Our annual PBS MASTERPIECE! preview with Executive Producer and Head of Scripted Content SUSANNE SIMPSON. Susanne spotlights two historical dramas from the new season premiering in 2025: WOLF HALL: THE MIRROR AND THE LIGHT, based on the final Wolf Hall novel by Hilary Mantel; and MISS AUSTEN, based on the novel by Gill Hornby, premiering for the 250th anniversary year of author Jane Austen’s birth.

Another exciting new season for PBS MASTERPIECE!  Executive producer SUSANNE SIMPSON returns to the podcast to talk about the 2nd season of the World War II drama WORLD ON FIRE and other historical dramas new and continuing in 2023-24 on the award-winning PBS drama series.

In episode 40 we’re talking with Robert Hofler, author of The Way They Were: How Epic Battles and Bruised Egos Brought a Classic Hollywood Love Story to the Screen. Coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the release of THE WAY WE WERE, Hofler’s book is the definitive account of how THE WAY WE WERE changed the rules of moviemaking and redefined the Hollywood romance genre.

In episode 39, we talk with Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and journalist Kai Bird about the Christopher Nolan film OPPENHEIMER, based on the 2005 book American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer co-authored by Kai Bird and the late Martin J. Sherwin.

The Boston Sisters talk about five books they’re reading that have been adapted from page to screen, including dramatic film, musicals, and series. The book list includes fiction and nonfiction film and series premieres scheduled this fall, during the holidays, and anticipated dates in 2024, along with titles available for streaming now.

Professor of French and French Studies Julian Ledford brings to life the historical Joseph Bologne, the Chevalier de Saint-George who is dramatized in the film CHEVALIER by Kelvin Harrison Junior in the title role.

Documentary filmmaker JOHN VALADEZ joins us for a conversation about THE HEAD OF JOAQUÍN MURRIETA, the Amazon Prime Western series that shares the same title as Valadez’s 2017 PBS documentary. In his film Valadez believes he has the actual head of Joaquín Murrieta, the legendary Mexican outlaw who blazed a trail of revenge across California until he was caught and decapitated in 1853.

The Boston Sisters welcome back SHARON D. JOHNSON, script and story consultant for MASTERPIECE and SANDITON. In part 2 of a 2-part conversation, we focus on Georgiana Lambe, her search for her mother, and the relationships she’s made in Sanditon to protect her inheritance, reputation and find true love. SANDITON is based on Jane Austen’s unfinished novel.

The Boston Sisters welcome back SHARON D. JOHNSON, script and story consultant for MASTERPIECE and SANDITON. In part 1 of a 2-part conversation, we focus on the themes of Marriage, Love, and Friendship between new and familiar characters over the past 3 seasons of SANDITON series based on Jane Austen’s unfinished novel.

A “watchers guide” to Viking dramas starting with VIKINGS: VALHALLA now in its second season on Netflix. Alex Chisnall, host of the popular business podcast “Screw It Just Do It” is our guest and guide. Alex, who is close to Viking history in the UK and shares our enthusiasm for history. He not only got us curious about VIKINGS: VALHALLA, and other Viking-themed dramas but also helped launch “Historical Drama with The Boston Sisters” podcast.

A “watchers guide” to Viking dramas starting with VIKINGS: VALHALLA now in its second season on Netflix. Alex Chisnall, host of the popular business podcast “Screw It Just Do It” is our guest and guide. Alex, who is close to Viking history in the UK and shares our enthusiasm for history. He not only got us curious about VIKINGS: VALHALLA, and other Viking-themed dramas but also helped launch “Historical Drama with The Boston Sisters” podcast.

A conversation with Carla L. Peterson, author of the 2011 book “Black Gotham: A Family History of African Americans in 19th Century New York City.” Professor Peterson’s book served as a resource for the creation of the characters, story, and the Black community in HBO’s THE GILDED AGE.

A conversation with Carla L. Peterson, author of the 2011 book “Black Gotham: A Family History of African Americans in 19th Century New York City.” Professor Peterson’s book served as a resource for the creation of the characters, story, and the Black community in HBO’s THE GILDED AGE.

Episode 27 features a conversation with BEN VANSTONE, showrunner and writer for ALL CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL about the making of the series currently in its 3rd season on the PBS drama series MASTERPIECE. ALL CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL is the recent adaptation of the books written by veterinarian James Alfred Wight (who wrote under the pen name James Herriot) about a trio of veterinarian surgeons in the Yorkshire Dales in the late 1930s.

In episode 26 Michon and Taquiena look back on the highlights and a-ha’s of the first year of “Historical Drama with The Boston Sisters.” Included are historical dramas The Boston Sisters look forward to watching and talking about in 2023.

In episode 25 The Boston Sisters feature Amma Asante’s film BELLE by listener request, and a conversation with London-based figurative painter Glory Samjolly, founder of the social media platform Black Aristocrat Art. Glory brings her insights on depictions of Black women and men of the aristocracy in historical European art.

THE CROWN is a fictional drama inspired by real events during the reign of Queen Elizabeth II (1926 - 2022) in the last half of the 20th century. Rev. Dr. Terasa Cooley, author of “Transforming Conflict” joins us for a conversation about leadership portrayals of Queen Elizabeth II, PM Margaret Thatcher, and Diana, Princess of Wales in THE CROWN series.

Orchard House in Concord, MA, is where Louisa May Alcott wrote and set her iconic novel Little Women in 1868. In this podcast we talk with Jan Turnquist, executive director of Orchard House where visitors can go back in time to the world of the Alcott family as well as Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy March. Recreations of Orchard House can be seen in recent adaptations of Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women..

An exciting new season for PBS MASTERPIECE and MASTERPIECE MYSTERY!  Executive producer SUSANNE SIMPSON returns to the podcast to talk about the 2nd season of MISS SCARLET AND THE DUKE in addition to other exciting women detective mysteries and a preview of what’s coming in 2022 and 2023 on the award-winning PBS drama series.

We take a deep dive into The Woman King with depth psychologist, media scholar, and writer Sharon D. Johnson, Ph.D. The Women King, is the remarkable story of the Agojie, the all-female unit of warriors who protected the African Kingdom of Dahomey in the 1800s with skills and a fierceness unlike anything the world has ever seen.