MASTERPIECE Studio is your backstage pass to the PBS series—from Sherlock to Poldark. After the show, turn off the TV and tune in to MASTERPIECE Studio for the scoop with host Jace Lacob. Listen for exclusive interviews with the cast and crew of your favorite shows. Get the history lowdown behind the people and places you see on screen, and hear revealing stories from the set. MASTERPIECE Studio is made possible by Viking Cruises and Raymond James. Sponsors for MASTERPIECE on PBS are Viking Cruises, Raymond James, and The MASTERPIECE Trust.
*Warning: This episode contains spoilers for Episode Two of Season Four of *Poldark. Josh Whitehouse plays the dashing Lt. Hugh Armitage with an eye on the opportunity for capital ‘R’ Romance. But his character’s loyalties — and divided affections — heighten the stakes for the young actor, and often leave him searching for new motivations. In a new interview, Whitehouse talks Demelza, sand dunes, and more.
*Warning: This episode contains spoilers for Episode One of Season Four of *Poldark. Debbie Horsfield is the only writer of every episode of MASTERPIECE’s Poldark , so she definitely knows what’s on the horizon in the series’ fourth season. Secrets, lies and parliamentary politics come to Cornwall in a big way this season. Horsfield — who is also one of the series' executive producers — offers a sneak preview of the surprises still to come, and reveals why Aidan Turner was always the only actor ...
In celebration of the 100th episode of MASTERPIECE Studio, we bring some of our favorite moments from our conversations with MASTERPIECE’s actors and creative talents. From Downton Abbey to Unforgotten and everything in between, we’re delighted to share highlights — including some as-of-yet unheard extras! — from our first 100 episodes. Here’s to the next 100!
*Warning: This episode contains spoilers for Season Four of *Grantchester. The beloved MASTERPIECE Mystery! series, Grantchester , is set to return to your screens in summer 2019. In the upcoming fourth season of the show, lead actor James Norton — and his character, the Rev. Sidney Chambers — is set to leave the idyllic Cambridgeshire village. Taking his place in the Grantchester parish is actor Tom Brittney, who will play the Rev. Will Davenport, an affable, energetic new arrival on the villag...
*Warning: This episode contains spoilers for *Man In An Orange Shirt. Actor Julian Morris is known for his darker characters — psychopaths, social outcasts and the like, who float around the edges of decent, common society. He says he loves the bombast such roles offer, but the pain and shame of his Adam Berryman in the new MASTERPIECE production, Man In An Orange Shirt , is a different kind of challenge. Morris reveals what drew him to the role, what is was like to work with Vanessa Redgrave, a...
*Warning: This episode contains spoilers for *Little Women. After her role as Marmee in the MASTERPIECE adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's Little Women , actor Emily Watson has increasingly found herself wondering why she can't parent more like the March family matriarch. Marmee is wise, forgiving and subtle, and allows her four daughters to grow and learn from their mistakes. She revisits the novel, and the role, as well as her Oscar-nominated film debut, in a frank and intimate conversation....
*Warning: This episode contains spoilers for Episodes Two and Three of *Little Women. Annes Elwy and Willa Fitzgerald play two of the four beloved March sisters at the heart of the latest MASTERPIECE adaptation of Little Women , and their familial closeness echoes throughout our interview with the young actors. The on-screen sisters describe how they and the rest of the series’ cast bonded behind the scenes, and how their classic characters were granted a modern sense of discovery in writer Heid...
*Warning: This episode contains spoilers for Season Two of *Unforgotten. The Unforgotten detectives solved another cold-case murder. But the conclusion of the series' second season was far from neat. Lead actors Nicola Walker and Sanjeev Bhaskar join the podcast for a look back at a surprising conclusion, and peek ahead at the upcoming third season, currently in production.
*Warning: This episode contains spoilers for Episode One of *Little Women. For actors Maya Hawke and Jonah Hauer-King — *Little Women’*s Jo March and Laurie Lawrence, respectively — watching a reel of outtakes from shooting became a reminder of how much they make each other laugh. Hawke and Hauer-King bring that infectious spirit to a joint interview on the MASTERPIECE Studio podcast.
