What to Watch Sunday: New documentaries on Lincoln and LBJ, plus ‘Summer of Soul’
Summer of Soul (8 p.m., ABC) - In his acclaimed debut as a filmmaker, Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson presents a powerful and transporting documentary which is part music film and part historical record, and created around an epic event that celebrated Black history, culture and fashion. Over the course of six weeks in the summer of 1969, just one hundred miles south of Woodstock, The Harlem Cultural Festival was filmed in Marcus Garvey Park. The footage was never seen and largely forgotten until now. This documentary, which premiered last year on Hulu, includes never-before-seen concert performances by Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone, Sly & the Family Stone, Gladys Knight & the Pips, Ray Baretto, Abbey Lincoln & Max Roach and more.
Abraham Lincoln (8 p.m., HISTORY) - A three-night documentary event intended to be a definitive biography of the 16th president — the man who led the country during its bloodiest war and greatest crisis. Executive produced by presidential historian and Pulitzer Prize-winning bestselling author Doris Kearns Goodwin, “Abraham Lincoln” is based upon Kearns Goodwin’s New York Times bestseller, “Leadership: In Turbulent Times.” From HISTORY: “From the impoverished childhood of Lincoln (played by Emmy-nominated actor Graham Sibley) to his days as a young prairie lawyer and budding politician, through his unlikely election to the presidency and his assassination only five days after the end of the Civil War, ‘Abraham Lincoln’ offers viewers new and surprising insights into the man consistently ranked by historians and the American people as the country’s greatest president. Viewers will learn of the lesser-known aspects of Lincoln’s life and leadership through premium dramatic live-action scenes where his humility, empathy, resilience, ambition, political acumen, and humor are on full display. Combined with expert interviews —including President Barack Obama, Gen. Stan McCrystal, and renowned historians Christy Coleman, Dr. Allen Guelzo, Dr. Edna Greene Medford, Harold Holzer, Dr. Caroline Janney, Dr. Catherine Clinton— archival photos and news accounts, Lincoln’s letters, writings and speeches, and remembrances from his contemporaries, this miniseries provides a fresh, present-day understanding of the complexities of young Abraham Lincoln who grows to become President Lincoln, the man who saved the Union, won the war and secured emancipation.”
LBJ: Triumph and Tragedy (9 p.m., CNN) - This four-part documentary offers a captivating look at Lyndon B. Johnson, one of the most consequential and enigmatic presidents in American history. From CNN: “Thrust into the presidency under tragic circumstances, LBJ used the office to pass the most significant civil rights legislation since Reconstruction. While managing to reshape the social fabric of the nation, he simultaneously escalated one America’s most controversial wars, that subsequently overshadowed his domestic accomplishments. ‘LBJ: Triumph and Tragedy’ examines the larger-than-life figure full of fascinating contradictions, that left behind a complicated and polarizing legacy.” This debuts with back-to-back episodes tonight and the final two episodes tomorrow. Tonight, Johnson becomes the 36th president of the United States during a national tragedy, he immediately uses the office to pass the most significant civil rights legislation in nearly a century. At 10, Johnson is emboldened by his stunning election victory and seizes the moment to pursue the “Great Society,” with civil rights struggles in Selma offering a unique opportunity to push his domestic policies forward.
Some programming descriptions are provided by networks.
