Celebrate Women’s History Month with These Shows on WTTW

March is Women’s History Month, and WTTW is celebrating with programming that highlights the achievements women have made in politics, civil rights, art, literature, science, and more. This year features new programs, including a documentary on the women of World War II, an investigation of England’s first woman monarch, a profile of writer Liz Carpenter, and more. 

See the schedule links for additional air times. 

American Experience: The Vote 

Saturdays starting March 1 at 8:00 pm on WTTW Prime
Meet the unsung heroes of the movement and relive the fiery, dramatic, and unrelenting campaign that led to passage of the 19th Amendment, granting American women the vote and ushering in the largest expansion of voting rights in U.S. history.

American Masters – Amy Tan: Unintended Memoir

Sunday, March 2 at 9:30 am on WTTW Prime
Explore the life of the groundbreaking author of The Joy Luck Club in this intimate portrait. Archival imagery, home movies, photographs, animation and original interviews create a vivid, colorful journey through Tan’s inspiring life and career.

American Masters: Roberta Flack 

Sunday, March 2 at 11:30 am on WTTW Prime
Discover late music icon Roberta Flack’s rise to stardom and triumphs over racism and sexism. Detailing her story in her own words, the film features exclusive access to Flack’s archives and interviews with Rev. Jesse Jackson, Peabo Bryson, and more.

American Masters – Marian Anderson: The Whole World in Her Hands

Sunday, March 2 at 1:00 pm on WTTW Prime
Discover an international singer who captivated royalty in Europe and defied the conscience of 1939 America. Watch rare archival footage and hear audio recordings exploring her life and career from the Metropolitan Opera to the State Department. Read an interview with the director of the documentary.

American Masters – Rita Moreno: Just A Girl Who Decided to Go for It

Sunday, March 2 at 3:00 pm on WTTW Prime
Discover how Moreno defied her humble upbringing and racism to become one of a select group of Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Award winners. Explore her 70-year career with new interviews, clips of her iconic roles, and scenes of the star on set today.

Women of World War II: The Untold Stories

Thursday, March 6 at 7:00 pm on WTTW 
Meet the American women who built the planes and flew them, fought on the warfront and the home front, cracked codes, and broke barriers. The “secret weapon” that helped win the war, they forever changed the world in the process. 

Her War, Her Story: WWII

Sunday, March 9 at 10:00 am on WTTW Prime
Narrated by actress Jane Lynch, this documentary tells the stories of more than two dozen women's experiences during the war. From members of the U.S. Women’s Army Corps to the civilian witnesses to the war in Europe, the film shows how women were equal to men in patriotism, service, and steadfastness in critical moments.

American Experience: The Sun Queen 

Sunday, March 9 at 7:00 pm on WTTW Prime
Chemical engineer and inventor Maria Telkes applied her prodigious intellect to harnessing the power of the sun. She designed and built the world’s first successfully solar-heated modern residence and identified a promising new chemical that, for the first time, could store solar heat like a battery. Along the way, she was undercut by her boss and colleagues – all men – at MIT. Despite these obstacles, Telkes persevered. She is now recognized as a visionary pioneer in the field of sustainable energy.

Without Precedent: The Supreme Life of Rosalie Abella

Sunday, March 9 at 8:00 pm on WTTW Prime
This documentary explores the life and legacy of the legal icon. The child of Holocaust survivors, Justice Abella was born in 1946 in Stuttgart, Germany, in a displaced persons camp. Her family came to Canada in 1950 as refugees. The perspective gained from her personal history shaped her legal career, and in public speeches, she often intertwines her personal story with a discussion of human rights, morality, and constitutional law.

Chicago Stories – Jane Addams: Together We Rise

Saturday, March 15 at 9:00 pm on WTTW Prime
Jane Addams was inspired by a settlement house in London’s impoverished East End to create Chicago’s Hull House. Chicago Stories profiles this Nobel Peace Prize-winning activist and the cadre of women who joined her in her quest to enrich the lives of thousands of immigrants. Stream the show any time and explore the companion website. 

Agatha Christie: Lucy Worsley on the Mystery Queen – Cat Among the Pigeons

Sunday, March 16 from 7:00 pm on WTTW
Lucy Worsley explores Agatha Christie's haunted, unconventional early life to discover the origins of her talent for murder.

Story of the D-Day Forecast: Three Days in June

Saturday, March 16 at 7:00 pm on WTTW Prime
For a few tense days in June 1944, the success of the D-Day military invasion was completely reliant on weather readings taken by a young woman at a remote weather station on Ireland's west coast. Story of the D-Day Forecast: Three Days in June includes a special interview with the now 96-year-old Maureen Sweeney, providing a living link to a unique moment in history, where military might and meteorological analysis collided.

Finding Your Roots: Born to Sing

Tuesday, March 18 from 7:00 pm on WTTW
Henry Louis Gates, Jr., explores the remarkable roots of singers Alanis Morissette and Ciara, revealing his guest’s hidden connections to history and to music. 

American Experience: Fly with Me

Tuesday, March 18 at 8:00 pm on WTTW 
Discover how the first female flight attendants in the 1960s were at the leading edge of women’s rights, changing gender norms, and equal opportunity in the workplace law. This film relies on first-hand witness accounts, personal stories, and a rich and extensive archive to tell a lively, fun, and important but neglected history of the women who, while flying the world, changed it. Read our Q&A with one of the flight attendants in the documentary.

