Explore the Life of L. Frank Baum In “American Oz” Premiering on PBS This Spring

Find your way back to the Land of Oz in a new documentary coming soon to PBS. The upcoming film is called "American Oz," and it explores the life of author L. Frank Baum, the mind behind The Wonderful Wizard of Oz novels. The documentary will premiere on PBS in April as part of the American Experience series, which highlights history, arts, and culture in America.

According to PBS, the film invites viewers to "explore the life of L. Frank Baum, the man behind one of the most beloved, enduring and quintessential American classics. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, published in 1900, has been reinterpreted through the generations in films, books, and musicals."

Baum wrote hundreds of works—scripts, poems, novels, and short stories—in addition to the 14 books in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz series, which also includes The Marvelous Land of Oz, Ozma of Oz, Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz, The Road to Oz, The Emerald City of Oz, and the last Oz book, Glinda of Oz. The works have been adapted into several films, including the classic 1939 movie musical starring Judy Garland, as well as plays and musicals, including 2003's Wicked, which is based upon the Gregory Maguire novel of the same name that itself re-imagines the lives of Baum's characters.

"American Oz" will premiere on American Experience on PBS on Monday, April 19, 2021, at 9 p.m. E.T. (Check local listings to confirm.) You can find more information about "American Oz" and the rest of the scheduled American Experience programming at pbs.org/show/american-experience. To learn more about The Wizard of Oz, check out these 10 Little-Known Facts About The Wizard of Oz.

What are your favorite classic book series? Will you tune in to learn about the mind behind the world of Oz?