Marriages between the daughters of new-money Americans and a cash-strapped British aristocracy hit its stride by 1895. But these unions come at a price, financially and emotionally. While some women find true love overseas, others, like Consuelo Vanderbilt, find themselves mired in misery, loneliness and scandal. Host Elizabeth McGovern reveals how their stories inspired the hit series "Downton Abbey." Then, she explores how the daughters of America's wealthy industrialists survived, and even thrived, in their new aristocratic surroundings.
Smithsonian Channel Announces New Docuseries ORANGUTAN JUNGLE SCHOOL
by Kaitlin Milligan - June 25, 2019
Class is now in session as Smithsonian Channel prepares to share the drama, as well as the hijinks, of a group of young endangered orangutans in an emotional new docuseries, ORANGUTAN JUNGLE SCHOOL. The 10-episode season takes viewers to Nyaru Menteng, a unique forest school for orphaned apes in I...
Smithsonian Channel to Premiere Documentary on Phenomenon of Sending Loved One's Remains Into Space
by Kaitlin Milligan - June 21, 2019
What do you want to happen when you die? The ancient Greeks hung their heroes in the stars. On Monday, June 24, Smithsonian Channel cameras will capture an emotional, 21st-century version of this timeless human story, when 152 people mark the end of their life on Earth – by having their ashes shot...
Smithsonian Channel Presents AMERICA'S HIDDEN STORIES: MYSTERY AT JAMESTOWN
by Kaitlin Milligan - June 20, 2019
Jamestown, the first successful English settlement in the Americas, is best known for the legend of John Smith and Pocahontas, but now archaeologists are on the hunt for a pioneering and controversial forgotten founding father. On July 30, 1619, Sir George Yeardley presided over the first democrat...
Smithsonian Channel Explores The Wild World Of Man's Best Friend In AMAZING DOGS
by Tori Hartshorn - June 18, 2019
Take a journey along the twists and turns of the canine family tree to meet the most dangerous and wondrous wild dogs in the natural world and learn how they eventually went on to become much-loved pets like Labradors, bulldogs, mutts and more. Hosted by biologist Patrick Aryee, AMAZING DOGS travels...
Smithsonian Channel to Mark The 50-Year Anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising
by Kaitlin Milligan - May 21, 2019
On June 28, 1969, a routine police raid of a gay bar in New York City turned into a violent conflict that ignited protests lasting for days. The Stonewall Inn Uprising is celebrated by many as the birth of the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement. But the history of gay life in America extends far befo...
Smithsonian Channel Announces New Special ADOLF ISLAND
by Kaitlin Milligan - May 15, 2019
In what could turn out to be the largest murder case on British soil, ADOLF ISLAND sees forensic archaeologist Caroline Sturdy Colls (Professor of Conflict Archaeology and Genocide Investigation at Staffordshire University) go in search of a Nazi SS camp constructed in secrecy on the British Cha...
Smithsonian Channel Presents ATOMIC AGE DECLASSIFIED
by Kaitlin Milligan - May 13, 2019
Smithsonian Channel will shed light on years of America's history that were shrouded in secrecy and deception in ATOMIC AGE DECLASSIFIED. The three-part series takes viewers back to the Atomic Age of the mid-20th century, a time when there was excitement about the potential of nuclear planes, tra...
Smithsonian Channel Announces New Series RUSSIA'S WILD SEA
by Kaitlin Milligan - May 08, 2019
Smithsonian Channel takes the Sea of Okhotsk by storm with RUSSIA'S WILD SEA, the first comprehensive documentary revealing this untouched area of natural wonders. Located almost 4,000 miles from Moscow in Russia's Far East, the Sea of Okhotsk is a constant survival battleground for humans and a ran...
Smithsonian Channel Announces Moon Landing 50th Anniversary Celebration
by Kaitlin Milligan - April 30, 2019
Half a century after humanity's historic first step on the Moon, Smithsonian Channel will launch a six-week celebration of this historic accomplishment. Six-part series APOLLO'S MOON SHOT explores the Moon program through unique and rare access to Apollo artifacts from the Smithsonian's National Air...
Smithsonian Channel Presents PRIVATE LIVES OF THE MONARCHS
by Kaitlin Milligan - April 22, 2019
Smithsonian Channel slips into the bedchambers and back rooms of Britain and France's royal palaces to discover the PRIVATE LIVES OF THE MONARCHS. Hosted by Tracy Borman, joint Chief Curator of the Royal Palaces, this five-part series uncovers the nitty-gritty, down and dirty and outright strange ab...
Smithsonian Channel to Air New Documentary BLACK HOLE HUNTERS
by Kaitlin Milligan - April 01, 2019
Smithsonian Channel is putting viewers in the passenger seat of the journey towards a cutting-edge outer space discovery. On the heels of a groundbreaking scientific announcement to be made on April 10, the network will air a new one-hour documentary following a team of international scientists as t...
Smithsonian Channel Announces New Series AERIAL BRITAIN
by Kaitlin Milligan - March 27, 2019
The hit aerial exploration series from Smithsonian Channel, AERIAL AMERICA, expands across the pond with the debut of AERIAL BRITAIN. This newest installment takes viewers on a journey to four regions of Britain, discovering the historical significance of the island from breathtaking heights. Filmed...
