PBS North Carolina Announces New Season of 'Reel South'
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PBS NORTH CAROLINA ANNOUNCES NEW SEASON OF ‘REEL SOUTH’
The acclaimed PBS series returns with an exciting new slate of documentaries from across the American South.
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC, 4/23/2026 — PBS North Carolina will premiere season 11 of the Peabody Award–winning docuseries Reel South on Thursday, May 7, at 9:30 PM, on PBS NC. All films from this season will also be available online, on the free PBS app and YouTube.
“PBS North Carolina is proud to help bring Reel South’s powerful storytelling to our viewers,” says Rachel Raney, PBS North Carolina’s executive producer for the series. “This season spans seven states, including the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, and spotlights people who challenge the forces shaping communities across the South. We hope these films create a space for understanding and connection.”
The films featured this season on Reel South follow people who have transformed lived experience into action, from confronting a wrongful conviction (Night in West Texas) and opening dialogue around gun violence (Louder Than Guns, featuring Old Crow Medicine Show) to protecting rivers on Native land (Drowned Land). In these films, storytelling, music, performance and art become a way to push institutions and audiences toward compassion. That spirit of expression continues in the season’s short films, many of which are winners of the Reel South Short Award, presented at some of the South’s most dynamic film festivals.
Reel South is a coproduction of PBS North Carolina, South Carolina ETV and Louisiana Public Broadcasting, and is produced in association with Alabama Public Television, South Florida PBS, Tennessee Public Television Council and WABE, with fiscal and organizational support from Southern Documentary Fund.
Broadcast Schedule
Reel South airs Thursdays at 9:30 PM on PBS NC. Please note that the series will be preempted June 4 due to a pledge drive. Visit pbsnc.org/schedule for the latest scheduling information.
Night in West Texas
Thursday, May 7, 9:30 PM
Director Deborah Esquenazi
This film reexamines the 1981 conviction of a gay Apache man accused of murdering a closeted priest, revealing decades of prejudice embedded in the justice system.
Louder Than Guns
Thursday, May 14, 9:30 PM
Director Doug Pray
Following a Nashville school shooting, Ketch Secor, his band Old Crow Medicine Show and journalist David Greene travel the country and host open, community-driven conversations about gun violence.
Stay Prayed Up (encore presentation)
Thursday, May 21, 9:30 PM
Directors D.L. Anderson & Matt Durning
This documentary spotlights Mother Lena Mae Perry and North Carolina’s legendary gospel family group The Branchettes. The film captures the electrifying spirit of their performances while tracing how decades of faith, music and leadership transformed a small church choir into one of the South’s most beloved gospel traditions.
Drowned Land
Thursday, May 28, 9:30 PM
Director Colleen Thurston; produced with Vision Maker Media
A proposed dam in the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma sparks a filmmaker’s investigation into generations of Native displacement, environmental stewardship and her own family’s complicated role in shaping the region’s waterways.
Shorts: Discount Funeral & No se ve desde acá
Thursday, June 11, 9:30 PM
Discount Funeral (directed by Brett Whitcomb) presents a haunting scrapbook portrait of small-town Alabama. No se ve desde acá (directed by Enrique Pedráza-Botero) offers an experimental meditation on Miami’s restless pursuit of the American Dream.
Shorts: Jan Beauboeuf: The Creative Spirit, Police Dive & Teddy
Thursday, June 18, 9:30 PM
Jan Beauboeuf: The Creative Spirit (directed by Graham Holt; now streaming) is an intimate portrait of an 88-year-old Louisiana artist whose lifelong creative practice reflects resilience, memory and the enduring power of making art. Police Dive (directed by Teresa Carante) follows a Virginia dive detective recovering evidence and his own spiritual healing from the bottom of a lake. Teddy (directed by Lauren Santucci) follows a Houston-based security guard who is also a birth doula for Black mothers.
Shorts Compilation: Boil That Cabbage Down, Red Sands & George V
Thursday, June 25, 9:30 PM
In Boil That Cabbage Down (directed by Candace Williamson), a novice musician uncovers the banjo’s overlooked ties to slavery and racism. George V (codirected by Dennis Scholl and Dia Kontaxis) is a portrait of a Ukrainian Jewish immigrant whose artwork found an unlikely audience amid Miami’s vibrant 1970s creative scene. Red Sands (directed by Romina Cenisio) captures a Mexican American off-road community racing across the blazing Texas–Mexico border dune.
About Reel South
Reel South is a PBS documentary series that showcases authentic and inspiring stories that unearth the spirit of the South today. With every film, the series explores the multifaceted layers of Southern life across themes of social justice, cultural experience, environmental challenges and more. For more information on Reel South, visit reelsouth.org.
About PBS North Carolina
As North Carolina’s statewide PBS network serving the country’s third largest public media market, PBS North Carolina educates, informs, entertains and inspires its audience on air, online and in person. Through its unique partnership of public investment and private support, the network includes in-person engagement, digital-first social and online content delivery and four over-the-air channels: PBS NC, Rootle PBS KIDS channel, the Explorer Channel and the North Carolina Channel. Its transformational events and content spark curiosity and wonder for all North Carolinians. Additionally, PBS North Carolina serves as the backbone for North Carolina’s state emergency services. To learn more about PBS North Carolina, visit pbsnc.org or follow us on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.
-PBS NC-
Press Kit & Media Contacts
Nicholas Price, Series Producer
nick@reelsouth.org
PBS North Carolina
press@pbsnc.org