What’s on PBS tonight? Here is the full PBS schedule for Saturday, October 31, 2026, with times in Eastern Time (ET).

PBS on Halloween night: the one network that skips the horror marathon

See also: What's on tonight across all channels | Wednesday's TV guide

On the biggest night of the year for scary television, PBS offers a documentary hour called Field of Vampires at 8pm ET/PT (7pm Central), and it is the smartest piece of counter-programming on the dial. Secrets of the Dead is in its 22nd season, this is episode two, and the title does the seasonal work without a single jump scare. Everything around it is calmer, which is the point.

Against it, the competition is loud. Fox has the World Series, FX has Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Food Network is running its Halloween Baking Championship, and Hallmark has Adopting St. Nick. PBS is the only one of them asking you to sit still and learn something. If you want a Halloween evening without a slasher or a sugar rush, 8pm is where you start, and I’m giving it four stars.

The rest of primetime holds up

Pati Jinich Explores Panamericana follows at 9pm ET/PT. At 9pm it sits opposite Halloween II on AMC and Scary Movie 2 on Bravo, so it picks up anyone who has had enough of horror and wants something warmer. It earns three stars from me, mostly for being the right show in the right slot.

Finding Your Roots closes primetime at 10pm ET/PT. The series is on its 11th season and has reached 116 episodes, a long run for a documentary series, and the 10pm slot is a quiet one: CBS has 48 Hours and Discovery has Expedition X, so nothing here is a hard clash for viewers who prefer talk and history over crime. Four stars. It is also a title that turns up on eight days in the current window, so if you miss it tonight you will get another go.

Earlier in the day

The morning is for children, and it leans into the date. Cyberchase has an episode called The Halloween Howl at 6:30am, the only series opener of the day. The show has reached 153 episodes, and a holiday-themed one at that hour is an easy win for families up early. Three stars. Arthur and the Haunted Tree House takes an hour from 10:30am, and Donkey Hodie has Spooky Shadow Swamp at 11:30am, so the Halloween theme runs right through the kids’ block.

The afternoon is the usual PBS DIY block. This Old House airs twice, with Essex County Colonial episodes at 1pm and 1:30pm, and the 1:30pm one is a repeat of the 5:30am slot. Ask This Old House follows with two half hours. Antiques Roadshow runs at 7pm for an hour, which makes a decent lead-in for the 8pm documentary.

Late and overnight

Austin City Limits has Ty Myers at 11pm ET, a music hour that gives the evening a gentle landing. Three stars. After midnight the schedule is thin: Firing Line twice, Washington Week, a Velvet film slot at 4am and Great Performances twice, including Samara Joy at Royal Albert Hall at 3am. None of it needs a sleepless night, though the Samara Joy hour is worth recording.

Tonight is not a big one for the network in volume, but it is the best-judged: one strong documentary, a sensible companion, and a fair amount of kids’ programming for the morning.


Also on TV tonight at 8pm ET

  • ABC: College Football (from 7:37pm ET)
  • NBC: College Football (from 7:30pm ET)
  • CBS: FBI
  • FOX: 2026 World Series
  • The CW: WWE NXT (from 7pm ET)
  • ION: Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
  • TCM: Dracula
  • AMC: Halloween (from 7pm ET)
  • FX: Ghostbusters: Afterlife
  • Freeform: Hocus Pocus (from 7:20pm ET)

Every channel tonight, side by side · Movies on TV this week · Tomorrow’s TV


Frequently asked questions

What’s on PBS tonight?

On Saturday, October 31, 2026, PBS shows Secrets of the Dead at 8pm ET, Pati Jinich Explores Panamericana at 9pm ET and Finding Your Roots at 10pm ET.

Is there a movie on PBS tonight?

No. PBS has no movies in its evening schedule on Saturday, October 31, 2026.

What’s on PBS late tonight?

After 11pm ET, PBS has Austin City Limits at 11pm ET.

What time does PBS’s evening start?

The evening schedule starts with Horizons from PBS News at 6pm ET.