Ep. 3 - PBS MASTERPIECE: Conversation with Executive Producer Susanne Simpson
Rose Williams (Charlotte Haywood) and Crystal Clarke (Georgiana Lamb) in the adaptation of Jane Austen’s final (and uncompleted) work, Sanditon. Sanditon Season 2 premieres on MASTERPIECE in March 2022.
Susanne Simpson, Executive Producer of the PBS drama series, MASTERPIECE, shares how this 50-year phenom is changing to bring more diversity to the stories, casts, and creative production of historical dramas, fiction adaptations, and mystery series set in the past with UK partners.
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 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. She is also the Executive Producer of MASTERPIECE Studio, a podcast with more than 15 million downloads since 2016. Simpson created the MASTERPIECE Trust, a fund to ensure the future of the series. Prior to MASTERPIECE, she was a Senior Producer for the science series NOVA, responsible for the content development, financing, and production of new programming, and was the executive producer of IMAX productions such as the award-winning Shackleton's Antarctic Adventure and Special Effects with George Lucas’s company, Industrial Light & Magic. Simpson is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, and the Writers Guild.
Recorded October 22, 2021
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.
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Find out more about the MASTERPIECE series:
MASTERPIECE Website: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/
IG: @masterpiecepbs
Facebook: @Masterpiece|PBS
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Our interview with Susanne Simpson was recorded at the BRINK Creative studio in Washington, DC. BRINK is a creative marketing agency that specializes in producing story-driven content and tech experiences for activist brands and organizations that put people first. Visit Brink.com for more information.