New for the New Year

A weekly drama is one of the year's new programs
Edited by Jill Zayszly and Mary Eileen O'Connor

January is a time for change and resolution, and WHYY is ringing in the New Year with new programming on TV12.

In addition to new programs from Antiques Roadshow, American Experience and Frontline, these compelling and provocative series are also debuting on TV12 this month:

Senior Year is a candid new series filmed in Los Angeles' Fairfax High School, one of the most diverse public schools in America. The program captures the emotion and experience of a pivotal time of growth, questioning and change -- the last year of high school. Documenting the journey of 15 students from adolescence to adulthood, Senior Year combines the joy, fear and pain associated with this important phase of character development, and sets it against an emerging American culture that blurs ethnic and societal boundaries.
Begins Friday, January 11 at 11 p.m.

Veteran journalist Bill Moyers hosts NOW with Bill Moyers, a new, weekly public affairs series that provides context and meaning for the news of our time. Each hour-long episode will feature content that is timely and topical, with a mix of original documentary segments, conversations with a range of experts, essays and commentary and weekly contributions from National Public Radio.
Fridays at 8 p.m. beginning January 18

The five-part series The Secret Life of the Brain explores the startling new map of the brain that has emerged from the past decade of neuroscience, a view that contradicts much of what was previously believed and holds out hope for dramatic advances in the areas of addiction, depression, learning disorders, Alzheimer's disease and even schizophrenia. Narrated by actress Blair Brown, the series tells extraordinary stories through a mix of personal histories, expert commentary and cutting-edge animation.
Tuesdays at 9 p.m. beginning January 22

American Family is the first Latino drama series ever to air on broadcast television. Starring Academy Award-nominated actor Edward James Olmos, Constance Marie, Raquel Welch and a cast of acclaimed Latino actors, the series reveals the enduring strength of family in America today as it chronicles the lives of the Gonzalez family, residents of an East Los Angeles neighborhood.

Olmos portrays family patriarch Jess Gonzalez, a Mexican-American barbershop owner and father of four children. A bellowing conservative, Jess is constantly struggling against the ever-changing modern world. As American Family begins, the siblings, including Vangie, a professional woman married to an "Anglo," and Conrado, a doctor, want Jess and Berta (Sonia Braga) to move away from the old family home and offer to buy them a condominium.

Nina (Marie) has just landed a plum job as a congressional aide in Washington and plans to leave the area. Esteban (Esai Morales), the black sheep of the family, is trying his best to take care of his six-year-old son, Pablito. The extended family includes flamboyant Aunt Dora (Welch), Jess' sister.

"The series is about an American family, living in Los Angeles, that happens to be Latino," says Academy Award-nominated director Gregory Nava. "I wanted to create a show that will make the audience laugh and cry as it chronicles the daily struggles and triumphs of a family. American Family is about everyone's family." Begins Wednesday, January 23 at 8 p.m.