TV Talk: PBS dramas return, including ‘Annika,’ WWII-set ‘World on Fire’

Rob Owen | Monday, September 18, 2023 7:00 a.m.

Courtesy PBS

Jake (Paul McGann) and Annika (Nicola Walker) arrive to find Magnus has arrived in season two of “Annika.”

On Pittsburgh’s WQED-TV, PBS dramas remain unimpacted by the strikes and will see the return of “Masterpiece” series “World on Fire” (9 p.m. Oct. 15) and “Annika” (10 p.m. Oct. 15) for their second seasons.

Additional PBS dramas include season two of “Hotel Portofino” (8 p.m. Oct. 15) and the debut of “Little Bird” (11 p.m. Oct. 29), the story of an Indigenous Canadian woman adopted by a Jewish family who grows up and seeks out the family she lost. (For those planning ahead: “Miss Scarlet and the Duke” and “All Creatures Great and Small” return for new seasons Jan. 7 .)

“American Masters” explores how music and the arts were instrumental in Cesar Chavez’s social movement in “A Song for Cesar” (10 p.m. Sept. 29).

“Antiques Roadshow” (8 p.m. Oct. 2) hits the road for a new season, “Frontline” takes on “Putin vs. The Press” (9 p.m. Sept. 26), looks into “Elon Musk’s Twitter Takeover” (9 p.m. Oct. 10) and chronicles the Russian siege that took place over “20 Days in Mariupol” (10 p.m. Nov. 21). “NOVA” peeks “Inside China’s Tech Boom” (9 p.m. Nov. 8).

PBS documentary hitmaker Ken Burns explores the history and significance of “American Buffalo” (8 p.m. Oct. 16-17, PBS) and their relationship to the Indigenous people of North America. And “Native America” (9 p.m. Oct. 24), a portrait of contemporary Indian Country, returns for its second season.