Waterman - Duke: Ambassador of Aloha"[265] | Isaac Halasima | Athlete | February 8, 2022 |
| 275 | 4 | "Joe Papp in Five Acts"[266] | Tracie Holder and Karen Thorsen | Producer/Director | June 3, 2022 |
| 276 | 5 | "Brian Wilson: Long Promised Road"[267] | Brent Wilson | Singer | June 14, 2022 |
| 277 | 6 | "Buffy Sainte-Marie: Carry It On"[268] | Madison Thomas | Singer | November 22, 2022 |
| 278 | 7 | "The Adventures of Saul Bellow"[269] | Asaf Galay | Writer | December 12, 2022 |
| 279 | 8 | "Groucho & Cavett"[270] | Robert S. Bader | Comedian | December 27, 2022 |
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Subject Discipline | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 273 | 1 | "Roberta Flack"[271] | Antonino D’Ambrosio | Singer | January 24, 2023 | |
| Flack’s virtuosity was inseparable from her commitment to civil rights. | ||||||
| 274 | 2 | "Dr. Tony Fauci"[272] | Mark Mannucci | Scientist, Public Servant | March 21, 2023 | |
| He has served as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the Chief Medical Advisor to the President for seven different administrations in the U.S. | ||||||
| 275 | 3 | "In The Making"[273] | Christine Turner, Dilsey Davis | J'Nai Bridges - Opera Singer, Rissi Palmer - Singer | March 21, 2023 | |
| Two films focused on two barrier–breaking musicians: opera singer J’Nai Bridges and country artist Rissi Palmer. | ||||||
| 276 | 4 | "Nam June Paik: Moon Is the Oldest TV"[274] | Amanda Kim | Visual Artist | May 16, 2023 | |
| The world through the eyes of Nam June Paik, the father of video art and coiner of the term "electronic superhighway." | ||||||
| 277 | 5 | "Little Richard: King and Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll"[275] | James House | Musician | June 2, 2023 | |
| The legacy of Little Richard, including his advocacy for the rights of Black artists in the music industry. | ||||||
| 278 | 6 | "Jerry Brown: The Disrupter"[276] | Marina Zenovich | Politician | September 15, 2023 | |
| The political and personal journey of Jerry Brown, the longest serving governor in California history. | ||||||
| 279 | 7 | "Floyd Abrams: Speaking Freely"[277] | Yael Melamede | Lawyer | September 22, 2023 | |
| The 50-year career of First Amendment lawyer Floyd Abrams. | ||||||
| 280 | 8 | "A Song for Cesar"[278] | Andres Alegria & Abel Sanchez | Union & civil rights activist | September 29, 2023 | |
| The legacy of Cesar Chavez and how music and the arts were instrumental to the success of the farmworkers’ movement he helped found. | ||||||
| 281 | 9 | "Max Roach: The Drum Also Waltzes"[279] | Sam Pollard & Ben Shapiro | Musician | October 6, 2023 | |
| The music of Max Roach and how he was inspired and challenged by the inequities of the society around him. | ||||||
| 282 | 10 | "José Clemente Orozco: Hombre de Fuego (En Español)"[280] | Laurie Coyle & Rick Tejada-Flores | Visual Artist | October 7, 2023 | |
| The Spanish language version of "José Clemente Orozco: Man of Fire," the series' seventh installment of Season 21. | ||||||
| Title | Directed by | Premiere date |
|---|---|---|
| "Hopper: An American Love Story"[281] | Phil Grabsky | January 2024 |
| "Moynihan"[282] | Joseph Dorman & Toby Perl Freilich | March 2024 |
| "The Incomparable Mr. Buckley"[283] | Brian Funck & Barak Goodman | April 2024 |
| "Hannah Arendt: A Dangerous Mind"[284] | Carl Deal & Tia Lessin | Spring 2024 |
| "Bella! This Woman's Place Is in the House"[285] | Jeff L. Lieberman | tbd |
| "The Disappearance of Miss Scott"[286] | Nicole London | tbd |
| "Elie Wiesel: Soul on Fire"[287] | Oren Rudavsky | tbd |
| "Mary Oliver: Saved by the Beauty of This World"[288] | Sasha Waters | tbd |
| "W.E.B. Du Bois"[289] | Rita Coburn | tbd |