Ep. 76 - Class Divides, Revenge Justice, Paris and more: The MASTERPIECE Season Preview with Susanne Simpson
Tuppence Middleton as Frances Forsyte, and Danny Griffin as Jolyon Forsyte Jr. in THE FORSYTES;Sam Claflin as Edmund Dantès in THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO Photos: MASTERPIECE
““We’ve done something we’ve never done at MASTERPIECE before.”
Susanne Simpson, Executive Producer and Head of Scripted Content for MASTERPIECE, the Emmy Award winning PBS drama series, returns to "Historical Drama with The Boston Sisters" for the 5th season preview of MASTERPIECE and MYSTERY! — a podcast annual event since the launch in 2021.
In episode 76 Susanne previews new MYSTERY! series coming in the fall 2025 (MAIGRET and THE GOLD), and new historical dramas for MASTERPIECE coming in 2026: THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO based on the classic novel by Alexandre Dumas (pere); and THE FORSYTES, a prequel to the THE FORSYTE SAGA, a 2002 MASTERPIECE series based on the trilogy of novels by English author John Galsworthy (1867-1933).
Also in the podcast we talk with Susanne about
the impact of the U.S. Congress’s decision to withdraw previously allocated funding for public media
casting the new MASTERPIECE and MYSTERY! series
contemporary themes in the upcoming historical dramas, THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO and THE FORSYTES, and more
MASTERPIECE and MYSTERY! airs Sunday nights on PBS (check local listings). You can also stream the series on PBS Passport, the PBS MASTERPIECE Prime Video Channel and for free for 14 days from broadcast on pbs.org/masterpiece.
GUEST: SUSANNE SIMPSON
Susanne Simpson is a two-time Academy Award® nominee and two-time Emmy®-winner for documentary and dramatic films. As executive producer of MASTERPIECE, the iconic PBS drama series, Simpson commissions original U.K. productions such as the upcoming adaptation of The Forsyte Saga, Miss Austen, Tom Jones with Hannah Waddingham, and Moonflower Murders, starring Lesley Manville.
Simpson co-produces many U.K. programs including All Creatures Great and Small, Around the World in 80 Days, and the long-running detective series Endeavour and Unforgotten. As an executive producer of Downton Abbey, Simpson was in charge of the most watched drama in PBS history and recipient of 59 Emmy® nominations and 12 wins. She also oversaw co-productions such as Sherlock, Wolf Hall, and Victoria. She is a member of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences, and the Television Academy. Simpson is the executive producer of MASTERPIECE Studio, a podcast with more than 22 million downloads.
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Enjoy more MASTERPIECE and MASTERPIECE MYSTERY! on Historical Drama with The Boston Sisters
With 83 Primetime Emmys® and 20 Peabody Awards, MASTERPIECE programs have been essential Sunday night viewing for millions of fans for over 50 years. Series funding for MASTERPIECE is provided by Viking Cruises, Raymond James, The MASTERPIECE Trust, and public television viewers. Produced for PBS by GBH Boston, MASTERPIECE is known for hits such as All Creatures Great and Small, Sherlock, Downton Abbey and Wolf Hall, and beloved classics such as Upstairs Downstairs, Prime Suspect and Poldark.
Find out more about the MASTERPIECE series:
MASTERPIECE Website: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/
IG: @masterpiecepbs
Facebook: @Masterpiece|PBS