Current's The Pub

PBS’s “Mercy Street” has two daunting jobs to do at once: A) replace “Downton Abbey,” the most successful drama in PBS history; B) prove that American public television can make great scripted TV instead of just importing it from the U.K. Has this Civil War medical drama succeeded against that nearly impossible yardstick? We ask Slate culture critic (and native Brit) June Thomas. Short answer: No. This week, we hear Thomas’ take on where PBS’s big-budget effort went wrong, and contemplate the role of expensive dramatic series in public service broadcasting. Also, Michigan Radio proves what public media is all about with its Flint water coverage, and host Adam Ragusea argues that news people should stop referring to Martin Luther King Jr. as “Dr. King.”