American Masters: Season 30 (2016)

Elaine May directs this profile of Mike Nichols (1931-2014), who helmed such films as "The Graduate," "Biloxi Blues" and "Working Girl"--and, of course, was half of the Nichols and May comedy team in the late 1950s and early '60s. Included: an interview with Nichol; and remarks from such friends as Meryl Streep, Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, Dustin Hoffman, Alec Baldwin, Paul Simon, Matthew Broderick, Nathan Lane, Bob Balaban, Tony Kushner, Neil Simon, Frank Langella and James L. Brooks.

A profile of B.B. King (1925-2015), who was born to Mississippi sharecroppers, features the legendary bluesman reflecting on his life and career, including why he named his guitars Lucille. It also includes footage of a 1968 concert at the Fillmore West in San Francisco; and of a King-Bono collaboration in which King explains that he "does not do chords." Among those interviewed: Bono; George Benson; Eric Clapton; Aaron Neville; Bonnie Raitt; Carlos Santana; Ringo Starr; and Johnny Winter.

A profile of Fats Domino, a pivotal player in the birth of rock 'n' roll. During the 1950s and early '60s, he scored 63 pop hits and 59 R&B hits, including such classics as "Ain't That a Shame," "Blueberry Hill" and "I'm Walkin'." In fact, his sales were second only to Elvis Presley's at the time. Born in 1928, he left school after the fourth grade to focus on music; and found success when "The Fat Man"—considered one of the first rock 'n' roll records—hit No. 1 on the R&B charts in early 1950.

A profile of country music icon Loretta Lynn, whose hard-fought road to stardom was dramatized in the 1980 film "Coal Miner's Daughter." Included: home movies, photos and concert footage, plus insights from family, friends and fellow musicians, including Garth Brooks, Sheryl Crow, Miranda Lambert, Reba McEntire, Willie Nelson, Jack White and Trisha Yearwood.

A profile of Janis Joplin (1943-70), featuring letters she wrote her parents; archival footage; and insights from her siblings Laura and Michael; Big Brother and the Holding Company's Peter Albin, Sam Andrew and Dave Getz; and Country Joe McDonald, among others. Joplin's influence on musicians who followed in her wake is discussed by Melissa Etheridge, Juliette Lewis, Alecia Moore (aka Pink) and narrator Chan Marshall (aka Cat Power), who also performs Joplin's "A Woman Left Lonely."

The story of the Highwaymen, the country supergroup that consisted of Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash and Kris Kristofferson. Included: concert footage; a behind-the-scenes look at life on the road and in the studio; and remarks from Nelson, Kristofferson, Jennings' wife Jessi Colter and Cash's son John Carter Cash. Also: archival interviews with Cash and Jennings.

A profile of Norman Lear, the creative mastermind behind such influential sitcoms as "All in the Family," "The Jeffersons," "Maude" and "Good Times." The shows changed the TV landscape in the early 1970s by using humor to promote social change. In 1981, he expanded his effort to influence public opinion by founding People for the American Way, a liberal advocacy group. The documentary features footage from Lear's own archives as well as remarks from Lear, family, friends and colleagues.