PBS’s Masterpiece Theatre Gets New Look

BOSTON, December 10: PBS’s British drama strand Masterpiece
Theatre will introduce a new look, new
scheduling, and the first of three new hosts, beginning in January 2008.

Gillian Anderson, an Emmy- and Golden Globe-nominated
actress who starred as Lady Dedlock in Bleak House, has been tapped as the host of Masterpiece
Classic on The Complete Jane
Austen, the showcase of all six of Austen's
novels, premiering Sunday, January 13 on PBS.

Anderson will present the ten programs in the first Masterpiece Classic season,
including adaptations of all six of Austen's novels plus a new biopic; Cranford, a three-part mini-series starring Judi Dench; the
wartime drama movie My Boy Jack,
starring Daniel Radcliffe and Kim Cattrall; and a new adaptation of A
Room with a View by Andrew Davies.

The schedule for Masterpiece Theatre also breaks the year into three "seasons,"
each with its own host. In 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.

Hosts for Masterpiece Mystery! and Masterpiece Contemporary will be announced in 2008.

Masterpiece has been
presented on PBS by WGBH since 1971. Rebecca Eaton is executive producer.
Funding for Masterpiece is provided
by public television viewers and CPB.

"Our viewers told us that they miss having a host to
lead them into the programs," said Eaton. "In 2008, we're going a
step further, bringing on three hosts to the series—each with a true
appreciation for the genre they represent. We'll also introduce an elegant new
on-air look, a redesigned feature-rich website, and a schedule that will help
make our content easier to find. What won't change is the caliber of our
programming."

—By Irene Lew