Get ready for a new series featuring Ann Curry from The Today Show. We’ll Meet Again will feature reunions of people that met during big events in world events, including September 11th and the Vietnam War.
PBS revealed more about this new series in a press release. Check that out below.
“WE’LL MEET AGAIN, a new series produced by Blink Films in partnership with AnnCurry Inc., premieres Tuesdays, January 23-February 27, 2018, 8:00-9:00 p.m. ET (check local listings) on PBS. Exploring some of history’s most dramatic events through the personal stories of those who experienced them, the series brings together people whose lives intersected at pivotal moments. Executive produced and reported by Ann Curry, each episode of WE’LL MEET AGAIN reveals the powerful bonds forged among people who now, against the odds, have the chance to reunite with someone who transformed their life.
The tides of history can disrupt lives, throwing strangers together or tearing loved ones apart. WE’LL MEET AGAIN reveals these moving personal stories of hope, courage and love: from a Vietnam War baby desperate to find the American father she last saw 40 years ago to the military chaplain who helped a stranger through the trauma of 9/11, from a Japanese-American girl interned in 1942 who never forgot the classmate who helped her during her darkest hours to civil rights workers whose lives were forever changed by the deep relationships they formed in the 1960s South.
WE’LL MEET AGAIN takes viewers on a journey of hope, searching for clues in marriage records and war and immigration documents, and combing archives to reunite those separated by time and distance.
“This series helps people separated by conflict, war and humanitarian disasters find each other again and reveals untold stories of courage, survival, friendship and even love,” said Curry. “This is human history – not from the point of view of kings or politicians or generals – but of everyday people on the front lines of massive events they have no way to control. Their stories tell us something about what we are made of.”
“WE’LL MEET AGAIN is where history meets the drama of real life,” said Beth Hoppe, Chief Programming Executive and General Manager, General Audience Programming, PBS. “Major events are brought to life in a completely personal way through these memorable stories of those torn apart and thrown together. And how wonderful to have the opportunity to be present at these extraordinary reunions.”
“It’s a privilege to document the stories of ordinary men and women who lived through extraordinary moments in history,” said Justine Kershaw, Blink Films executive producer. “In their quest to be reunited they must unlock some traumatic personal memories of these historical events, and their courage to confront their past in order to finally meet again the person with whom they share a unique bond demonstrates the extraordinary power of the human spirit.”
THE EPISODES
“Children of WWII” – Tuesday, January 23, 2018, 8:00-9:00 p.m. ET
Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, the U.S. entered World War II. Two children whose lives were forever changed by the war search for lost friends. Reiko, a Japanese-American woman sent to an internment camp as a child, hopes to find the classmate who stood by her in the face of anti-Japanese sentiment. Peter, who fled the Nazis with his parents in 1938, searches for the family who befriended him in the last refuge open to the German Jews: the Shanghai Ghetto.
“Rescued From Mt. St. Helens” – Tuesday, January 30, 2018, 8:00-9:00 p.m. ET
When Mount St. Helens erupted on May 18, 1980, 57 people were killed and hundreds more injured. Volcanic ash was scattered across 11 states. In this episode, two people who survived the disaster reveal how the experience influenced their lives. Mindy, a trainee scientist whose inspirational team leader was killed by the blast wants to find his family to let them know he saved her life. Sue hopes to find the brave helicopter pilot who risked his own life to rescue her.
“Lost Children of Vietnam” – Tuesday, February 6, 2018, 8:00-9:00 p.m. ET
The war in Vietnam may have ended in 1975, but its impact lingers in countless lives today. Two children who became refugees after the war tell their stories. Tina, born in Saigon, searches for the American father she last saw more than 40 years ago, and Nam hopes to find Gary, the Texas cowboy he met as a 12-year-old refugee and who inspired his dream of coming to America.
“Heroes of 9/11” – Tuesday, February 13, 2018, 8:00-9:00 p.m. ET
During the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, DC, strangers were thrown together in unimaginable situations. Patrick, a businessman visiting New York, searches for Emily, the photographer’s assistant who comforted him after the collapse of the World Trade Center. Timothy, a military chaplain plunged into chaos at the Pentagon, hopes to thank the fellow chaplain who gave him the courage to carry on.
“Freedom Summer” – Tuesday, February 20, 2018, 8:00-9:00 p.m. ET
During the civil rights movement of the 1960s, Fatima, a teenager from New York, volunteered to register voters in Louisiana. Now, she returns to the South, hoping to find Thelma, the daughter of her host family, whose courage in the face of racism was unforgettable. Sherie searches for Lefty, the charismatic civil rights activist whose commitment to nonviolence inspired her own lifelong involvement with social justice causes.
“Coming Out” – Tuesday, February 27, 2018, 8:00-9:00 p.m. ET
For decades, gay Americans did not have equal protection under the law; many faced prejudice, possible imprisonment and rejection from their families and society. Two stories of the struggle for acceptance are told in this episode. Tom longs to find Maria, the friend he trusted with his secret and who saved him from brutal electroshock conversion therapy in the 1960s. Paul, who was University of New Hampshire student body president in 1973, searches for Wayne, who organized the first gay student organization on campus. Wayne’s courage to take the fight to court against overwhelming opposition from the state’s conservative governor changed Paul’s life and ultimately helped him accept his own sexuality.
WE’LL MEET AGAIN is a production of Blink Films. The series is produced by Simon Harries, and executive producers Ann Curry, Justine Kershaw and Andra Heritage.
WE’LL MEET AGAIN is made possible by public television viewers.”
Will you check out We’ll Meet Again? Tell us what you think.
I didn’t get the alert I signed up for… already missed 2 episodes!!
Absolutely! I can’t wait to see it. Ann Curry is a gifted journalist who got screwed by The Today Show. She deserves to soar!
Matt Lauer brought me here.