University of Wisconsin - Extension

With a new reality series coming to Wisconsin Public Television (WPT) as the centerpiece, the six-station network will begin offering a slate of innovative programming in April that will likely appeal to some non-traditional public broadcasting audiences.

"American High" debuts at 9 p.m. Wednesday, April 4. The hour-long weekly segments examine the angst and triumphs of what it means to come of age in America through the eyes of 16-, 17- and 18-year-old high school students.

The group, 14 high school juniors and seniors just south of Wisconsin in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park, spent a year recording first-person accounts of their lives through video diaries.

Video crews, under the skillful direction of respected filmmaker R.J. Cutler, rounded out the diaries with other footage - championship high school football games, clattering lockers and squeaking school bus brakes, tense confrontations with parents and students juggling after-school jobs and mountains of homework. Cutler's other notable work is the political documentary "The War Room," which made stars of George Stephanopolous and James Carville.

"This kind of programming is a departure from what people expect to see on public television, but it's not an abandonment of our traditional programming and of our long-time viewers. We're reaching out to new audiences with 'American High,' and I think pre-teen, teen and parent viewers will like what they see," said Garry Denny, WPT programming and content manager.

Some have described the series as a real view of reality. Yet, Denny said it does not put WPT's offerings into the same mix as "Survivor" or "Temptation Island." "Much of what public broadcasting already does is 'reality' television," he said. "When we aired our award-winning documentary on Wisconsin prisons last year, that was reality television. When we aired the popular PBS offering 'The Farmers Wife,' that was reality television at its best. Reality television can be quality television. Reality television is not synonymous with titillation and shock value."

"American High" episodes will encore at 10 p.m. on Saturday nights, as part of a new line-up of other programs that should be intriguing for younger viewers. That line-up includes:

"The Industry," about a brash television executive at a fictional commercial network, at 9 p.m. Saturdays.

"American High" at 10 p.m. Saturdays.

"Robot Wars," the original 'battle of the 'bots" program. It is a British series pitting home-built robots against "house" robots in weekly gladiator-style battles, at 11 p.m. Saturdays.

"EGG the arts show" will air at midnight Saturdays. It is a series about people making art across America and it explores things like yodeling, ballroom dancing and experimental filmmaking.

WPT is a service of the Wisconsin Educational Communications Board and the University of Wisconsin-Extension.

Wisconsin Public Television is a place to grow through learning on WHA-TV/Madison, WPNE-TV/Green Bay, WHRM/TV-Wausau, WLEF-TV/Park Falls, WHLA-TV/La Crosse and WHWC-TV/Menomonie-Eau Claire.