"LES MISERABLES" and OTHER MAY DVD RELEASES FROM PBS

A STELLAR LINE-UP OF RELEASES ON DVD FROM PBS DISTRIBUTION THIS MAY, INCLUDING “MASTERPIECE: LES MISÉRABLES” AND “FINDING YOUR ROOTS WITH HENRY LOUIS GATES, JR., SEASON 5”   Programs Available on Digital Download and DVD/Blu-ray   Arlington, VA – April 25, 2019 – This May, PBS Distribution will release an impressive line-up of programs on DVD/Blu-ray/Digital, including the critically-acclaimed six-part mini-series “LES MISÉRABLES” based on Victor Hugo’s masterpiece novel, “FINDING YOUR ROOTS WITH HENRY LOUIS GATES, JR., SEASON 5” and “MASTERPIECE MYSTERY!: UNFORGOTTEN, SEASON 3.” Other favorites such as NOVA, FRONTLINE and SECRETS OF THE DEAD will also be available, in addition to others. Information about each program is listed below. MASTERPIECE SECRETS OF THE DEAD Nicholas and Alexandra: The Letters   Unforgotten, Season 3 The Nero Files   Les Misérables The Best of the World’s Greatest   Korea: The Never-Ending War   NOVA   Rise of the Rockets Henry IX: The Lost King   The Next Pompeii   Finding Your Roots with Henry FRONTLINE Louis Gates, Jr., Season 5   The Trial of Ratko Mladic     MASTERPIECE Les Misérables A blockbuster novel for over 150 years comes vividly to life in award-winning screenwriter Andrew Davies’s multi-layered retelling of Les Misérables by Victor Hugo. This enthralling six-episode adaptation (not a musical) stars Dominic West (The Affair, The Wire) as Jean Valjean, the most famous fugitive in literature, David Oyelowo (Selma, Queen of Katwe) stars as his relentless pursuer, Javert, and Lily Collins (Rules Don’t Apply; Love, Rosie) as the tragic seamstress, Fantine; Ellie Bamber (Nocturnal Animals) plays her adolescent daughter, Cosette; Academy Award winner, Olivia Colman (The Favourite) and Adeel Akhtar (Unforgotten) are Cosette’s cruel overseers, the Thénardiers; and Josh O'Connor (The Durrells in Corfu) is the student and reluctant revolutionary Marius, who falls in love with Cosette at first sight. Joining the extensive cast are David Bradley (Game of Thrones, Harry Potter) as Marius’s formidable grandfather, Monsieur Gillenormand, and Derek Jacobi (Gladiator, Last Tango in Halifax) as the kindly Bishop of Digne, who rescues Valjean at his lowest ebb. The Guardian called it “A rich feast…c’est magnifique!” -       Street Date: May 21, 2019 -       Run Time: DVD and Blu-ray: 371 minutes on 2 discs -       SRP: DVD, $39.99, Blu-ray, $49.99 -       Format: DVD, Digital -       Genre: British Drama Unforgotten, Season 3 When human remains are found by a motorway near London, the crime-solving duo, Cassie and Sunny are called to the scene. Dogged work leads the team to Hayley Reid, a 16-year-old girl who went missing on the eve of the millennium. The police’s failure to find out what happened to Hayley wrecked her family’s life. Cassie’s compassion makes her determined to correct the mistakes made by the original investigating team - whatever the cost is to herself. A close-knit group of old school friends hold the key to what happened - Doctor Tim Finch, television host James Hollis, failing salesman Pete Carr, and artist Chris Lowe. As the four suspects find themselves under the spotlight, their tight bond is put to the test. They all have secrets in their past – events that have pulled their lives apart. None of them are quite who they seem to be, but is one of them capable of murder? -       Street Date: May 7, 2019 -       Run Time:  360 minutes on 2 discs -       SRP: DVD, $34.99 -       Format: DVD, Digital -       Genre: British, Mystery   NOVA Rise of the Rockets An explosion of private companies is sparking the development of new technologies and lowering costs to bring space closer than ever. And at the same time, NASA is returning to crewed spaceflight with gusto, building a rocket more powerful even than the storied Saturn V to take us far beyond Earth. Will today’s optimism prove prescient, or nothing more than hype and wishful thinking? As costs come down and rockets with new capabilities come online, a new generation is reaching for the cosmos, daring to dream big and yearning to go farther, in greater numbers than ever before. -       Street Date: May 7, 2019 -       Run Time:  56 minutes on 1 disc -       SRP: DVD, $24.99 -       Format: DVD, Digital -       Genre: Science & Nature: Technology & Inventions The Next Pompeii In THE NEXT POMPEII, NOVA joins investigators as they hunt for clues hidden beneath the surface of Italy’s lesser-known volcano Campi Flegrei, and assesses the risk of a new and potentially devastating eruption. The program also follows historians and geologists as they discover the latest evidence of Pompeii’s fiery destruction, unpacking the chain of events that led to the ancient world’s most notorious disaster. What lessons does the tragedy of