Nolly on Masterpiece Marathon

Wednesday, March 19 at starting at 7:00 pm on WTTW Prime
Explore the reign and fall of soap opera star Noele “Nolly” Gordon, one of the most famous faces on British TV in the 1960s and '70s, whose unceremonious firing from her hit show at the height of her career was front-page news. Catch up with our recaps of the show. 

Coronation Girls

Saturday, March 22 at 10:30 am on WTTW Prime
In the summer of 1953, philanthropist Garfield Weston put together a sponsorship to send 50 girls from rural communities across Canada to visit London. They were soon standing in Oxford Street to witness the coronation procession of Queen Elizabeth. Witnessing a princess becoming the Queen of England transformed them instantly and forever. 

Chicago Stories: Ida B. Wells 

Saturday, March 22 at 9:00 pm on WTTW Prime
This documentary and companion website traces Ida B. Wells’ career as a journalist, activist, and organizer in Chicago. It delves into her battle to keep Chicago Public Schools integrated, her forays into the rough-and-tumble world of Chicago politics, and her ascendance to the national and international stages as an anti-lynching activist and a powerful Black voice on behalf of women s suffrage. The project brings to life the journalist and activist as never before, using dramatic reenactments and interviews with historians and Wells’ descendants. Stream the show any time.

Fannie Lou Hamer: Stand Up

Sunday, March 23 at 9:00 am on WTTW Prime
This documentary examines the life of civil rights legend Fannie Lou Hamer, offering first-hand accounts by those who knew her and worked side by side with her in the struggle for voting rights.

The Philadelphia Eleven

Sunday, March 23 at 9:30 am on WTTW Prime
The Philadelphia Eleven, a largely unknown women’s rights story, introduces viewers to the trailblazers who challenged the very essence of patriarchy within Christendom and successfully created a blueprint for lasting institutional change

Miss Friman’s War Marathon

Sunday, March 23 starting at 11:00 am on WTTW Prime
A delightful Swedish drama set in the early 20th century explores love, friendship, and equal rights for all.

Lucy Worsley Investigates: Bloody Mary

Sunday, March 23 from 7:00 pm on WTTW
Does “Bloody Mary,” England's first ruling female monarch, truly deserve her infamous reputation? Investigate whether Mary I was as ruthless as history suggests or if her notoriety stemmed from being a strong woman in a predominantly male world.

Marie Antoinette Season 2

Sundays at 9:00 pm beginning March 23 on WTTW 
As season two begins, Marie Antoinette and her husband King Louis XVI are at the height of their power, but face an unprecedented financial crisis while disastrous consequences loom with the Diamond Necklace Affair. From Versailles to the Palais-Royal, the revolt rumbles on. Catch up with our recaps of the show.

Singing for Justice

Sunday, March 23 at 11:00 pm on WTTW Prime
Singing for Justice reveals the story of Faith Petric, a political radical, musician, mother, worker, and grandmother who united folk music and activism through almost a century of American social movements. She aided migrant workers in California during the Great Depression, built Liberty Ships during World War II, faced Cold War-era FBI surveillance, and marched for racial justice in Selma, Alabama.

Shaking It Up: The Life & Times of Liz Carpenter

Monday, March 24 at 9:00 pm on WTTW 
Journalist, White House official, author, humorist, political activist, and feminist leader: over her 89 years of service, Liz Carpenter was often front and center where history was unfolding, leaving her own indelible mark on events and people.

Finding Your Roots: The Brick Wall Falls

Tuesday, March 25 from 7:00 pm on WTTW
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. introduces actor Danielle Brooks and singer Dionne Warwick to their distant ancestors, breaking down the barriers imposed by slavery.

Jacqueline Du Pré: Genius and Tragedy

Friday, March 28 at 9:00 pm on WTTW
Jacqueline du Pré is considered one of the greatest cellists of all time, despite a career that was cruelly curtailed by multiple sclerosis at just 28 years old. Introduced and narrated by cellist Yo-Yo Ma, this film tells us why she was such an extraordinary musician, and how, in the 1960s, she injected a youthful excitement into a staid industry – forming a classical “rat pack” that included Pinchas Zukerman, Itzhak Perlman, Zubin Mehta, and her husband Daniel Barenboim.

Independent Lens: Home Court 

Saturday, March 29 from 12:00 am on WTTW
Ashley Chea is a Cambodian American basketball prodigy in Southern California. As she overcomes injury as well as racial and class differences, Ashley strives to become her own person and leave a legacy behind.

Chicago Stories: Inventing Improv

Sunday, March 23 from 9:00 pm on WTTW Prime
It may be Chicago’s greatest cultural export: improvised theater. But this art form wasn’t created by a funny man - it was devised by a woman who wasn’t out for laughs. Explore the life and legacy of Viola Spolin, known as The Mother of Improv. Explore the companion website.

Chicago Stories: Jane Byrne

Saturday, March 29 at 8:00 pm on WTTW Prime
This film recalls the city’s first female mayor. After pulling off one of Chicago’s greatest political upsets, Jane Byrne found herself caught between the political machine that shaped her and the reformers who elected her. Stream the show any time and explore the companion website. 

Next at the Kennedy Center: A Joni Mitchell Songbook

Saturday, March 29 at 11:00 pm on WTTW Prime
The indomitable influence of Joni Mitchell is celebrated with an all-star lineup at the Kennedy Center, led by multi-Grammy Award winner Vince Mendoza and accompanied by the National Symphony Orchestra.