Celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month with These Shows on WTTW

This May, celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month with a series of engaging shows on WTTW.  Discover the stories behind both contemporary issues and important historical moments and figures including artists, playwrights, and musicians. 

See the schedule links for additional air times. 

Finding Her Beat

Sunday, May 4 at 3:00 pm on WTTW Prime
In Finding Her Beat, a master of Japanese drumming and a Korean adoptee from Minnesota boldly convene an all-female troupe to perform Taiko, the Japanese drumming art that has been off-limits to women for centuries. As the early menace of COVID rumbles in the background, the group faces down hurdles to prepare for a historic performance in snowy St. Paul. Buoyed by dynamic drum performances and do-or-die spirit, Finding Her Beat is an energizing and uplifting story of music, cultural expression, and sisterhood.

Bare Feet with Mickela Mallozzi: Little Sri Lanka

Sunday, May 4 at 4:30 pm on WTTW Prime
Little Sri Lanka in Staten Island is one of the largest concentrations of Sri Lankans outside of the island nation. Mickela dances with the Sri Lankan Dance Academy and visits the family-owned restaurants on Victory Boulevard in Tompkinsville cooking up traditional dishes. She celebrates with the incredibly diverse community through song, dance, and cricket!

Rising Against Asian Hate: One Day in March

Sunday, May 4 at 7:00 pm on WTTW Prime
Explore the fight against Asian American hate following the March 2021 mass shootings at three spas in Atlanta. Examine how this critical moment of racial reckoning sheds light on the struggles, triumphs, and achievements of AAPI communities.

Frontline: South Korea's Adoption Reckoning

Sunday, May 4 at 9:30 pm on WTTW Prime
Allegations of fraud and abuse in South Korea's historic foreign adoption boom. With The Associated Press, investigating falsified records and faked identities in the adoption of 200,000 children to the U.S. and other countries over seven decades.

Asian Americans

Sundays starting May 4 at 11:00 pm on WTTW Prime
Asian Americans is a five-hour film series that delivers a bold, fresh perspective on a history that matters today, more than ever. As America becomes more diverse, and more divided while facing unimaginable challenges, how do we move forward together? Told through intimate personal stories, the series will cast a new lens on U.S. history and the ongoing role that Asian Americans have played.

Antiques Roadshow: Celebrating Asian-Pacific Heritage

Monday, May 5 at 7:00 pm on WTTW 
Travel with Roadshow as it turns the spotlight on incredible items with Asian and Pacific Islands origins, including a Hawaiian kou bowl, a Ghandi presentation spinning wheel, and an 1888 Joesph Nawahi painting. Which one is valued at $250,000-$300,000?

Field Trip with Curtis Stone: Hong Kong

Saturday, May 10 at 9:00 pm on WTTW Prime
Curtis Stone heads to Hong Kong to discover the influences of tradition and a modern food scene that carries a deep respect for the past. Join Curtis as he brings viewers along for the ride. During his journey, he finds himself folding dumplings with a master, exploring jars of ancient ingredients, and training with a martial arts legend.

Pacific Heartbeat

Sunday May 11 and Sunday, May 18 at 3:00 pm and 4:00 pm on WTTW Prime
Pacific Heartbeat is a series of critically acclaimed documentaries that provides an authentic glimpse into the Pacific Islander experience. Creative and beautifully told stories about arts, culture, and intimate human stories, the series features a diverse array of programs intended to draw viewers into the heart and soul of Pacific Island culture. 

Snapshots of Confinement

Sunday, May 11 at 6:00 pm on WTTW
During World War II, the U.S. government initially imposed policies that limited the use of cameras by Japanese Americans in the confinement sites, while simultaneously utilizing photography for propaganda. Despite the ban, Japanese American families found ways to document their lives. The photo albums reveal stories of community and resilience, transforming how this history is understood today.

Independent Lens: And So It Begins

Monday, May 12 at 9:00 pm on WTTW
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.

American Experience: Plague at the Golden Gate

Wednesday, May 14 at 7:00 pm on WTTW Prime
Over 100 years before the COVID-19 pandemic set off a nationwide wave of fear and anti-Asian sentiment, an outbreak of bubonic plague in San Francisco’s Chinatown unleashed a similar crisis. The death of a Chinese immigrant in 1900 would have likely gone unnoticed if a medical officer hadn’t discovered a swollen black lymph node on his groin – evidence of bubonic plague. Fearing the city would become the American epicenter of the disease, health officials drew on racist pseudoscience to cover up the threat and protect San Francisco’s burgeoning economy. As the outbreak continued to spread, public health officer Rupert Blue became determined to save his city.

Great Performances: Yellow Face

Friday, May 16 at 9:00 pm on WTTW
Enjoy Tony winner David Henry Hwang’s comedy starring Daniel Dae Kim as an Asian American playwright who protests “yellowface” casting in the musical Miss Saigon only to mistakenly cast a white actor as the Asian lead in his own play.

Independent Lens: Who is Michael Jang?

Monday, May 19 at 9:00 pm on WTTW
After decades in obscurity and sitting on a treasure trove of pictures, elusive San Francisco artist Michael Jang uses guerrilla art tactics to share his stunning, previously unknown work with unsuspecting audiences.

Tyrus Wong: American Masters

Tuesday, May 27 at 8:00 pm on WTTW 
Discover the art, life, and enduring impact of Tyrus Wong, the renowned Chinese-American painter behind Bambi and Rebel Without a Cause, via new and never-before-seen interviews, movie clips and art. Wong once exhibited with Picasso and Matisse.

Amache: An American Injustice

Tuesday, May 27 at 9:30 pm on WTTW
Amache: An American Injustice tells the story of the unjust incarceration of 120,000 innocent Japanese Americans during World War II after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. 7,500 were held at Amache in Colorado. For years, archeologists and survivors have been digging into the past and discovering how the incarcerees built a life behind barbed wire and created a community in the desolation of the desert.

To Be Takei

Thursday, May 29 at 7:00 pm on WTTW
Over seven decades, actor and activist George Takei boldly journeyed from a World War II internment camp, to the helm of Star Trek’s USS Enterprise, to the daily news feeds of five million Facebook fans. Join George and his husband Brad on this star’s playful and profound trek for life, liberty, and love.