Pompeii hold for Naples’ citizens, who may face a mounting threat from the unseen forces beneath their feet? -       Street Date: May 14, 2019 -       Run Time:  53 minutes -       SRP: DVD, $24.99 -       Format: DVD, Digital -       Genre: History: Ancient   FRONTLINE The Trial of Ratko Mladic In the aftermath of the brutal wars that decimated Yugoslavia in the early 1990’s, former Bosnian Serb General Ratko Mladic was accused of genocide and other war crimes – including the massacre of more than 7,000 Muslim men and boys in the town of Srebrenica in July 1995 – considered the worst crime perpetrated on European soil since World War II. After 16 years on the run, Mladic was apprehended and brought to The Hague to stand trial before the UN’s International Criminal Tribunal, the biggest and only truly international war crimes tribunal since Nuremburg. In the two-hour special FRONTLINE goes inside the historic five-year trial, with unprecedented, behind-the-scenes access to the prosecution and defense teams, as well as to witnesses from both sides who came to present evidence. THE TRIAL OF RATKO MLADIC provides haunting insights into a war criminal’s motives, and the genocide he commanded his troops to carry out – as well as an intimate look at the victims left behind, who remain haunted by what their families endured. It tells an epic story of justice, accountability and a country trying to escape its bloody past. -       Street Date: May 28, 2019 -       Run Time:  115 minutes -       SRP: DVD, $24.99 -       Format: DVD, Digital -       Genre: Issues/Events: Society   SECRETS OF THE DEAD The Nero Files The Roman emperor Nero is considered one of history's greatest criminals - a cruel, insane, and brutal ruler. His name has become synonymous with evil, and he stands accused of killing his step-brother, his wife, and his mother, as well as burning Rome to the ground for his own artistic inspiration. But are these stories true? Can they be proven? Recent research, modern interpretations of historical sources, and new discoveries cast a different light on the accusations levelled at the Roman emperor. THE NERO FILES investigates Nero's reign with the help of criminal psychologist Thomas Müller, using "cold case" methodology. Did history get it wrong? Was Nero a far better ruler than he’s ever been given credit for? -       Street Date: May 14, 2019 -       Run Time:  60 minutes -       SRP: DVD, $24.99 -       Format: DVD, Digital -       Genre: History: Ancient   Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Season 5 This season features an array of celebrated guests who are cultural trailblazers with fascinating family stories, including Academy Award winner Marisa Tomei; Emmy and Golden Globe Award winners Laura Linney and S. Epatha Merkerson; and actors Michael K. Williams, Chloë Sevigny and Kal Penn. Season Five also includes superstar author George R.R. Martin; acclaimed journalists Christiane Amanpour, Ann Curry, Joe Madison and Lisa Ling; bestselling author and Facebook executive Sheryl Sandberg; TV hosts Seth Meyers and Michael Strahan; artists Marina Abramović  and Kehinde Wiley; politicians Marco Rubio, Tulsi Gabbard and Paul Ryan; Academy Award-winning filmmakers Alejandro G, Iñárritu and Michael Moore; and comedians Tig Notaro and Sarah Silverman. The roots of these guests cover the globe — from Samoa, Nigeria, Taiwan and Sicily to Iran, Ireland, India and Cuba — and almost everywhere in between. Their family trees are filled with compelling characters — slaves and kings, artists and entrepreneurs, abandoned children and missing parents, revolutionaries, soldiers, and a constant flow of ordinary individuals who did remarkable things, laying the groundwork for their successful descendants. Each episode weaves together these stories, gleaned from cutting-edge DNA analysis and old school genealogical detective work, all hosted by executive producer and Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. -       Street Date: May 14, 2019 -       Run Time:  600 minutes on 3 discs -       SRP: DVD, $39.99 -       Format: DVD, Digital -       Genre: Issues/Events: Race & Ethnicity   Henry IX: The Lost King This program takes viewers on a journey to investigate the mysterious disappearance from history of a forgotten Scottish prince - Henry Fredrick Stuart, the best king Britain never had. Not many of us know his name but Henry started the British Museum and the Royal Collection and was the first royal prince to back a permanent settlement on American soil in the early 17th century. In this immersive documentary, host Paul Murton brings this forgotten figure from the shadows of history into the light of the modern world. It’s a detective story which reveals the tragedy of Henry’s lost potential. During his investigating, Paul visits Henricus, the colony