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What to Watch in February

Lisa Tipton
Five people in a black and white photo
Left to right, front row: NAACP board member James McLendon, Eleanor Roosevelt, Thurgood Marshall. Standing, left to right: Walter White, Roy Wilkins, 1947. Credit: Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Visual Materials from the NAACP Records

There's a huge amount of worthwhile TV out there nowadays, so it can be hard to choose what to watch. But who better to recommend shows than the person who programs them? Lisa Tipton, WTTW’s Head of Programming and Pledge, constructs the WTTW schedule by searching through offerings from many different sources which include the national PBS network, the BBC, and independent filmmakers to put together a varied and engaging broadcast schedule. Each month, she recommends a few shows that she thinks you should watch.

Find all the ways to watch WTTW here. Many of the below shows are available to stream or will be once they premiere, especially by WTTW Passport members. 

Funny Woman 

This comedy about a working class woman trying to make her way in television in 1960s London is back with a second season that premieres Sunday, February 2 at 9:00 pm. You can catch up on the previous season in a marathon beginning at 11:00 am that day, or via our recaps or streaming through the PBS app. 

WTTW's Viewer's Choice

In case you're not a football fan, we've got an alternative (or a lead-up) to the Super Bowl on Sunday, February 9: the announcement of the winner of WTTW's Viewer's Choice Bowl, followed by a special airing of that winner at 2:00 pm. There's still time to vote!

Nature: Expedition Killer Whale

Killer whales are intelligent animals that can even coordinate waves together to knock seals off ice. Nature follows a team in Antarctica as they try to understand these incredible animals, Wednesday, February 12 at 7:00 pm.

Black History Month

We have a full slate of programming for Black History Month (check back in a few days to see it all), but among the highlights are a new documentary on the 1967 trial of the Black Panther Huey Newton (American Justice on Trial: People v. Newton on Thursday, February 13 at 9:00 pm); a look at health in the Black community via the story of a father and son biking from St. Louis to Chicago (Independent Lens: Bike Vessel on Monday, February 24 at 9:00 pm); and a revisiting of a pioneering leader of the NAACP from American Experience (Forgotten Hero: Walter White and the NAACP on Tuesday, February 25 at 8:00 pm).

Plus, we're bringing back several Chicago Stories about the Black experience in Chicago on Sunday, February 23 beginning at noon. All of them are available to stream and explore further at wttw.com/chicagostories.

Secrets of the Dead – Plunderer: The Life and Times of a Nazi Art Thief

This two-part Secrets of the Dead looks into the still-unfolding story of art looted by the Nazis during World War II and those who profited off it, on Wednesdays, February 19 and 26 at 9:00 pm.

NOVA: Baltimore Bridge Collapse

Less than a year after the shocking crash of a container ship into a bridge in Baltimore in a disaster that killed six workers, NOVA looks into how such a catastrophe could happen, on Wednesday, February 26 at 8:00 pm.