PBS says its Passport streaming library offers members more than 1,000 episodes of American Experience, American Masters, Antiques Roadshow, Masterpiece, Nature, NOVA, and more of its popular shows. And different streaming services also let newcomers experience PBS hits, too. But some productions from the public broadcaster just aren’t available on PBS Passport or other streamers, no matter how many times we chant “PBS!” (That’s short for “Please Be Streaming,” obviously.) Here are some of those glaring omissions:
Wishbone
“What’s the story, Wishbone? What’s this you’re dreaming up?” Oh, streaming availability? Us, too! For more than 50 episodes, a Jack Russell Terrier named Wishbone (played IRL by Soccer the Dog) introduced kids to classic literature stories, and we’d love to revisiting those retellings.
American Playhouse
This show kicked off in 1982 with John Cheever’s “The Shady Hill Kidnapping” and became the longest-running anthology drama series on American television before ending its run in 1996 with Stephen Sondheim’s Passion. Sadly, the passion hasn’t reached streaming…
Broadway: The American Musical
Speaking of Sondheim, he and Julie Andrews, Joel Grey, Audra McDonald, and many more stage stars appeared in this six-part docuseries about the Great White Way, winner of the 2005 Emmy for Outstanding Nonfiction Series. If only streaming TV would give its regards to Broadway…
Anne of Green Gables
Many fans consider 1985’s two-part adaptation of Lucy Maud Montgomery’s classic novel the best version of the story. Unfortunately, it’s not currently streaming, so fans will have to find Nova Scotia’s most famous orphan girl elsewhere.
The Adams Chronicles
Boy Meets World actor William Daniels is one of several actors who have played multiple TV presidents, including John Quincy Adams in this miniseries released in 1976 to mark the American Bicentennial. The production got 20 Emmy nominations, but apparently that’s not incentive enough to bring it to streaming…
Bill Nye the Science Guy
Science rules. Streaming unavailability drools. The Internet Archive currently hosts the complete series of Bill Nye’s seminal educational program, and YouTubers have uploaded bootleg copies, but it’s not currently streaming on any TV-friendly platform.
An American Family
This PBS production is considered the first reality TV show, and in 2002, TV Guide Magazine included it in its list of the 50 Greatest Shows of All Time. But streaming TV audiences don’t have the chance to meet the Loud family in this slice of 1970s American life.
The Pallisers
A quasi-successor to The Forsyte Saga, this adaptation of Anthony Trollope’s Palliser novels tells another Victorian saga with multiple generations of characters. Ideally, you could stream this show and see who gets to play a character named Plantagenet Palliser, but alas…
Cosmos
“Does anyone know where you can watch/stream/get the original Cosmos with Carl Sagan?” one Reddit user asked four years ago. Unfortunately, the documentary series about space and time still isn’t streaming, and we hope we won’t have to wait until “The Edge of Forever” for a platform to pick it up.
War and Peace
Even at 15 hours long, this 1972 production offers a speedier way to experience Leo Tolstoy’s 500,000-word-plus literary epic about Russian aristocracy in the Napoleonic era. And it features a star turn from Sir Anthony Hopkins. No Peace until this War makes it to streaming!
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