*Warning: This episode contains spoilers for Episode One of *Little Women. Dame Angela Lansbury has been an acting icon for more than 70 years, bringing character and charm to stage and screen alike. The brand new MASTERPIECE adaptation of Little Women , where she plays the peppery Aunt March, is her first appearance with our program. She takes us through highlights of her prodigious career, reveals what she learned on the *Little Women *set, and gives a preview of her role in the upcoming film,...
*Warning: This episode contains spoilers for Episode One of *Little Women. Writer Heidi Thomas is already plenty busy with the upcoming eighth and ninth seasons of her smash-hit series, Call the Midwife — but she knew she couldn’t say no when Louisa May Alcott came knocking. Adapting the author’s classic novel, Little Women , into a new television series would be a big challenge for Thomas, or any writer. It’s one the longtime fan of Jo, Beth, Amy and Meg March knew she could handle. Thomas expl...
*Warning: This episode contains spoilers for Season Two of *Unforgotten By his own estimation, Sanjeev Bhaskar started acting relatively late in life. He gives a telling preview of the stunning second season of Unforgotten still to come, and explains how his zany breakout comedy, The Kumars at No. 42 played better in the United States than it did in his native UK.
*Warning: This episode contains spoilers for *The Child in Time. Benedict Cumberbatch heads the cast of The Child in Time — and his new production company took the lead behind the scenes, as well. It's not Cumberbatch's first experience with author Ian McEwan's work — he appeared in the 2007 feature film, *Atonement. *Like so many readers, Cumberbatch appreciates the 'cinematic' qualities of McEwan's novels. The busy actor stopped by for a chat about time, trauma and the subtle beauties of the e...
*Warning: This episode contains spoilers for Season One of *Unforgotten. Nicola Walker leads the crime-fighting duo on the new MASTERPIECE Mystery! drama, Unforgotten . But the series’ complicated cold-case investigations surprise even her as they unfold week after week. Walker shares stories of Four Weddings and a Funeral , Broadway and why she could never be counted on to keep a criminal secret.
*Warning: This episode contains spoilers for *The Child In Time In her role as the bereaved mother Julie in the new MASTERPIECE drama, The Child In Time , actor Kelly Macdonald admits a certain distance from the emotional tension of the part. Her acting partner and executive producer, Benedict Cumberbatch, worked hard to make the set a happy place for all involved, Macdonald says. She takes us behind the scenes of The Child in Time , Gosford Park , and so much more....
For six years and six seasons of television, screenwriter Heidi Thomas has explored the challenges of 1950s-era British midwifery. Now, as the seventh season of her PBS drama Call the Midwife heads to air just ahead of her upcoming MASTERPIECE adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women , Thomas explores how a charming midwife’s memoirs became an unlikely global success story.
*Warning: This episode contains spoilers for Episode Nine of Season Two of *Victoria. At the end of another season of Victoria , we couldn't help but dip back in to our collection of conversations with the cast and creative talent behind the series to offer some highlights that didn't make it through in our original podcast episodes. Hear from Jenna Coleman, Tom Hughes, Rufus Sewell, David Oakes, Jordan Waller and Daisy Goodwin about life, death and behind-the-scenes scoops from Victoria , seaso...
*Warning: This episode contains spoilers for Episode Seven of Season Two of *Victoria. The Christmas finale of Victoria 's second season is as joyful to watch as it was to film, the series' lead actors reveal. And show creator Daisy Goodwin hints at the all too true origins of many modern Christmas traditions — Christmas trees, Santa Claus, Christmas cards — that Queen Victoria and Prince Albert helped to popularize.
*Warning: This episode contains spoilers for Episode Six of Season Two of *Victoria. Homosexual romances no doubt existed in Queen Victoria’s court — but perhaps not in the way as depicted in this season’s dramatic storyline involving Lord Alfred Paget and Edward Drummond. The term ‘homosexual’ wasn’t in use in the common dialogue, and actor Jordan Waller thinks that nameless love makes his depiction of Lord Alfred all the more complicated.
*Warning: This episode contains spoilers for Episode Five of Season Two of *Victoria. Series creator Daisy Goodwin moves between historical fact and dramatic fiction when she and her team write each episode of Victoria . For this week’s on-screen quest to Scotland, Goodwin relied heavily on Queen Victoria’s actual diary entries from a 1844 royal visit to Scotland’s Blair Castle. Goodwin —and Victoria stars Jenna Coleman and Tom Hughes — reflect on the magical episode.