founded in Virginia under Henry’s patronage, 14 years before the Mayflower and the pilgrims set sail for Plymouth. How has the story of this renaissance man, who changed the course of Britain’s history, been largely lost until now? Whatever happened to the best king they never had? -       Street Date: May 7, 2019 -       Run Time:  60 minutes -       SRP: DVD, $24.99 -       Format: DVD, Digital -       Genre: History: World   The Best of the World’s Greatest The world is full of inspiring places just waiting to be discovered and explored. This new, epic six-part series goes on a timeless journey around the planet, revealing the world’s greatest ancient cities, natural wonders, extreme animal encounters, lost cities, journeys and adventures, monuments, and coral islands. Viewers get a chance to explore exciting cities such as Venice, Rio, and Cairo, the islands of Galapagos, Hawaii, and the Maldives, and others. Viewers also explore Stonehenge, Machu Picchu, Angkor Wat, the Taj Mahal, as well as Mt. Everest, the Great Barrier Reef, and the Grand Canyon. In addition viewers get up close and personal with killer whales, grizzlies, and silver-backed gorillas, among other animals in the wild. -       Street Date: May 7, 2019 -       Run Time:  312 minutes on 2 discs -       SRP: DVD, $19.99 -       Format: DVD, Digital -       Genre: Travel: Air & Ocean   Korea: The Never-Ending War Written and produced by John Maggio and narrated by Korean-American actor John Cho, this documentary sheds new light on the global upheaval that led to the Korean War in 1950, a moment when the Cold War turned hot, and how today that war’s brutal legacy has forced the world into a deadly nuclear showdown. With testimony from the soldiers on the frontlines, civilians caught in the crossfire, political leaders from then and now, journalists and historians, the film is a comprehensive re-examination of a war that took the lives of tens of thousands of American GI’s and millions of Koreans. It is a war that has raged for generations. A war that most Americans don’t remember, and Koreans can never forget. The film documents how the conflict has continued post-1953; the events that triggered North Korea’s nuclear program; and South Korea’s economic expansion. The consequences of the war’s stalemate contribute to a dangerous stand-off between North and South Korea, and the United States and China. The 'end' of this conflict is still an open question. -       Street Date: May 14, 2019 -       Run Time:  120 minutes -       SRP: DVD, $24.99 -       Format: DVD, Digital -       Genre: History: War & Military   Nicholas and Alexandra: The Letters Ever since their brutal murders one hundred years ago, the world has been fascinated by Tsar Nicholas II and his wife, the Empress Alexandra. Through the couple’s politically damning, sexually intimate and personally revealing letters, this two-part docu-drama, explores Nicholas and Alexandra’s complex love story and the couple’s role in the lead up to the Russian Revolution of 1917 which led to their eventual brutal and tragic execution. Their thousands of love letters reveal the intimate details of their affection, sex life, delusions, and above all the road to revolution. From their total isolation to their political ineptitude and reliance on Rasputin, these letters chronicle their disastrous leadership in graphic detail. And as the Revolution took hold in the country, their position became increasingly precarious as widespread blame for Russia’s woes was aimed solely at the Royal couple. -       Street Date: May 21, 2019 -       Run Time:  100 minutes on 1 discs -       SRP: DVD, $24.99 -       Format: DVD, Digital -       Genre: History: World About MASTERPIECE Winner of 83 Primetime Emmys® and 16 Peabody Awards, MASTERPIECE has been essential Sunday night viewing for millions of fans since 1971. Rebecca Eaton is the executive producer of the series. Funding for MASTERPIECE is provided by Viking with additional support from public television viewers and contributors to The MASTERPIECE Trust. Presented on PBS by WGBH Boston, MASTERPIECE is known for recent hits such as Sherlock, Downton Abbey and Victoria, and beloved classics such as Upstairs Downstairs, Prime Suspect, The Forsyte Saga and Poldark. About NOVA Now in its 45th season, NOVA is the most-watched primetime science series on American television, reaching an average of five million viewers weekly. The series remains committed to producing in-depth science programming in the form of hour-long (and occasionally longer) documentaries, from the latest breakthroughs in technology to the deepest mysteries of the natural world. NOVA is a production of WGBH Boston. NOVA airs Wednesdays at 9pm ET/PT on WGBH Boston and most PBS stations. The Director of the WGBH Science Unit and Senior Executive Producer