History Channel Outlines Near Future

The History Channel announced a textbook full of new series and specials Monday.

The A&E Television Networks-owned service also confirmed the return of series Mail Call, Modern Marvels, Tactical to Practical and Deep Sea Detectives.

April 11 will mark the History debut of Home Box Office’s 10-part, 10-hour miniseries, Band of Brothers, which told the story of Easy Company, 506th Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division, U.S. Army.

New series coming to the network include:

Wild West Tech, hosted by Keith Carradine, which looks at the technology of the American frontier. The 10-episode weekly series premieres March 30.

Investigating History -- which challenges accepted facts about history’s most intriguing topics through DNA analysis, sophisticated underground technology, new archaeological digging methods and other state-of-the-art scientific techniques -- premieres April 19.

The Tech Effect, which will look at one critical moment in time each week and delve into the story of the technology, history and people that made the outcome possible, is set for a second-quarter debut.

Command Decisions is a weekly interactive series that explores turning points in history and challenges viewers to put themselves in the position of actual decision-makers. The 15-episode series is set for a third-quarter debut.

Decisive Battleswill usecutting-edge computer-gaming technology to re-create the conflicts that shaped the ancient world. It will also debut during the third quarter.

Digging for the Truth takes a fresh look at the world’s greatest ancient mysteries. The 13-episode series, shot in HD, will debut in the fourth quarter.

Among the network’s new specials are:The True Story of Alexander (fourth quarter, three hours); Isaac’s Storm (third quarter, two hours); Ben Franklin (fourth quarter, two hours); The French Revolution (first-quarter 2005, two hours); To the Best of My Ability (first-quarter 2005, eight hours); The Conquest of America (second-quarter 2005, four hours); FDR: A Presidency Revealed (second-quarter 2005, four hours); and Meteorites (second-quarter 2005, two hours).