About this season
American Masters is a PBS television series which produces biographies on enduring writers, musicians, visual and performing artists, dramatists, filmmakers, and others who have left an indelible impression on the cultural landscape of the United States.
Episodes (8)
1. The Disappearance of Miss Scott
Aired 21 February 2025
How could we forget the one and only Hazel Scott? She was not only the most famous jazz virtuoso of her time, but she was the first African-American to have her own television show. This feature documentary will shine a light on this incredible talent whose voice—like the voices of so many women, especially women of color—has been lost.
2. LIZA: A Truly Terrific Absolutely True Story
Aired 1 April 2025 • 134 min
Take an intimate look into the life of Liza Minnelli, best known for her Oscar-winning role in Cabaret. Following in the footsteps of her mother Judy Garland, Minnelli used her boundless raw talent to build her own legacy in showbiz.
3. Art Spiegelman: Disaster Is My Muse
Aired 15 April 2025 • 120 min
Explore the work of cartoonist Art Spiegelman and the impact of his Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel Maus, about his parents’ survival of the Holocaust. A defender of free speech, Spiegelman has spoken out as book bans spread across the country.
4. Janis Ian: Breaking Silence
Aired 20 June 2025 • 150 min
Discover the life of singer-songwriter Janis Ian and how she rose as a folk icon and gay rights advocate. She broke ground with “Society’s Child” (1966), a bold take on interracial love, and “At Seventeen” (1975), a searing anthem about bullying.
5. Hannah Arendt: Facing Tyranny
Aired 27 June 2025 • 120 min
Discover Hannah Arendt, one of the most fearless political thinkers of the 20th century, who transformed her time as a political prisoner and refugee during World War II into daring insights about totalitarianism which continue to resonate today.
6. Marcella
Aired 11 July 2025 • 83 min
Discover how celebrated writer Marcella Hazan shaped Italian cuisine in America. After immigrating to New York in the 1950s, she began making authentic dishes from her Italian roots and inspired millions of Americans with her cookbooks.
7. Marlee Matlin Not Alone Anymore
Aired 15 October 2025
8. Starring Dick Van Dyke
Aired 12 December 2025 • 113 min
An episode of PBS' American Masters series, dedicated to the movie, TV and Broadway star Dick Van Dyke, with interviews with Dick plus many current and former colleagues and admirers.