26 Shows to Watch this May on WVIA TV

Monday, May 5th 7pm
Pennsylvania has a plan to grow outdoor recreation. Locally, groups are developing trails across Northeast and North Central Pennsylvania.Lackawanna County is opening a 3-mile trail in the late spring, early summer. The Schuylkill River Trail will extend into northern Schuylkill County. The D&H Rail-trail is fundraising to finish the trails 7 miles to the New York Border, among many other trail projects in the region. What do trails do for a town? Are more people hiking than ever before?

Monday, May 12th 7pm
Pennsylvania is at the forefront of a farming renaissance that emphasizes sustainability innovation, and community engagement. From drones scanning fields to robots that do the seeding, watering, and harvesting, the modern day farmer is getting some help in the fields. These advancements help farmers work more efficiently and lead to better food on your table.

Monday, May 19th 7pm
A brain injury is damage to the brain caused by an external force or internal condition, affecting its function. It can result from trauma (traumatic brain injury, or TBI) such as a fall, car accident, or blow to the head, or from non-traumatic causes like stroke, infection,or lack of oxygen. Symptoms vary depending on the severity and area of the brain affected and may include headaches, memory loss, cognitive impairments, difficulty with movement or speech, and emotional changes. Treatment often involves rehabilitation, therapy, and medical interventions to manage symptoms and improve recovery. Brain injuries can range from mild to severe, with lasting effects in some cases.

Monday, May 26th 7pm
Engaging in music through playing an instrument and singing in a group can teach young people valuable life lessons. These experiences foster teamwork, discipline, and self-expression, which are essential skills in both personal and professional realms. Keystone Edition: Arts will explore inspiring examples of organizations that cultivate a vibrant sense of community through the power of collective musical experiences.

Monday, May 5th 9pm & 9:30pm
To address the concerns of developing a properly skilled and prepared local workforce, WVIA, partnering with the 1994 Charles B. Degenstein Foundation, has produced a multi-faceted media and related curriculum initiative called Careers that Work that focuses on educating and preparing students for well-paying jobs that fulfill the employment needs of growing industries throughout Northeastern and Central Pennsylvania.

Thursday, May 8th 9pm
From foreign policy to public health mandates to tariffs, what does the Constitution have to say about government intervention in our lives and abroad? The Bucknell Program for American Leadership and Open Discourse Coalition are proud to welcome U.S. Senator Rand Paul to speak on pressing issues facing our country with global implications.

Weeknights 7:30pm
The competition Continues! This high school academic quiz show challenges top students from WVIA’s member school districts about all academic disciplines.

Part 1, Sunday, May 4th 7pm
Part 2, Sunday, May 11th 7pm

A local outcast, who was controversially acquitted of murder years previously, is the latest inductee into a post-operative heart rehab club. Following his arrival, members' dreams of a second chance at life begin being cut short. Guest stars include Hannah Waddingham (Ted Lasso; Game of Thrones).

Part 1, Sunday, May 18th 7pm
Part 2, Sunday, May 25th 7pm

DCI Barnaby and DS Winter are called in to investigate the death of Victor Karras, a manufacturer of exclusive board games, who appears to have been poisoned. Guest stars include Rachael Stirling (Detectorists).

Thursday, May 1st 9pm
Art tells the rollicking story of our modern age. In RICK STEVES ART OF THE MODERN AGE, Rick explores how new technologies and social progress spawned a variety of artistic styles during the 1800s: freedom-loving and soul-stirring romanticism, the gauzy art of the prosperous Belle Epoque, light-chasing impressionism, and sensuous art nouveau. Then, Rick careens through Europe's tumultuous 20th century, with rule-breaking art as exciting as the times. From expressionism and cubism to surrealism and abstract, the visionary genius of artists like Van Gogh, Picasso, and Dali helped express the complexity of our modern world and our place in it.

Thursdays 10pm, May 1st - 22nd
THE EXPRESS WAY WITH DULE HILL is a premium documentary series that explores the power of the arts. Led by renowned actor, dancer, and singer, Dule Hill, the series captures diverse artists' stories from across America, celebrating community, humanity, and the transformative potential of creative expression.

Sundays 9pm, May 4th - 18th
Notoriously known for burning Jane's letters, did Cassandra Austen truly protect her famous sister's reputation? Immerse in this literary mystery, reimagined as a fascinating, witty, and heart-breaking tale of sisterly love.

Monday, May 5th 10pm
Matter of Mind: My Alzheimer's is an intimate portrayal of three families confronting the unique challenges of Alzheimer's and how this progressive neurodegenerative disease transforms roles and relationships. Whether it's a partner becoming a caregiver or an adult child shifting into being their parent's caretaker, these stories show how families evolve when a loved one is diagnosed.

Wednesday, May 7th 9pm
Surprisingly little is known about the behavior of cars and drivers in uncontrolled, real-world accidents, despite rigorous testing in laboratory-controlled crashes. Now, a first-of-its-kind experiment aims to discover what really happens in a multi-vehicle pileup and how cars and driving could be made safer.

Wednesdays 10pm, May 7th - 28th
Explore the fascinating world of bugs, their beauty, and ecological importance. From pollinators and insect predators to the clean-up crews purifying our planet, scientists examine the decline of these essential yet least appreciated creatures.

Thursday, May 8th 7pm
Painter Viviane Silvera uses art to explore memory and PTSD, animating 30,000 images to provide a visualization of the brain's process of forming, altering, and storing memories. The art is combined with narration based on breakthroughs in neuroscience research by Nobel Laureate Eric Kandel and other scientists to show how we can bridge the conscious and the conscious brain and heal trauma.

