Plot Synopsis

The award-winning POV (a cinema term for "point of view") series is the longest-running showcase on television to feature the work of America's best contemporary-issue independent filmmakers. Since 1988, POV has pioneered the art of presentation and outreach using independent nonfiction media to build new communities in conversation about today's most pressing social issues.

The 26th season of POV debuted on Monday, June 24, 2013 at 10pm ET, with HOMEGOINGS, which reveals the world of undertaking in the black community through the eyes of Harlem funeral director Isaiah Owens. Other new films in Season 26 include: SPECIAL FLIGHT (7/1); HERMAN'S HOUSE (7/8); ONLY THE YOUNG (7/15); HIGH TECH, LOW LIFE (7/22); NEUROTYPICAL (7/29); THE LAW IN THESE PARTS (8/19); 5 BROKEN CAMERAS (8/26); PING PONG (9/9); THE WORLD BEFORE HER (9/16); and BEST KEPT SECRET (9/23).

POV returned for its 27th season on Monday, June 23, 2014 at 10pm ET/PT (check local listings), with WHEN A WALK, a one-hour documentary that follows Jason DaSilva's life-affirming journey to survive after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis at the age of 25. Other new films in Season 27 include: AMERICAN REVOLUTIONARY: THE EVOLUTION OF GRACE LEE BOGGS (June 30); MY WAY TO OLYMPIA (July 7); GETTING BACK TO ABNORMAL (July 14); DANCE FOR ME (July 21); FALLEN CITY (July 28); 15 TO LIFE: KENNETH'S STORY (August 4); A WORLD NOT OURS (August 18); BIG MEN (August 25); and more.

On Monday, June 22, 2015 at 10pm ET/PT (check local listings), PBS premiered the 28th season of POV. The season's first documentary, OUT IN THE NIGHT, examines the uphill battle of a group of African-American lesbians charged with attempted murder when they fought back after being threatened. The case reveals the role that race, gender identity and sexuality play in the criminal justice system. In a special arrangement, OUT IN THE NIGHT was simulcast on Logo TV. Subsequent new programs in Season 28 include: THE OVERNIGHTERS (June 29); TOUGH LOVE (July 6); WEB JUNKIE (July 13); RETURN TO HOMS (July 20); TEA TIME (July 27); BEATS OF THE ANTONOV (August 3); NEULAND (August 17); POINT AND SHOOT (August 24); and THE STORM MAKERS (August 31).

Season 29 of POV premiered on Monday, May 23, 2016 at 10pm on PBS (check local listings). The new season opens with THE RETURN, a 90-minute film that examines how California's Prop 36 -- the first time in U.S. history that citizens voted to shorten sentences of those currently incarcerated -- affects released prisoners, told through the eyes of those on the front lines: prisoners suddenly freed, families turned upside down, reentry providers helping navigate complex transitions and attorneys and judges wrestling with an untested law. Other new films in the 29th season include: OF MEN AND WAR (May 30); THE LOOK OF SILENCE (June 27); PERVERT PARK (July 11); IRIS (August 1); THE BIRTH OF SAKE (September 5); ALL THE DIFFERENCE (September 12); KINGDOM OF SHADOWS (September 19); FROM THIS DAY FORWARD (October 10); HOOLIGAN SPARROW (October 17); THANK YOU FOR PLAYING (October 24); and WHAT TOMORROW BRINGS (October 31).

On Monday, June 26, 2017 at the special time of 9pm (check local listings), PBS premiered the 30th season of POV. The season opener, "Dalya's Other Country; 4.1 Miles," follows the nuanced story of a family displaced by the Syrian conflict, walking the line between their Muslim values and the new world they inhabit, and a Greek Coast Guard captain caught in the middle of the biggest refugee crisis since WWII. Subsequent documentaries debut on Mondays at 10pm and include these stories: THE WAR SHOW (July 3); LAST MEN IN ALEPPO (July 10); PRESENTING PRINCESS SHAW (July 17); JOE'S VIOLIN / SHALOM ITALIA (July 24); MEMORIES OF A PENITENT HEART (July 31); TRIBAL JUSTICE (August 21); and RAISING BERTIE (August 28).

