MASTERPIECE’s Head of Scripted Content and Executive Producer Susanne Simpson will be the first to tell you they have a reputation to uphold: 55 years of trailblazing performances, definitive adaptations of classic literature, and unparalleled production quality set quite the precedent. Thankfully, Simpson and her team are more than up to the task. We sat down with her to talk about new shows, new seasons, and what keeps MASTERPIECE audiences captivated after all these years.
What are you most excited about for the upcoming year of MASTERPIECE productions?
On Sunday, March 22, we’re launching a brand-new costume drama called The Forsytes, based on a Pulitzer Prize-winning book by John Galsworthy. There have been two other versions of The Forsyte Saga. For this version, we have the team behind Poldark on board, and they’ve come up with a very interesting new approach.
Not only will it be broadcast on GBH 2, but it has a free streaming window of 14 days following its premiere on the PBS app and on the MASTERPIECE website. Then, it will go out on Passport and PBS MASTERPIECE on Prime Video. We know people like to binge these shows!
The Forsytes is a six-part prequel to the books, which gives us the opportunity to explore the characters’ backstories a bit more. And because the novels didn’t really develop the women characters in a major way, our writer, Debbie Horsfield, has really focused on bringing the women to the foreground of the story. [Horsfield] delved into the history of women’s choices at that time — their roles in society — and she’s really brought to life these new characters.
We have a very young cast, plus some actors who are well-known by our audience, such as Francesca Annis, Steven Moyer, and Jack Davenport. For the fans who watched Poldark, we have Eleanor Tomlinson, who played Demelza — she’s a MASTERPIECE favorite. The actors playing Soames and Irene Heron, Josh Orpin and Millie Gibson, aren’t very familiar to U.S. audiences, but they’re both outstanding. We’re thrilled to bring these newer faces to our viewers.
We also have the final season of Grantchester coming up in the summer, but I can’t disclose much about that yet!
What challenges come with returning to the world of a celebrated series like The Forsyte Saga?
Bringing something new to this world is a challenge, especially when the other two versions have been so beloved. Certainly, many people in our audience will remember the 2002 version with Damian Lewis and love his portrayal of Soames [Forsyte]. One of the reasons why we wanted to depict Soames as a younger character this time was so that we’d get to know how he became the strong character he is.
Can you talk about The Count of Monte Cristo? How did this series come about and how did you land such a great cast?
It really is an incredible cast. We’ve got Sam Claflin as Edmond Dantès and Jeremy Irons as Abbé Faria. I watched the show Daisy Jones & the Six and really loved [Clafin] in that, and was delighted that he was taking the lead in this.
We found out about this program after it was mostly completed because it didn’t come through our normal producing partners. The eight episode-long show was made by an Italian production company and distributed by a French company that we’d never partnered with before. We asked to see it because we were really interested, and I was blown away by the production value — it is so beautifully produced. The performances are just top notch, and it was directed by a very well-known Danish director, Bille August.
It’s important for us to keep finding new shows based on well-known literature, because that’s MASTERPIECE’s history. It premieres right after The Forstyes on Sunday, March 22, at 10pm, and will be available to stream early on Passport on Sunday, March 1.
What’s the difference between a production like The Forsytes and The Count of Monte Cristo, which you acquired from overseas partners?
We have three different production models. We have MASTERPIECE original productions, such as The Forsytes, Miss Austen, Magpie Murders, and Moonflower Murders.
And then we do co-productions — the forthcoming show Winter, for instance — which means that a UK partner, ITV in this case, commissioned the show. From there, the producers came to us and said, “We’d like you to be the U.S. partner.”
Finally, there are pure acquisitions, like The Count of Monte Cristo. We don’t do too many of those.
One of the fortunate things about MASTERPIECE being in its 55th year is that we have these long-standing relationships, not just with UK producers, but with UK writers. We worked with Debbie Horsfield on five seasons of Poldark, and Anthony Horowitz on Foyle’s War, as well as adaptations of his mystery trilogy (Magpie Murders, Moonflower Murders, and the upcoming Marble Hall Murders). And UK producers like Mammoth Screen have made big, important shows with us, such as Victoria and Endeavour. We’re just lucky to have such good partners.
Could you talk a bit about Winter?
This new show stars Richard Armitage (The Hobbit, Marple), who is a very well-known actor, and we’re thrilled he’s taking on this part. It’s a slightly off-beat show in that he is not a detective — he’s a forensic pathologist who has a kind of relationship with the detective inspector who’s investigating different murders. He’s unusual in that he not only knows his science, but he really tries to understand the people who’ve been murdered and why this may have happened to them. The partnership between him and the detective is a very interesting back-and-forth.
And there’s also this underlying element to the story: his wife was murdered, and on his own, he is investigating who killed her. It’s being filmed in Belgium, but takes place in Bristol.
Miss Austen may have another season! What was the audience reception to Season One, and what can audiences expect from Season Two?
Miss Austen, which we broadcast after Wolf Hall last year — both of which were named to The Wall Street Journal’s top television shows of 2025 — was one of our top programs. It did extremely well, maybe because of the Austen pedigree. It was based on a book by Jill Hornby, Nick Hornby’s sister, and she’s just researched Jane Austen to the nth degree. In fact, she’s written another book in the Austen world called The Elopement that we’re developing into Season Two of Miss Austen.
Speaking of renewals, congratulations on Season Six of All Creatures Great and Small kicking off! Have you got any news from the Skeldale House?
It’s been renewed for Seasons Seven and Eight! Everybody — Channel Five in England, MASTERPIECE, and the cast — has made a commitment to come back for those two additional seasons. We’re beyond excited that the cast wants to come back. They have plenty of other opportunities, so it means a lot. This is a group of people who truly love and enjoy working with each other, and I think that comes across in the show.
What do you think viewers love about spending time in that world?
Don’t you just love the characters? I think our audience is so invested in them, with all their foibles and the difficulties they endure — it’s like watching a family try to come together and do the right thing. And besides Tristan and Siegfried, it’s a family where they’ve chosen each other and are all trying to make it work.
All Creatures has so many of the qualities we love about MASTERPIECE shows: a sense of community, really strong characters, great humor, and a setting that is an escape for viewers. What’s better in the middle of winter than being transported back in time to the Yorkshire Dales?!
I always want our programs to be about something, and in the case of All Creatures, it’s about community being the most important thing. That’s a value-set that resonates with a lot of people.
Excellent casting is a hallmark of MASTERPIECE productions. Is there a specific approach that you and your team bring to casting?
For us, great performances are essential to MASTERPIECE shows. We work very closely, especially on our original productions, with our partners to cast for people who are perfect for the part. With co-productions, we have veto control, but we’re usually on the same page about who is right for a show.
The UK has a system that we really admire. These actors come from acting schools, go through the theatre, and then they come to television. The UK has an enormous pool of very talented, professional actors, many of whom are known by U.S. viewers.
What else do you think the MASTERPIECE shows particularly excel at?
It starts with the writing — which renders these individual characters so compelling and determines the themes they’re going to address. It’s also what the actors are drawn to, why they come to the material year after year: because it’s such strong writing. It’s a standard we try to uphold in all of our programs.
How would you describe the vibe of a MASTERPIECE show in one word?
Inspiring, I hope. This is, of course, a really unsettling, uncertain time for people. Coming back to those core values of caring about each other, overcoming obstacles, and persisting through dark times can be inspiring for everyone.
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Tune in to The Forsytes and The Count of Monte Cristo on Sunday, March 22 on GBH 2. You can also stream The Count of Monte Cristo early on Passport and PBS MASTERPIECE on Prime Video starting Sunday, March 1.
