NOW ENTERTAINMENT March 00 22 -- 00, 28, 2026 Month 2023
Your Weekly TV Entertainment Brought To You By Olean Times Herald & The Bradford Era
“The Forsytes,” based upon author John Galsworthy’s Forsyte Saga trilogy from the 1920s, makes its Masterpiece premiere Sunday, March 22, on PBS. Danny Griffin in “The Forsytes”
Cover Story Looking back with ‘Forsyte’: BBC period drama graces Masterpiece By Dana Simpson Turn on the television and step back in time with Masterpiece this spring. Known for its rich library of British imports and well-crafted costume dramas, from James Alfred Wight’s (pen name James Herriot) veterinary saga “All Creatures Great and Small” to Hilary Mantel’s recently wrapped Tudor drama “Wolf Hall,” Masterpiece has plenty of content for lovers of history, period garb and novel adaptations. The newest show to join Masterpiece, however, is slightly different in that it is based upon an existing literary series but precedes all events committed to paper by its author, John Galsworthy. “The Forsytes,” based upon Galsworthy’s Forsyte Saga trilogy from the 1920s, makes its Masterpiece premiere Sunday, March 22, on PBS. Check your local listings for details. “Money and society dictate the rules in rapidly changing Victorian London, where four generations of the wealthy Forsyte family of stockbrokers
navigate high-risk investments and the even higher expectations of making the right marital match,” reads the series logline, which also lists “desire, ambition and betrayal” among the series’ guiding themes. The series aired its six-episode first season on Channel 5 in the UK last autumn. Moreover, Deadline has already confirmed a renewal for a second season, which is scheduled to film this summer in Bristol. Whether or not “The Forsytes” will continue on Masterpiece will depend upon its reception stateside, as no network-specific renewals have been announced as of writing. But given that Galworthy’s famous family has been adapted for television on two earlier occasions — with BBC Two’s 1967 series “The Forsyte Saga” having been seen by upwards of 18 million viewers — “The Forsytes” writer and executive producer Debbie Horsfield (“Sanctuary: A Witch’s Tale”) has faith that a new spin on the classic familial succession story will resonate with today’s audiences.
In Focus “Henry David Thoreau” (PBS — March 30, Limited Series Premiere) Henry David Thoreau helped define modern environmentalism and nonviolent resistance, yet his life has been obscured by myth. The author of “Walden and Civil Disobedience,” Thoreau was brilliant but flawed, idealistic but opinionated.
“I’ve looked up the things that really fascinated me about the books, and those were things like the family saga, the rivalry between the generations, the damage that each generation inflicts on the generation that comes below,” Horsfield told independent online period drama magazine Willow & Thatch in an interview. “Those are the things that really interested me, so I picked out those storylines from the books and basically played around with those. And I did use some of the hints we got in the books of what may have happened before the actual events of the books, and I’ve filled in some of those details.” Examples of a few events viewers can expect to see in Season 1 of “The Forsytes” (without providing major spoilers) include at least one young woman’s entrance into society and subsequent matchmaking, a socially stressful trip to Paris, a gold-mining investment with potentially dire consequences, several attempts to oust a business partner, and,
of course, the harboring of many, many secrets. The series is led by BAFTA-winning actress Francesca Annis (“Lillie”) in the role of Forsyte family matriarch Ann. Stephen Moyer (“True Blood”), meanwhile, portrays Jolyon Forsyte Sr., while Jack Davenport (“Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl,” 2003) plays James, Naomi Frederick (“Belgravia”) plays Emily, Tuppence Middleton (“Mank,” 2020) plays Frances, Joshua Orpin (“Titans”) plays Soames, Justine Moore (“Without Sin”) plays June, Eleanor Jackson (“Royal Mob”) plays Winifred (now a Dartie, by marriage) and Danny Griffin (“The Gentlemen,” 2019) is Jolyon Jr. Millie Gibson (“Doctor Who”), Eleanor Tomlinson (“Poldark”), Tilly Walker (“The Conjuring: Last Rites,” 2025), Tom Durant-Pritchard (“This Is Going to Hurt”), Owen Igiehon (“Disclaimer”) and new talents Don Gallagher and Dexter Seaton also appear in all six episodes of the series’ first season.
In Focus
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“Secrets of the Bees” (Hulu/Disney+ — March 31, Docuseries Premiere) Hosted and narrated by National Geographic Explorer Bertie Gregory, this new docuseries uses groundbreaking filming technology to reveal the extraordinary world of bees. With the expertise of entomologist and fellow National Geographic Explorer Dr. Samuel Ramsey, the series uncovers their astonishing architecture and intelligence.