*Warning: This episode contains spoilers for Episode Four of Season Two of *Victoria. Ernest, the charming royal German rogue of Victoria , has a reputation for being a kind of happy-go-lucky courtier. But his personal journey this season — from his dying father to his catastrophic medical condition — leaves actor David Oakes wishing somebody else in court would take the time to ask how Ernest is feeling. Oakes explains why he sees Ernest as the Jiminy Cricket to Prince Albert's Pinocchio, and o...
*Warning: This episode contains spoilers for Episode Three of Season Two of *Victoria. Prince Albert is purely logical — which makes Tom Hughes’ search for emotional depths all the more challenging in this second season of *Victoria. *The actor keeps a close eye on his character's historical experiences, all the while digging for the motivating forces that help push his character through challenging new crises.
*Warning: This episode contains spoilers for Episode Two of Season Two of *Victoria. Rufus Sewell has relished the opportunity to play Lord Melbourne in the last two seasons of Victoria . As he bids farewell to the character, he explains how Lord M’s complicated relationship with Queen Victoria changed during the young Queen’s heady early years on the throne, and why viewers took so strongly to his portrayal of the famed prime minister.
*Warning: This episode contains spoilers for Episode Two of Season Two of *Victoria. Daisy Goodwin may be the creator and head writer of Victoria , but she can’t help but sound like an ardent fan when she talks about the resurgent popularity of her version of Lord Melbourne. “Obviously, I would like Lord M to be in every single episode,” Goodwin said. She explains how and where she looks for historical storylines for her Queen Victoria, and what we all should look forward to in this second seaso...
*Warning: This episode contains spoilers for Episode One of Season Two of *Victoria. Queen Victoria is a proud new mother — but so far, she’s anything but pleased. As Prince Albert manages the daily stresses of the royal boxes, Victoria finds herself longing for both marital clarity and professional order. Actor Jenna Coleman warns — this is just the rocky beginning of a particularly dramatic new season of Victoria . Coleman, and Victoria creator Daisy Goodwin, explore the season still to come....
*Warning: This episode contains spoilers for Episode Six of Season Two of *The Durrells in Corfu. Louisa Durrell let another love interest pass her by at the end of The Durrells In Corfu ’s season two. Along the way, however, she might have been reminded where her true loyalty lies: with her family. Actor Keely Hawes says “the Durrells are very good at change,” and she looks ahead to the upcoming third season in a special bonus episode of the podcast.
*Warning: This episode contains spoilers for Episode Nine of Season Three of *Poldark Demelza Poldark ended her third season of Poldark with a stunning act of defiance. Actor Eleanor Tomlinson doesn’t feel like she could have made the same choices, but she has been pleasantly surprised by the way fans have supported her character’s heartbreaking decision. “If Ross is going to go and do what he wants to do, why shouldn’t she go and have some fun?,” she tells us.
*Warning: This episode contains spoilers for Episode Five of Season Two of *The Durrells in Corfu. Actor Daniel Lapaine has made a career playing rakishly charming characters — He’s ‘a Smiling Devil,’ as one director told him. Lapaine’s role as Hugh on this season of The Durrells in Corfu is more of the same, but he explains how the allure of the Durrell family is all too real for this Australian actor. Will Louisa head back to England with Hugh? Lapaine isn’t saying....
*Warning: This episode contains spoilers for Episode Six of Season Three of *Poldark Caroline Blakiston’s Aunt Agatha Poldark has been a secret triumph throughout these three seasons of Poldark , lurking by the Trenwith fire while reading her tarot cards and peering into the Cornish future. After a particularly dramatic episode, Blakiston joins us to talk costumes, character development and how Harrison Ford helped calm her nerves in her famous *Star Wars *performance.
*Warning: This episode contains spoilers for Episode Five of Season Three of *Poldark After just missing her chance at true romantic happiness this week, the young Morwenna Chenoweth seems to be trapped in a loveless, lifeless marriage. But Ellise Chappell, the young Poldark actor who plays Morwenna, isn’t worried. “We’ve got to keep hoping,” for the troubled Morwenna, she tells us — and offers stories of frogs, friendships and more from the Poldark set.
