PBS OFFERS SPECIAL PROGRAMS ON THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS IN OCTOBER 2012

CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS - THREE MEN GO TO WAR and SECRETS OF THE DEAD "The Man Who Saved the World" Tell the Dramatic, Inside Story of the Crisis

ARLINGTON, VA - JULY 21, 2012 - Fifty years after the events that brought the world to the brink of nuclear disaster, PBS will offer two new special programs about the Cuban Missile Crisis on Tuesday, October 23, 2012. CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS - THREE MEN GO TO WAR (8:00 p.m. ET) brings to life the three central figures in the crisis - President John F. Kennedy, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev and Cuban leader Fidel Castro - while SECRETS OF THE DEAD "The Man Who Saved the World" (9:00 p.m. ET) reveals the dramatic and shocking story of the events that took place beneath the waves when a lone Russian submariner refused to fire a nuclear missile.

"Some viewers will remember the days when schoolchildren practiced duck and cover drills because the threat of nuclear attack was imminent," said John F. Wilson, Senior Vice President and Chief TV Programming Executive. "Others have no idea that the world came so close to World War III and mutually assured destruction. As new details about this crisis have been declassified, the 50th anniversary is a great opportunity to explore why these events happened and how war was ultimately averted."

On October 22, 1962, President John F. Kennedy informed the world that the Soviet Union was building secret missile bases on the island of Cuba, 90 miles off the shores of Florida. The events of the next tension-filled 13 days, known as the Cuban Missile Crisis, struck fear across the globe as the world teetered on the edge of nuclear disaster. The fate of the planet ultimately lay in the hands of three powerful men: Khrushchev, Castro and Kennedy. CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS - THREE MEN GO TO WAR, premiering Tuesday, October 23, 8:00-9:00 p.m. ET (check local listings), explores the roles the three iconic leaders played during some of the most dangerous moments in history, set against the human stories of ordinary men in the field such as the Soviet man who shot down the U2 piloted by U.S. Air Force Major Rudolf Anderson on the worst day of the crisis.

The film features revealing interviews with key witnesses and experts, including Sergei Khrushchev, son of the former Soviet premier; Ted Sorensen, former member of the renowned Executive Committee of the U.S. National Security Council; former KGB and CIA operatives; and Captain Jerry Coffee, the reconnaissance pilot who made a split second decision to veer off course in Cuba and revealed a new type of nuclear weapon that could have annihilated invading American forces. An edge-of-your seat tale of espionage and intrigue at the highest level, CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS - THREE MEN GO TO WAR offers a fascinating perspective on one of the most harrowing times in modern history. From Crossing the Line Productions, the film is produced by John Murray, and co-directed by Murray and Emer Reynolds.

SECRETS OF THE DEAD "The Man Who Saved the World," which premieres Tuesday, October 23, 9:00-10:00 p.m. ET (check local listings), is an intimate and intense film exploring the dramatic and little-known events that unfolded inside a Soviet B-59 submarine in the waters off the coast of Florida. While politicians desperately sought a solution to the standoff between Russia, the U.S. and Cuba, no one was aware of what was happening beneath the waves. The story of Vasili Arkhipov, the man who refused to fire the nuclear missile, was hidden for decades, only emerging in Russia in recent years. With most of the action set in a claustrophobic submarine running out of air, "The Man Who Saved the World" combines tense drama with eyewitness accounts and expert testimony about some of the most critical events in the Cold War. A Bedlam Production for THIRTEEN in association with WNET; executive producer for Thirteen is Steve Burns; executive producer for Bedlam Productions is Simon Breen; and executive in charge is Stephen Segaller.

Funded by public television viewers and PBS.

About Bedlam Productions

Based in London, BAFTA and Academy Award-winning Bedlam Productions' key areas of activity are feature film and documentary production. Both founder members have worked extensively for major national and international broadcast networks and film production companies, gaining critical and commercial acclaim.

About Crossing the Line Productions

Crossing the Line is a multi-award winning production company that has made films for many of the world's leading broadcasters. Their film Broken Tail, co-produced with PBS' NATURE series, recently won the top awards at the world's leading wildlife film festivals in the U.S. and has just received two Emmy Nominations. The company specializes in wildlife, history and exploration.

About PBS

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