of NOVA is Paula S. Apsell. About FRONTLINE FRONTLINE, U.S. television’s longest running investigative documentary series, explores the issues of our times through powerful storytelling. FRONTLINE has won every major journalism and broadcasting award, including 91 Emmy Awards and 20 Peabody Awards. Visit pbs.org/frontline and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Tumblr and Google+ to learn more. FRONTLINE is produced by WGBH Boston and is broadcast nationwide on PBS. Funding for FRONTLINE is provided through the support of PBS viewers and by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Major funding for FRONTLINE is provided by The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the Ford Foundation. Additional funding is provided by the Abrams Foundation, the Park Foundation, the John and Helen Glessner Family Trust, The Heising-Simons Foundation and the FRONTLINE Journalism Fund with major support from Jon and Jo Ann Hagler on behalf of the Jon L. Hagler Foundation. Additional funding for “The Trial of Ratko Mladic” is provided by the Sigrid Rausing Trust, the Blavatnik Family Foundation, the Doc Society - The Bertha Doc Journalism Fund, the Sundance Institute, the Fritt Ord Foundation, and the Norwegian Film Institute. About WNET WNET is America’s flagship PBS station and parent company of THIRTEEN and WLIW21. WNET also operates NJTV, the statewide public media network in New Jersey. Through its broadcast channels, three cable services (THIRTEEN PBSKids, Create and World) and online streaming sites, WNET brings quality arts, education and public affairs programming to more than five million viewers each week. WNET produces and presents such acclaimed PBS series as Nature, Great Performances, American Masters, PBS NewsHour Weekend and a range of documentaries, children’s programs, and local news and cultural offerings. WNET’s groundbreaking series for children and young adults include Get the Math, Oh Noah! And Cyberchase as well as Mission US, the award-winning interactive history experience. WNET highlights the tri-state’s unique culture and diverse communities through NYC-ARTS, Theater Close-Up, NJTV News with Mary Alice Williams and MetroFocus, the daily multi-platform news magazine focusing on the New York region. In addition, WNET produces online-only programming including the award-winning series about gender identity, First Person. Through multi-platform initiatives Chasing the Dream: Poverty and Opportunity in America and Peril and Promise: The Challenge of Climate Change, WNET showcases the human stories around these issues and promising solutions. In 2015, THIRTEEN launched Passport, an online streaming service which allows members to see new and archival THIRTEEN and PBS programming anytime, anywhere: www.thirteen.org/passport. About McGee Media McGee Media was founded by award-winning filmmaker Dyllan McGee to produce documentary content that is innovative, compelling, and immersive. Every story is born from a vision of a more fair and equitable world. Whether it is the sweeping history of the African-American experience, or the intimate personal stories of the hundreds of women who made up the feminist movement, McGee Media uses television, film, and digital media in radical new ways to inform and inspire. Recent projects include AFRICA’S GREAT CIVILIZATIONS (PBS), MAKERS (Oath), FINDING YOUR ROOTS Seasons 1-5 (PBS), RECONSTRUCTION: AMERICA AFTER THE CIVIL WAR (PBS), ONCE & FOR ALL (AOL), FIRST IN HUMAN (Discovery), and RANCHER, FARMER, FISHERMAN (Discovery). About Kunhardt Films Kunhardt Films specializes in documentary programming about the people and ideas that shape American history. Most recently completed is the personal film Becoming Warren Buffett (HBO, 2017). Past productions include the Primetime Emmy and Sundance Film Festival Audience Award winner Jim: The James Foley Story. Other films include Emmy Award-nominated Living with Lincoln (HBO) and Emmy Award-Nominated Nixon By Nixon: In His Own Words (HBO, 2014); Finding Your Roots Season 2 with Henry Louis Gates Jr; Makers: Women Who Make America (PBS & AOL, Season 2); The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross (PBS, 6 hours, winner of the Emmy Award, Peabody Award and duPont-Columbia Award); Gloria: In Her Own Words (HBO, 2011); Finding Your Roots (PBS, 10-hours, 2010); This Emotional Life (PBS, 6-hours, 2010), and two seasons of African American Lives for PBS. Kunhardt Films was founded in 1987 as Kunhardt Productions. It is run by Peter Kunhardt and his sons Teddy and George. About Inkwell Films  Inkwell Films was founded by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. to produce sophisticated documentary films about the African and African-American experience for a broad audience. The six-part PBS documentary series