MASTERPIECE INTRODUCES MASTERPIECE CLASSIC, MASTERPIECE MYSTERY! and MASTERPIECE CONTEMPORARY.
In January, 2008, Masterpiece unveiled a new look, new scheduling, and the first of three new hosts for 2008. Viewers were introduced to a schedule dividing the year into three "seasons," each with its own host, stunning graphics, and fresh take on the series' famous theme music. Each winter and spring, Masterpiece classic will feature signature period dramas. In summer, Masterpiece mystery! will present the best British mysteries, and in fall, Masterpiece contemporary will show dramas set in modern times.
Masterpiece classic
The inaugural season of Masterpiece classic was hosted by Gillian Anderson, well known to Masterpiece fans for her Emmy- and Golden Globe-nominated performance as Lady Dedlock in Bleak House. The season featured The Complete Jane Austen, the highly anticipated showcase of all six of Jane Austen's novels,as well as a new adaptation of A Room With a View, Daniel Radcliffe and Kim Cattrall in My Boy Jack, and the Emmy-winning Cranford, a three-part miniseries based on the work of Elizabeth Gaskell.
Masterpiece mystery!
In June, 2008, stage and film star Alan Cumming, one of show business's most eclectic talents, launched Masterpiece mystery! with a summer season showcasing The Men of Mystery! Inspector Lewis was welcomed back, while fond farewells were extended to Detective Chief Superintendent Christopher Foyle and Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley. Also in the season, Billie Piper starred as Sally Lockhart in two adaptations of Philip Pullman's popular novels about the feisty young female sleuth.
Masterpiece contemporary
Dynamic British actor Matthew Goode has been picked to host the premiere season of Masterpiece contemporary beginning Sunday, October 5, 2008 with The Last Enemy, a five-part thriller. Goode recently starred in the feature film Brideshead Revisited and has appeared in My Family and Other Animals, The Inspector Lynley Mysteries and Miss Marple on Masterpiece. The Masterpiece contemporary season will also showcase God on Trial, Filth, an encore presentation of Prime Suspect 7: The Final Act as well as the Masterpiece special The Unseen Alistair Cooke.