Smithsonian Channel Announces New Series INSIDE MIGHTY MACHINES
by Kaitlin Milligan - March 21, 2019
Smithsonian Channel is delving deep into innovations that changed the world with INSIDE MIGHTY MACHINES. Hosted by ex-NASA jet engineer Chad Zdenek, the new six-part series scrapes away the grease and chisels through the rust to reveal the remarkable engineering principles that make great machines ...
Smithsonian Channel Announces New Series A LIFE AMONG MONKEYS
by Kaitlin Milligan - March 19, 2019
Smithsonian Channel will introduce viewers to a class-conscious community of Sri Lankan monkeys in a new documentary to air during the network's Wild Wednesday lineup. The one-hour special draws upon the remarkable work of Dr. Wolfgang Dittus, who has spent over 50 years studying the charismatic toq...
Smithsonian Channel Presents Two-Hour Special ROME'S CHARIOT SUPERSTAR
by Kaitlin Milligan - March 14, 2019
With new discoveries from the world of Roman chariot racing, ROME'S CHARIOT SUPERSTAR pieces together an epic view of the lost ancient sport – the most popular and longest-lived form of mass entertainment in the Roman world, yet also the most lethal. Smithsonian Channel's new two-hour special offe...
Smithsonian Channel Heads To The Frozen Forests Of Northern Europe To Witness Battle For Survival
by Tori Hartshorn - February 27, 2019
Smithsonian Channel's new special WOLF VS. BEAR brings two archenemies together in a fight for food and survival. Shot over the course of a full year across the far northern wild of Norway, Finland and Russia, this one-hour special follows the tracks of two of nature's most formidable predators and ...
Smithsonian Channel To Debut EPIC YELLOWSTONE With Bill Pullman
by Tori Hartshorn - February 07, 2019
The eagerly anticipated series EPIC YELLOWSTONE is set to give audiences a front row seat to the extraordinary spectacle of wildlife and dramatic seasonal extremes in the iconic crown jewel of America's national parks. Hosted by renowned actor and Montana local Bill Pullman, and filmed over the cour...
Smithsonian Channel Presents Special MY JOURNEY WITH A POLAR BEAR
by Kaitlin Milligan - February 07, 2019
With climate change at the forefront of the world's natural crises, Smithsonian Channel takes you on a dramatic adventure that reveals an ever-changing Arctic. In MY JOURNEY WITH A POLAR BEAR, viewers will get an intimate look at one polar bear mother's struggle to raise her cubs as her home melts ...
The Smithsonian Channel and Bill Pullman Present EPIC YELLOWSTONE
by Kaitlin Milligan - February 05, 2019
The eagerly anticipated series EPIC YELLOWSTONE is set to give audiences a front row seat to the extraordinary spectacle of wildlife and dramatic seasonal extremes in the iconic crown jewel of America's national parks. Hosted by renowned actor and Montana local Bill Pullman, and filmed over the cour...
Smithsonian Channel Presents New Series, AMERICA'S HIDDEN STORIES
by Kaitlin Milligan - February 01, 2019
The Salem witch trials. The Spanish influenza of 1918. The treason of Benedict Arnold. These events are notorious in American history, but new revelations suggest we don't know their full stories. Smithsonian Channel's new series AMERICA'S HIDDEN STORIES delves into hidden records to investigate wha...
The Smithsonian Channel Presents THE GREEN BOOK: GUIDE TO FREEDOM
by Kaitlin Milligan - January 23, 2019
On the heels of the Golden Globe® winning film Green Book, Smithsonian Channel is taking a deeper look into the real story of The Negro Motorist Green Book during the Jim Crow era and beyond. THE GREEN BOOK: GUIDE TO FREEDOM tells the story of Victor H. Green's eponymously named travel guide t...
Smithsonian Channel Kicks Off Wild Wednesdays with Three Film Premieres
by Kaitlin Milligan - January 07, 2019
Smithsonian Channel prepares to captivate animal lovers of all kinds with astonishing revelations of the wild in three brand new films kicking off the network's signature Wild Wednesdays for 2019. From some of the most incredible wildlife moments ever caught on camera to the amazing survival methods...
Smithsonian Network Launches VOD Subscription Service
by Tori Hartshorn - December 13, 2018
According to Variety, Smithsonian Networks has announced the launch of a new subscription VOD service called Smithsonian Channel Plus. For $5 a month, subscribers will have access to over 1,000 hours of content. Read more about the announcement from Variety here!...
Smithsonian Channel to Premiere BIRD VS. PLANE: MIRACLE ON THE HUDSON
by Kaitlin Milligan - December 11, 2018
On the 10th anniversary of US Airways Flight 1549's miraculous landing on the Hudson River, Smithsonian Channel revisits the event to explore the impact of bird strikes in aviation accidents around the world. Featuring first-person accounts from survivors and flight safety experts working to reduce...
Smithsonian Channel Presents DISASTERS AT SEA
by Kaitlin Milligan - December 06, 2018
From pleasure cruises to cargo carriers, even the calmest boat trips can end in tragedy. In the aftermath of the world's most destructive naval catastrophes, loved ones and investigators are often left with unsatisfying answers. Following its acclaimed series AIR DISASTERS, which has uncovered shock...
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