New Shows Kick Off MASTERPIECE’s 50th Anniversary
News
January, 2021, marks the beginning of MASTERPIECE on PBS’ 50th anniversary season. To celebrate, we have several new shows airing that month that feature familiar stars, beloved stories and more.
To stay informed about these shows and others coming to MASTERPIECE, make sure to subscribe to our free email newsletter.
- 1.
Elizabeth Is Missing
What is it About?
Based on Emma Healey’s novel, Elizabeth Is Missing stars two-time Academy Award winner Glenda Jackson in her triumphant return to MASTERPIECE. (In 1971, Jackson won two Emmy awards for her role as Queen Elizabeth I in MASTERPIECE’s Elizabeth R.)
In a performance described by The Guardian (UK) as “harrowing, compelling, unsentimental and altogether magnificent,” Jackson portrays Maud, a woman in the grip of dementia trying to solve the case of her missing friend. But can she solve the mystery of her friend’s disappearance before her own dementia erases all the clues?
When is it on?
Elizabeth Is Missing will premiere on Sunday, January 3, 2021, at 9/8c on MASTERPIECE on PBS.
Who is in the Cast?
Alongside Glenda Jackson, Maggie Steed stars as Elizabeth, and Sophie Rundle (Gentleman Jack, Jamestown), Liv Hill, Julie Hannan, Mark Stanley (Game of Thrones) are also featured in the cast.
Watch the Trailer
- 2.
All Creatures Great and Small
What is it About?
Author James Herriot’s adventures as a veterinarian in 1930s Yorkshire, England, get a glorious new adaptation in All Creatures Great and Small, a seven-part series based on his beloved books. The story opens in 1937, when Herriot, fresh out of Glasgow Veterinary College, follows his dream to become a vet in the magnificent Yorkshire Dales, one of England’s most beloved and beautiful landscapes. He soon discovers that treating the animals is as much about treating their owners, and the Dales’ farmers are a tough crowd to please.
When is it on?
Get ready for a dose of comfort and joy when All Creatures Great and Small premieres in January, 2021, on MASTERPIECE on PBS. Find out about the premiere date and more when you subscribe to the MASTERPIECE email newsletter.
Who is in the Cast?
Newcomer Nicholas Ralph will make his television debut as the iconic vet who became renowned for his inspiring humor, compassion and love of life. Joining Ralph are Samuel West (Mr. Selfridge, On Chesil Beach) as Siegfried Farnon, the eccentric veterinary surgeon and proprietor of Skeldale House, who reluctantly hires Herriot; Anna Madeley (The Child in Time, Patrick Melrose) as Mrs. Hall, the resident housekeeper and matriarch of Skeldale House; Callum Woodhouse (The Durrells in Corfu) as Siegfried’s errant and charismatic younger brother, Tristan; and Rachel Shenton (Switched at Birth, White Gold) as Helen Alderson, an independent local farmer’s daughter.
Diana Rigg (Victoria, Game of Thrones) plays Mrs. Pumphrey, the eccentric owner of the overly indulged Pekingese Tricki Woo, while Matthew Lewis (Harry Potter, Ripper Street) plays Hugh Hulton, a wealthy landowner and rival to James.
- 3.
Miss Scarlet and the Duke
What is it About?
When headstrong Eliza Scarlet is left penniless and devastated after the death of her father, she has two choices for survival: marriage or her father’s private detective agency. But no matter how well she knows the tricks of his trade, the trade itself is deemed entirely inappropriate for a genteel lady of the 1880s. Enter “The Duke,” Scotland Yard’s Detective Inspector William Wellington, a notorious drinker, gambler, womanizer…and a crime-solving friend to Eliza (no matter how much they may bicker!).
When is it on?
The exact air date for Miss Scarlet and the Duke is still a mystery, but subscribe to the MASTERPIECE email newsletter, and you’ll be the first to know when the date is announced.
Who is in the Cast?
Kate Phillips (Peaky Blinders, The Downton Abbey Movie, Wolf Hall, and The Crown) stars as Eliza Scarlet, and Stuart Martin (Jamestown, Babylon, Medici) stars as The Duke. Also joining the lineup are Cathy Belton, Danny Midwinter, Andrew Gower (Outlander, Poldark) and Kevin Doyle (Downton Abbey).
