Ep. 41 - WORLD ON FIRE Sparks a New MASTERPIECE Season
WORLD ON FIRE cast (Season 2) From L to R: Marga (Miriam Schiweck), David (Gregg Sulkin), Kasia (Zofia Wichlacz), Harry (Jonah Hauer-King), Lois (Julia Brown), Rajib (Ahad Raza Mir), Robina (Lesley Manville). Photo courtesy of Mammoth Screen
MASTERPIECE and MASTERPIECE MYSTERY! executive producer SUSANNE SIMPSON returns to Historical Drama with The Boston Sisters to give us a preview of the new season of the PBS British drama series. Our conversation includes a special highlight of the second season of the World War II drama WORLD ON FIRE created by Peter Bowker. WORLD ON FIRE tells the story of World War II through the eyes of ordinary people fighting for freedom.
“…I think the fact that Pete Bowker, who’s the writer, has found a way to tell that story through individuals. That is a very difficult thing to do — to take the epic history of World War II and condense it into the life stories of these characters. So I think he’s done a really brilliant job at that and really makes you care. And makes you more aware of the effect that war had on individuals.”
Susanne Simpson
Guest: SUSANNE SIMPSON
Named Executive Producer of MASTERPIECE in 2019, Susanne Simpson is a two-time Academy Award® nominee and two-time Emmy® winner for her documentary and dramatic films for television and theater. Since joining MASTERPIECE in 2007, Simpson has been responsible for such programs as Sanditon, Sherlock, Wolf Hall, Victoria and All Creatures Great and Small, and oversaw all aspects of the U.S. broadcast of the hit series Downton Abbey, the most watched drama in PBS history and recipient of 69 Emmy® nominations and 15 wins.
Simpson is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, and the Writers Guild.
This conversation with Susanne Simpson (Episode 41) was recorded October 6, 2023. Susanne Simpson is also featured in episode 3 and episode 22 (Women of MYSTERY! MISS SCARLET AND THE DUKE) of the podcast.
WORLD ON FIRE (Season 2)
Created by Peter Bowker, WORLD ON FIRE is an adrenalized, emotionally gripping, and resonant World War II drama that follows the intertwining fates of ordinary people in multiple countries as they grapple with the effects of war on their everyday lives.
Season 2 picks up in late 1940, taking viewers from the war-torn streets of Britain deep into Nazi Germany, the resistance within occupied France, and the brutal sands of the North African desert—where troops struggle to adapt to a very different kind of combat.
Season 2’s ensemble cast includes Academy Award®-nominee Lesley Manville as Robina Chase; Jonah Hauer-King as Robina’s son, Harry; Blake Harrison as Harry’s 2nd on the battlefield Stan Raddings; Julia Brown as Lois Bennett; Zofia Wichlacz as Kasia Tomaszeski; Parker Sawyers as the jazz musician Albert Fallou; Eugenie Derouand as the nurse and resistance fighter Henriette; Mark Bonnar as Sir James Danemere; Gregg Sulkin as a Jewish Royal Air Force fighter pilot named David; Ahad Raza Mir as Rajib, an Indian officer in the British Army; Miriam Schiweck as a German teenager named Marga, and many others.
Series website hosted by MASTERPIECE
Watch season 2 of WORLD ON FIRE on PBS MASTERPIECE (check local listings for your PBS station). You can also stream the series on PBS Passport (more information), the PBS MASTERPIECE Prime Video Channel and for free for 14 days from broadcast on pbs.org/masterpiece.
Season 1 of WORLD ON FIRE is available for streaming on PBS Passport and PBS MASTERPIECE Prime Video Channel (fees may apply).
More MASTERPIECE and MASTERPIECE MYSTERY! on Historical Drama with The Boston Sisters
Winner of 83 Primetime Emmys® and 18 Peabody Awards, MASTERPIECE has been essential Sunday night viewing for millions of fans since 1971. MASTERPIECE is known for hits such as All Creatures Great and Small, Sherlock, Downton Abbey and Victoria, and beloved classics such as Upstairs Downstairs, Prime Suspect, The Forsyte Saga and Poldark.
Find out more about the MASTERPIECE series:
MASTERPIECE Website: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/
IG: @masterpiecepbs
Facebook: @Masterpiece|PBS
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