Ep. 60 - Behind the MASTERPIECE: A Season Preview with Susanne Simpson
Mark Rylance as Thomas Cromwell in WOLF HALL: THE MIRROR AND THE LIGHT, Keeley Hawes as Cassandra Austen in MISS AUSTEN. Photos: MASTERPIECE
Susanne Simpson, Executive Producer and Head of Scripted Content for MASTERPIECE, the Emmy Award winning PBS drama series, was one of our inaugural podcast guests when we launched "Historical Drama with The Boston Sisters" in 2021. Since then, Susanne’s MASTERPIECE and MYSTERY! season previews on this podcast have become an annual event.
In episode 60 Susanne previews the historical dramas for the 2024-2025 MASTERPIECE season with a spotlight on two new series: WOLF HALL: THE MIRROR AND THE LIGHT based on the final novel in Dame Hilary Mantel’s (1952-2022) multi award-winning trilogy about Thomas Cromwell and Henry VIII; and MISS AUSTEN, a series adapted from Gill Hornby’s best-selling novel inspired by the real-life literary mystery involving Cassandra Austen who burned her famous sister Jane Austen’s letters after Jane’s death. Note: 2025 will be the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth.
Also in the podcast Susanne talks about her executive producer role which has evolved over the years since the massive success of DOWNTON ABBEY as more streaming platforms are producing historical dramas, a genre that was for some time MASTERPIECE’s domain.
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.
“I’ve been feeling like I’m like Lord Grantham (DOWNTON ABBEY), which is that I’ve inherited the family house, and it is my job to make sure during my time period as executive producer, that I take care of that house the best way I can, so that I can hand it off to the future.”
Susanne Simpson
Guest: SUSANNE SIMPSON
Head of Scripted Content and Executive Producer, MASTERPIECE
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 Greatand 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.
Our conversation with Susanne Simpson (Episode 60) was recorded September 25, 2024. Susanne Simpson is also featured in episode 3 , episode 22 (Women of MYSTERY! MISS SCARLET AND THE DUKE), and episode 41 (WORLD ON FIRE) of the podcast.
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Enjoy 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