The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross (2013) earned the 2013 Peabody Award and NAACP Image Award. Inkwell Films has co-produced Finding Your Roots (Seasons 1-5), AFRICA’S GREAT CIVILIZATIONS (2017), BLACK AMERICA SINCE MLK; AND STILL I RISE (2016), Black in Latin America (2011), Faces of America (2010), Looking for Lincoln (2009), African American Lives 2 (2008), Oprah’s Roots (2007) and African American Lives (2006). About Ark Media Barak Goodman and Rachel Dretzin founded Ark Media in 1996, and were joined by partner John Maggio in 2003. Together, Goodman, Dretzin, and Maggio have grown Ark into a leading producer of non-fiction series, theatrical documentaries, and television specials on a wide variety of subjects, along the way nurturing a diverse roster of passionate and talented filmmakers. Ark’s films have been honored with four national primetime Emmy Awards, an Academy Award nomination, multiple Writers Guild Awards, two duPont Columbia batons and three George H. Foster Peabody Awards, among many other awards and accolades. Coming soon: the feature documentary adaptation of Andrew Solomon’s monumental nonfiction book, Far From the Tree, in partnership with Participant Media; an American Experience film about Teddy Roosevelt’s fateful journey down an unknown Amazonian river in 1914, which almost cost him his life; a film for MSNBC about the press during the civil rights era; and a four-part series about genetics, based on Siddhartha Mukherjee’s best-seller The Gene: An Intimate History. About WETA WETA Washington, D.C., is one of the largest producing stations of new content for public television in the United States. Other WETA productions and co-productions include PBS NewsHour, Washington Week, The Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize, The Italian Americans, and documentaries by filmmaker Ken Burns and scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr. The WETA studios and administrative offices are located in Arlington, Virginia. Sharon Percy Rockefeller is president and CEO. More information on WETA and its programs and services is available at www.weta.org. About KBS KBS (Korean Broadcasting System) has long been a leader in the development of the broadcasting culture of the nation. As the key public service broadcaster of Korea, KBS has undertaken initiatives at technological turning points while providing a communication channel for diverse views. In the multi-channel digital broadcasting environment, a number of broadcasting channels are available, making the social role of public broadcasting ever more important. With the digitalization of terrestrial television and the changes in the digital media environment, KBS strives to connect with the audience through the production of audience oriented, high-quality public services. KBS initiated the country’s first radio broadcasting service in 1927 and commenced Korea’s first television broadcasting service in 1961. First broadcasting HD programs in 2001, KBS completed the transfer to digital broadcasting in 2012. KBS headquarters are located in the Yoido district of Seoul. There are 18 regional stations and 11 overseas bureaus as well as eight subsidiary companies such as KBS Media, which manages the local and global marketing of KBS content. More information is available at english.kbs.co.kr/index.html. About ZED ZED is a French leading independent producer and distributor specialized in every major genres of factual documentaries such as History, Investigation, Natural History or Sciences. The company has been on the international scene since its creation, through major co-productions, pre-sales and sales, representing catalogs for over 40 of the best producers over the world. More information is available at www.zed.fr/en/. About PBS Distribution PBS Distribution is a leading distributor of public media content around the world, reaching audiences through multiple platforms including digital distribution of OTT branded channels ‒ including the PBS MASTERPIECE, PBS KIDS and PBS Living channels available on Prime Video Channels ‒ TVOD, SVOD and VOD, as well as through theatrical licensing, DVD and Blu-ray sales, inflight entertainment and international licensing.   PBS Distribution offers consumers and educators over 4,000 programming hours of the highest quality factual, scripted and children’s programming, including films from producer Ken Burns, hit dramas from MASTERPIECE, entertaining and educational children’s series and award-winning documentaries from NOVA, FRONTLINE, AMERICAN MASTERS, NATURE, AMERICAN EXPERIENCE and many independent producers. For over 20 years, the company has extended the reach of programming beyond broadcast while generating revenue for the public television system, stations and producers.  Follow PBS Distribution on Facebook and Twitter