What to Watch in May
Lisa Tipton
May 1, 2026
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 via the PBS app or will be once they premiere, especially by WTTW Passport members.
Indian and Filipino Food
Indian As Apple Pie is the latest addition to our Saturday cooking show line-up, beginning May 2 at 4:00 pm. We spoke to Chicago-based host Anupy Singla about the show.
Billy Dec is also Chicago-based; he travels through the Philippines in Food Roots (Monday, May 11 at 9:00 pm) to meet relatives, excavate family history, and understand how food traditions shape it all.
Jewish American Heritage Month
Growing Up Jewish (Sunday, May 3 at 6:00 pm) follows four young people as they prepare for their Bar and Bat Mitzvahs. It's just one of a few new programs for Jewish American Heritage Month; find our full list here.
Life on Earth: Attenborough's Greatest Adventure
David Attenborough's 1979 Life on Earth was the first major wildlife program, capturing the imagination of viewers. Two days before Attenborough turns 100, this new show looks back on the trials and travails it took to make Life on Earth.
Great Performances
Great Performances brings Broadway to your home on Fridays with two musicals. Suffs (May 8 at 9:00 pm) won a Tony for its depiction of the suffragette movement to gain women the right to vote. (Chicago's Ida B. Wells appears in it.) Irving Berlin's Top Hat (May 15 at 9:00 pm) is close to a century older than Suffs, based off the 1935 film starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers and featuring Irving Berlin's music.
Rob Reiner: The Director
Following his tragic death last year, look back at the career of Rob Reiner, the force behind This Is Spinal Tap, The Princess Bride, and When Harry Met Sally..., among many other classic films.
Frontline
Frontline continues to step back and track Donald Trump's in the long term. The President Vs. The Fed (Tuesday, May 12 at 9:00 pm) dives into Trump's attempts to control monetary policy, the preserve of the Federal Reserve. The War Cabinet (Tuesday, May 26 at 9:00 pm) looks at the high-level officials leading U.S. military power as it is increasingly projected abroad, in Venezuela, a war in Iran, and elsewhere.
Tuesday, May 12 at 9:00 pm (Fed) and Tuesday, May 26 at 9:00 pm (War Cabinet)
Downton Abbey and Whitstable Pearl
Downton Abbey is back on WTTW and the PBS app. Sundays at 9:00 pm beginning May 17, we're airing the first season of the beloved period drama – and we'll have new recaps to help you revisit the show and its characters.
The mystery Whitstable Pearl returns with a second season Saturdays at 8:00 pm beginning May 16, bringing back restaurateur and amateur detective Pearl in an English coastal town.
Rick Steves Best of Paris
Join travel guru Rick Steves as he explores the City of Lights in this new special, enjoying music, art, architecture, and, of course, food.
American Masters – W.E.B. DuBois: Rebel with a Cause
He's one of the most influential Black intellectuals, scholars, and activists, helping found the NAACP and publishing seminal books like The Souls of Black Folk. Born five years after the Emancipation Proclamation and dying just before the March on Washington, his life spans a crucial period of American and African American history.
Watch an interview with the documentary director on Chicago Tonight.
National Memorial Day Concert
Sunday, May 24 at 7:00 pm and 8:30 pm
One of our most popular traditions returns in the 250th anniversary of the U.S.'s founding. Joe Mantegna and Gary Sinise once again host an evening of music and remembrance saluting those in service, broadcast live (at 7:00 pm) from Washington, D.C.
What’s the Story, Wishbone?
A generation of kids was introduced to classic works of literature thanks to Wishbone, the PBS show in which a Jack Russell terrier imagined himself as the leads of iconic stories. This documentary shows all the work that went into making the series through a small studio in Texas.