Season 31 of POV premiered on Wednesday, April 18, 2018 at 10pm on PBS (check local listings). The season opener features a 90-minute documentary by David Alvarado and Jason Sussberg, BILL NYE: THE SCIENCE GUY, which follows Bill Nye, who is on a mission to stop the spread of anti-scientific thought and action. Once the host of a popular kids' show and now the CEO of the Planetary Society, he's leading a mission to launch LightSail, a satellite propelled by sunlight, while in turn fulfilling the legacy of his late professor and Planetary Society cofounder Carl Sagan. This film is a behind-the-scenes portrait of the Science Guy, who continues to inspire millennials to participate in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics). In addition to Nye, the film features Neil deGrasse Tyson, Ann Druyan and many other notable voices in the field. Nye's mission is driven in part by anxiety about what future generations may face. Sitting on climate change denier Joe Bastardi's porch, Nye implores, "What if you're wrong? What about Garrett?" Garrett is Bastardi's college-age son, who is following in his father's footsteps by studying meteorology and also shares his father's skepticism about climate change. BILL NYE: THE SCIENCE GUY also illuminates Nye's private life. He remains close to his two siblings, who are struggling with a hereditary neurological disorder that Nye doesn't have. Numerous friends, both from his childhood and from his Science Guy days, speak to his quirks and ambitions. Nye even opens up about his romantic life.

The 32nd season of POV premiered on Monday, June 17, 2019 at 10pm on PBS (check local listings). Films in the new season include: ROLL RED ROLL (June 17); THE GOSPEL OF EUREKA (June 24); CALL HER GANDA (July 1); BISBEE '17 (July 15); ON HER SHOULDERS (July 22); INVENTING TOMORROW (July 29); THE DISTANT BARKING OF DOGS (August 5); HAPPY WINTER (August 12); DO NOT RESIST (August 19); and more, later in the season.

POV returned for its 34th season on Monday, July 5, 2021 at 9:30pm on PBS (check local listings). New films include: THE NEUTRAL GROUND (July 5); LANDFALL (July 12); STATELESS (July 19); MAYOR (July 26); and more.

Season 35 of POV debuted on Monday, July 11, 2022 at 10pm on PBS (check local listings). The new season includes 14 features with themes that include environmental justice, systemic inequity, global perspectives on motherhood, and caregiving during multiple crises. Over half of this season's films are directed by women, and two thirds by filmmakers of color. In addition, half come from filmmakers of Asian descent, and several titles are by and about people with disabilities. A major platform for global nonfiction in the U.S, the series will feature stories from China, Cuba, Ethiopia, Greenland, Myanmar, Norway, the Philippines, Zimbabwe, and feature contemporary Muslim perspectives from both outside and within the U.S.

The 36th season of POV premiered on Monday, June 26, 2023 at 10pm on PBS (check local listings). The new season features a slate of 16 feature documentaries with themes devoted to caregiving, transnationalism, activism, childhood aspirations, accessibility, and intergenerational relationships. The series' commitment to provide a public platform to showcase bold forms of nonfiction storytelling by filmmakers with diverse voices and perspectives brings audiences unforgettable protagonists with unique points of views. Half of Season 36's films are directed by women, and over two-thirds by filmmakers of color. Celebrated films this season include POV alumni director Simon Lereng Wilmont and producer Monica Hellstrom's timely documentary, "A House Made of Splinters" (July 17). As the war in Eastern Ukraine takes a heavy toll on families living near the frontline, a small group of strong-willed social workers work tirelessly in a special kind of orphanage to create an almost magical safe space for kids to live in. In Vietnamese first-time director He Le Diem's feature, "Children of the Mist," she details the challenges facing a Hmong girl living in rural Northern Vietnam caught between tradition and modernity.
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Season 37 of POV -- America's longest running non-fiction series on television -- debuted on Monday, June 24, 2024 at 10pm on PBS (check local listings), kicking off the new season with "King Coal."

Directed by filmmaker Elaine McMillion Sheldon, "King Coal," through the personal memories of a 4th generation coal miner's daughter, meditates on the complex history and future of the coal industry, the communities it has shaped, and the myths it has created. Filmed in Central Appalachia, where McMillion Sheldon was raised and lives, the film documents the cultural roots of coal and its waning impact over a sector of American life, while also making space for a dream of the future to emerge.