What to Watch in September

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. 

New cooking seasons

School's back, and not just for kids! Learn more kitchen skills and recipes from new seasons of Christopher Kimball's Milk Street Television (Saturdays at 3:00 pm beginning September 6), Cook's Country (Saturdays at 12:30 pm beginning September 20), America's Test Kitchen (Saturdays at 2:00 pm beginning September 20), and Pati's Mexican Table (Saturdays at 4:00 pm beginning September 27).

You can find some of those recipes, and more food stories, at wttw.com/food or in our food newsletter, Deep Dish. 

Becoming Thurgood Marshall: America's Social Architect

Tuesday, September 9 at 9:00 pm

Thurgood Marshall would have made a mark on America's civil rights and legal landscape even if he hadn't become the first African American Supreme Court Justice. As an attorney with the NAACP, he argued various cases before the Supreme Court before joining it, including the landmark Brown v. Board of Education, which ended school segregation and the doctrine of "separate but equal."

Big Cats 24/7

Wednesdays at 7:00 pm beginning September 10 

A new season of Big Cats 24/7 returns to the Okavango Delta in Botswana to intimately document the lives of big African cats, day and night.

Sacred Planet with Gulnaz Khan

Wednesdays at 9:00 pm beginning September 10

Climate change affects everything, including places that have been sacred to people for centuries. This series journeys to Colombia, Japan, Africa's Sahel, and the Andes to examine some of those places. 

Rick Steves Experiencing Europe

Thursday, September 11 at 7:00 pm

Rick Steves distills a lifetime of travel tips into this special so that viewers can explore and enjoy Europe just like him. 

New mysteries and dramas

September brings new seasons of some favorites. On Thursdays at 8:00 pm beginning September 11, there's season 5 of the New Zealand-set Brokenwood Mysteries. The Madame Blanc Mysteries, featuring a Brit in France, returns with a second season Saturdays at 8:00 pm beginning September 13, while the fashionable Spanish drama Velvet joins it at 10:00 pm beginning September 20 with a second season.  

Chicago Stories

Fridays beginning September 26 at 8:00 pm and at wttw.com/chicagostories

WTTW continues to tell Chicago Stories with a new season that starts off strong with Legendary Blizzards on September 26. Four more new documentaries follow in October.

Dive deeper into every story at wttw.com/chicagostories, where you can also stream all the previous episodes. 

American Experience: The Hard Hat Riot

Tuesday, September 30 at 8:00 pm

In 1970, students protesting against the Vietnam War and the Kent State shootings clashed with construction and office workers in New York City in an infamous violent standout that prefigured cultural divides that remain today.