COUNTRY MUSIC
PBS, 8:00 p.m. ET
DOCUMENTARY SERIES PREMIERE: With his multipart series Jazz, Ken Burns and company made a case for the originality and development of a quintessentially American musical genre. That was 18 years ago. And now, even more confident, accomplished and focused, Burns and his team turn their attention to Country Music, which has roots and tendrils that stretch to even more places in America’s history and emotional memory. Longtime Burns collaborator Dayton Duncan is the writer, Burns is the director, and Country Music starts out of the gate as yet another of Burns’ “race and place” triumphs. Tonight’s opener is the musicologist’s equivalent of a superhero origin story, tracing the beginnings of country music to a few specific locations, and dramatizing the discovery and popularity of the genre’s first, still influential stars, the Carter Family and Jimmie Rodgers. Want to know about the development of the guitar-picking style of the former, or the yodeling of the latter? It’s all here, and more, told in smart, methodical, engrossing style. Check local listings. For full reviews, see the carousel above Best Bets. You might get the idea we think it's worth watching.