More information: IMDB
Watch Circus Season 1
Episode 6
Down the Road
aired: Tue, Nov 16, 2010
Emotions run high as the circus season winds down. Many members of the cast and crew won’t be going back to Big Apple next season — some are heading to Europe; others are still trying to figure out what’s next. Some of the younger performers who have grown up in the circus consider leaving circus life. The night before the final shows, the crew puts on a traditional spoof called “Midnight Clowns” for the performers. The laughter is infectious and the partings bittersweet. As the trailers pull out of the lot and the tent comes down for the last time, we join in the time-honored circus farewell: not “goodbye,” but “see you down the road.”
Episode 5
Born to Be Circus
aired: Tue, Nov 16, 2010
Big Apple’s founder and its newly installed artistic director embark on their annual trip to the renowned Monte Carlo circus festival — a kind of international circus family reunion — to scout fresh talent. Back in the U.S., the performers and the crew put on two shows a day and travel from Georgia to New Jersey, Massachusetts and New York. The Anastasinis, an eighth-generation circus family, wonder if their young sons will be content to carry on the family legacy.
Episode 4
Survival of the Fittest
aired: Tue, Nov 9, 2010
Squeeze into a tiny lot at New York’s Lincoln Center with the entire Big Apple Circus — tent, trailers, performers, crew and animals. It’s the holiday season and shows are packed, but snow and ice are collecting on the big top and the hoses that run water to the trailers are frozen solid. A beloved miniature pony dies suddenly from colic. Cast and crew are sick and exhausted, but the show goes on. Some members of the Big Apple family — a crewman, a trapeze artist, even the artistic director — contemplate leaving the circus world behind.
Episode 3
Change On!
aired: Tue, Nov 9, 2010
Join the circus at their first performance stop in Virginia, where dramatic last-minute changes to the show, lackluster ticket sales and a cancer diagnosis ratchet up the pressure.
Episode 2
One Ring Family
aired: Tue, Nov 2, 2010
Feel the tension mount as rivalries and romances blossom and the circus' first dress rehearsal approaches. The show is nowhere near ready - and the fate of more than a few performers hangs in the balance.
Episode 1
First of May
aired: Tue, Nov 2, 2010
Welcome to Walden, New York, where the 150 performers and crew members of the legendary Big Apple Circus gather from around the world to put together the new show for their annual 350-performance tour. As sets are built, costumes designed and fitted, acts rehearsed and refined, meet the members of the Big Apple family: the veteran clown who plays the circus’ most enduring and beloved character, and the slightly neurotic novice whose clowning covers a painful past; the newly assembled trapeze troupe that can’t seem to catch a trick; the zany, tightly wound guest director who lives for the circus; and the kids of the rough-and-tumble ring crew, all of whom seem to be looking for a fresh start. But as a bomb threat proves, running away to the circus doesn’t always guarantee your troubles won’t find you.
Episodes
Episode
Circus: First of May
aired: Thu, Nov 4, 2010
Walden, New York is home base of the Big Apple Circus. Here, the 150 members of the company gather from all over the country and the world to put together a new show for their year-long, town-to-town tour. As the sets are built, costumes designed and fitted, acts rehearsed and refined, we get acquainted with the members of the Big Apple family.
Episode
Circus: Down the Road
aired: Sun, Oct 24, 2010
Amid the final performances, we hear about everyone's plans for the future. Many will be leaving Big Apple Circus. Some have consciously chosen a different path. Others have no idea what they're going to do next. As the trailers pull out of the lot, and the tent comes down for the last time, we join in the time-honored circus farewell: not "goodbye," but "see you down the road."
Episode
Circus: Born to be Circus
aired: Sun, Oct 24, 2010
Many performers who grew up in the circus find it difficult to imagine another kind of life. Luciano and Gladis Anastasini who are in charge of this year's dog act, are no exception. Seven generations of circus performers have preceded them. Both grew up in the circus, and it is the only life they have ever known. The question is, will their sons Adriano and Brando carry on the family legacy?
Episode
Circus: Survival of the Fittest
aired: Sun, Oct 24, 2010
We're in New York's Lincoln Center. The snow is coming down and the garden hoses that supply running water to the trailers are frozen solid. Still, the show goes on. Circus life can be a grind - and it isn't for everyone. A crewman, a trapeze artist, and even Artistic Director Paul Binder weigh their options and contemplate making a transition to the "real world."
Episode
Circus: Change On!
aired: Sun, Oct 24, 2010
On the eve of the first performance, a pivotal act is cut and the performers sent packing. Tensions are running high. Making matters worse, a seasoned company regular has been diagnosed with cancer and will drop out of the show. Lackluster ticket sales are not helping the situation. The next stop is New York City and as the trailers hit the road again, everyone knows what's at stake.
Episode
Circus: One Ring Family
aired: Sun, Oct 24, 2010
The clock is ticking down to the first full dress rehearsal in Walden, but the show is nowhere near ready. As the pressure ratchets up, and the fate of the performers and the show hangs in the balance, we get inside the dynamics of the Big Apple family, watching relationships begin to gel, and tracking developing rivalries and romances.
Episode
Circus: PBS Previews: CIRCUS
aired: Wed, Jul 28, 2010
A preview of the PBS series, CIRCUS, which follows the Big Apple Circus on their annual year-long town-to-town tour. The preview includes behind-the-scenes footage and commentary from the filmmakers on the making of the series.
