MASTERPIECE Must-Knows: Fall 2017

News

It may be period drama, but you never have to wait for the penny post to get news of MASTERPIECE’s upcoming productions. Find out what’s airing, what’s filming, what’s premiering, and what’s returning; in short, get all the MASTERPIECE news we can share!

1. New Victoria Season 2 Preview!

Watch a new preview for Victoria Season 2, coming to MASTERPIECE on PBS January 14th, 2018! As monarchy, marriage, and motherhood propel Season 2 forward, Victoria (Jenna Coleman) and Albert (Tom Hughes) will continue their epic romance in a saga that unfolds over vital moments in history.

MASTERPIECE will have plenty of sneak peeks, Season 2 photos, casting updates, and fresh trailers as you await Victoria‘s royal reappearance on your screen. Follow MASTERPIECE on Facebook so you won’t miss a single update!

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2. The Chaperone Casting

Did you know that there’s a new MASTERPIECE being made right now? Casting is complete, filming has begun, and Downton Abbey‘s writer and creator Julian Fellowes is taking us back to 1922…but this time it’s set in America, in his adaptation of Laura Moriarty’s best-selling novel, The Chaperone! Downton Abbey‘s Elizabeth McGovern is Norma Carlisle, a Midwestern housewife whose life is forever changed when she chaperones a young and soon-to-be famous Louise Brooks (Haley Lu Richardson, Columbus, The Edge of Seventeen) to thrilling Jazz Age New York.

Joining McGovern are Geza Rohrig (Son of Saul), Blythe Danner (Gypsy, Madoff), Campbell Scott (House of Cards, Damages), Victoria Hill (December Boys, First Reformed) and Miranda Otto (The Lord of the Rings, Homeland).

Find yet another Downton Abbey connection to The Chaperone, get more details about the film, and learn who got the whole project off the ground. (Hint: “I’m an American. Have gun, will travel.”)
More about The Chaperone

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3. Little Women…and Also These Men

You may already be all in (Alcott in?) with the exciting roster of actresses in Little Women (Angela Lansbury as Aunt March, Emily Watson as Marmee, and Maya Hawke, Willa Fitzgerald, Annes Elwy, and Kathryn Newton as the iconic March sisters).

But the list of Little Women‘s men is now complete, too, with three charismatic actors joining Michael Gambon (Mr. Laurence) and Jonah Hauer-King (Laurie): Julian Morris (Pretty Little Liars, Man in an Orange Shirt) is Laurie’s earnest tutor, John Brooke; Mark Stanley (Broken, Dickensian) takes the role of Professor Bhaer; and Dylan Baker (The Good Wife, The Americans) joins as Mr. March, army chaplain and father to the March girls.

Find out more about MASTERPIECE’s adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s beloved classic novel, learn who is adapting the book for the screen (Hint: Call the Midwife), and see portraits of the women—and yes, the men—who are bringing your favorite characters to life!
More about Little Women

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4. Meet the Man in an Orange Shirt

Prepare to have your heart torn asunder…and for it all to be worth it! In what The Guardian calls “a heartbreaking tale of happiness denied,” Oscar-winning actress Vanessa Redgrave stars in best-selling British novelist Patrick Gale’s tale of two gay love stories, 60 years apart, linked by a family and painting with a secret that reverberates across the generations.

Met with rave reviews upon its airing in the UK, Man in an Orange Shirt also features Oliver Jackson-Cohen (Mr. Selfridge, Lark Rise to Candleford), James McArdle (Worricker), Joanna Vanderham (The Paradise), Laura Carmichael (Downton Abbey), Julian Morris (Little Women, Pretty Little Liars).

Man in an Orange Shirt will air on MASTERPIECE on PBS in June, 2018, as part of Gay Pride Month.

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5. Get Ready for Fall

Summer is still in full swing, but with the new fall MASTERPIECE schedule, you’ll be wishing for shorter days and longer, tv-filled nights, as October and November promise secrets, seductions, and even a little slapstick, from the cliffs of Cornwall to the shores of Corfu via the avenues of Paris!

Poldark Season 3 swashbuckles back onto our screens with more romance, dark secrets, derring-do, and plenty of new characters, including Demelza’s two hunky brothers, Elizabeth’s beautiful and innocent cousin, Morwenna, a newborn of dubious parentage, and more! Don’t miss the Season 3 premiere of Poldark on Sunday, October 1, 2017 at 9/8c!

On Sunday October 8, 2017 at 10/9c, The Collection premieres, immersing viewers in the post-WWII haute-couture world of a Parisian fashion house and the two brothers who clash as romances and rivalries pit family against family and the past against the future. The cast features Richard Coyle (Coupling), Frances de la Tour (Vicious), Michael Kitchen (Foyle’s War), Tom Riley (Da Vinci’s Demons), Sarah Parish (Broadchurch), and Mamie Gummer (The Good Wife).

On Sunday, October 15, 2017 at 8/7c, the islands beckon, the kumquats ripen, and the animals bleat, bark, hoot and slither: The Durrells in Corfu returns with Season 2! Don’t miss the misadventures of the Durrell family in six new episodes replete with more animals, more eccentrics, more laughs, and more love!