Friday, May 9th 9pm
Experience this Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winning Broadway musical directed by Michael Longhurst from London's Donmar Warehouse. Grammy nominee Caissie Levy stars in the story of a suburban family struggling with the effects of mental illness.

Monday, May 12th 10pm
A historic presidential race in the Philippines, between the son of Ferdinand Marcos and the incumbent woman VP, is seen through the eyes of Nobel-winning journalist Maria Ressa who cuts through the rhetoric despite the risks.

Thursday, May 15th 9pm
BEING 80 showcases a diverse range of vibrant, unique and memorable 80 year olds still finding meaning in their lives through long lived career choices contradicting the stereotype that their minds and bodies are obsolete in a world where only younger generations can make the world work.

Monday, May 19th 9pm
On the day after Thanksgiving 1948, a sales team from the Polaroid Corporation arrived at the Jordan Marsh department store in Boston to kick off the holiday shopping season. They carried with them their company's latest innovation, a ground-breaking camera that provided "pictures in a minute." In the coming decades, as demand for the camera exploded, instant photography would become one of the most singular, iconic, and popular artistic mediums of the 20th century. The products' popularity revolutionized traditional photography and changed the way in which Americans recorded their lives, empowering people from all backgrounds to control and define the way the outside world saw them; it also helped its creator Edwin Land earn a reputation as one of the most visionary and prolific inventors of the 20th century. At the time of his death in 1991, Land held 535 patents (a number only surpassed by Thomas Edison and Elihu Thomson). He had also created a new kind of corporate culture that would come to be adopted by a veritable army of dot-com and technology companies who saw Land as their godfather -- most notably Apple's Steve Jobs, who sought Land's counsel and spoke frequently of his influence. This one-hour biography will chronicle Land's life and legacy, from global success to the financial disaster that led to his resignation and the epic legal battle with Kodak, the former partner he felt had betrayed him. Directed by Gene Tempest.

Thursday, May 22nd 9pm
Around 1400, the beauty of ancient Greece and Rome was reborn in the Renaissance. And glorious art told the story. This rebirth of classical culture showed itself in the statues, paintings, and architecture of Florence, then spread from Italy to Spain, Holland, Germany, and beyond. The Renaissance featured a star-studded cast, from art-loving princes and popes to Leonardo's "Mona Lisa" and Michelangelo's "David." Its art celebrated humanism and revolutionized the way we think about the world and our place in it. RICK STEVES ART OF THE RENAISSANCE explores this fascinating period in art history.

Friday, May 23rd 9pm
Written and directed by acclaimed playwright Conor McPherson, Girl From the North Country reimagines 20 legendary songs by Bob Dylan as they've never been heard before. This spiritually uplifting story is set in Duluth, Minnesota, in 1934, when a group of wanderers' lives intersect at a house full of music, life and hope. Originally opening on Broadway to rave reviews on March 5, 2020, the production was forced to close just one week later, along with all other Broadway shows, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Re-opening on Broadway nineteen months later in October 2021, the show was recorded on Broadway with its original cast in April 2022. Nominated for seven 2022 Tony Awards including Best New Musical, among the classic Dylan songs woven into the narrative are "Forever Young," "All Along The Watchtower," "Hurricane," "Slow Train Coming" and "Like a Rolling Stone."

Sunday, May 25th 8pm
Tune in to the 36th annual broadcast of America's national night of remembrance, live from the U.S. Capitol, featuring stories and tributes woven with musical performances by world-renowned artists and the National Symphony Orchestra.

Monday, May 26th 3pm
Legendary entertainer Bob Hope and his troupe of performers traveled more than 80,000 miles during World War II to entertain the troops. There were several close calls where Hope and his fellow entertainers were almost killed. Hope and his troupe often performed near the frontlines in Europe and the Pacific as part of an overall Hollywood effort to make sure stars brought some of America to the battle zones.Using animated maps and interviews with Hollywood historians, authors, and combat veterans, MILES, MORALE AND MEMORIES: BOB HOPE AND WORLD WAR II examines Hope's impact on World War II and why President Franklin D. Roosevelt asked some of Hollywood's top radio and movie stars to hold a microphone instead of a gun in the war.

Thursday, May 29th 9pm
An ensemble of leading lights takes the stage for Offenbach's fantastical final work, headlined by tenor Benjamin Bernheim in the title role of the tormented poet. Hoffmann's trio of lovers are sung by soprano Erin Morley as the mechanical doll Olympia, soprano Pretty Yende as the plagued diva Antonia, and mezzo-soprano Clementine Margaine as the Venetian seductress Giulietta. Marco Armiliato conducts Bartlett Sher's evocative production, which also features bass-baritone Christian Van Horn as the Four Villains and mezzo-soprano Vasilisa Berzhanskaya in an important company debut as Hoffmann's friend Nicklausse.

Friday, May 30th 9pm
The original Broadway production of Cole Porter's 1948 classic Kiss Me, Kate ran for over 1,000 performances and went on to become one of the all-time classics of Broadway's "Golden Age" of musicals. A love letter to the theater blending Shakespeare with backstage romance, the show was the crowning achievement of Porter's celebrated career and featured a score brimming with enduring hits including "Another Op'nin, Another Show," "So in Love," "Too Darn Hot," "From This Moment On" and the comic masterpiece "Brush Up Your Shakespeare." The 2024 revival of Kiss Me, Kate at London's Barbican Theatre stars Tony-winner Stephanie J. Block (The Cher Show) and Irish star Adrian Dunbar (Line of Duty) as Porter's famously feuding couple. The Barbican revival was directed by Tony-winning director Bartlett Sher (Lincoln Center Theater's South Pacific, The King and I, My Fair Lady).