For more than five decades, WETA has been a major producing station for PBS, creating exceptional television programs for audiences nationwide.

WETA is especially noted for its more than 35-year partnership with Ken Burns that has resulted in landmark television series such The American BuffaloThe U.S. and the Holocaust, Benjamin Franklin, JazzBaseballTHE WARThe National Parks: America’s Best IdeaThe Vietnam War and Country Music

More recently, WETA has enjoyed a production partnership with the acclaimed Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr. that has brought to the American public the history documentaries GOSPEL, Making Black America, Black America Since MLK: And Still I RiseAfrica’s Great Civilizations, The Black Church: This Is Our Story, This Is Our Song and the beloved genealogy series Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. 

Additionally, our acclaimed news and public affairs series such as PBS NewsHour and Washington Week are staples of the national public television schedule.

More information about WETA's rich history of national productions and co-productions can be found on the Past Productions page. 

Below are just a few examples of national television productions currently in the WETA production pipeline. Look for them to be broadcast on public media stations nationwide in the months and years ahead!

Coming Soon

Out of the Dark (2024)
Out of the Dark, a youth-focused series of digital-first films tells intimate, emotional, and sometimes surprising stories of people whose lives have been impacted by mental health issues. The series is diverse by ethnicity, age and gender, and is designed to spark dialogue, create awareness, and inspire a generation of young people to be vocal and open about their mental health journey. 

Leonardo (2024)
The life and times of Leonardo da Vinci.  This film will tell the story of Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci, best known as Leonardo da Vinci, a fifteenth century Italian polymath of soaring imagination and profound intellect, who left behind artistic works of staggering beauty and detailed sketches of futuristic contraptions of warfare and flight that today are marveled at for their technical ingenuity and foresight. Leonardo da Vinci will bring Leonardo and his towering achievements to life through his voluminous personal notebooks, primary and secondary accounts of his life and times, and on-camera interviews with modern scholars, artists, engineers, inventors and admirers. 

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The American Buffalo poster
Finding Your Roots: show-poster2x3
PBS NewsHour: show-poster2x3
Washington Week with The Atlantic: show-poster2x3

Recent & Ongoing Productions