Six-episode series is first American-made drama for public broadcasting in nearly a decade
By David Bauder, Television Writer
PASADENA, Calif. (AP) --PBS is making a Civil War drama focusing on the stories of two volunteer nurses on opposite sides of the conflict.
The six-episode series is being produced by Ridley Scott and David Zucker. It's the first American-made drama the public broadcasting service has made in about a decade, "so this is a really big deal for us," Paula Kerger, PBS president and CEO, said on Monday.
Based on true stories, the untitled project is centered on a hotel in Alexandria, Virginia, that was turned into a Union army hospital, PBS said.
Kerger said the public broadcasting service's goals in making dramas is different than other television networks.
"Our goal is not only to entertain, but to educate and inspire," she said.
The series is scheduled to air next winter.
PBS also said Monday that it will air a week's worth of programming in April to mark the 40th anniversary of the fall of Saigon, including Rory Kennedy's film "Last Days in Vietnam." Ken Burns' documentary film "The Vietnam War" is scheduled to run on PBS in two years.
The public broadcasting service announced a new partnership with the BBC, where PBS will air a series of BBC-produced specials, primarily on nature, science and history.
PBS is also on the lookout for arts programming. Kerger said successful arts programming helps local arts organizations.
"If we can do that better, then we're doing something that is really at the heart of who we are as a public media organization," she said.
Rom-Com Mainstay Hugh Grant Shifts To The Dark Side and He’s Never Been Happier
After some difficulties connecting to a Zoom, Hugh Grant eventually opts to just phone instead.
"Sorry about that," he apologizes. "Tech hell." Grant is no lover of technology. Smart phones, for example, he calls the "devil's tinderbox."
"I think they're killing us. I hate them," he says. "I go on long holidays from them, three or four days at at time. Marvelous."
Hell, and our proximity to it, is a not unrelated topic to Grant's new film, "Heretic." In it, two young Mormon missionaries (Chloe East, Sophie Thatcher) come knocking on a door they'll soon regret visiting. They're welcomed in by Mr. Reed (Grant), an initially charming man who tests their faith in theological debate, and then, in much worse things.
After decades in romantic comedies, Grant has spent the last few years playing narcissists, weirdos and murders, often to the greatest acclaim of his career. But in "Heretic," a horror thriller from A24, Grant's turn to the dark side reaches a new extreme. The actor who once charmingly stammered in "Four Weddings and a Funeral" and who danced to the Pointer Sisters in "Love Actually" is now doing heinous things to young people in a basement.
"It was a challenge," Grant says. "I think human beings need challenges. It makes your beer taste better in the evening if you've climbed a mountain. He was just so wonderfully (expletive)-up."
"Heretic," which opens in theaters Friday, is directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, co-writers of "A Quiet Place." In Grant's hands, Mr. Reed is a divinely good baddie — a scholarly creep whose wry monologues pull from a wide range of references, including, fittingly, Radiohead's "Creep."
In an interview, Grant spoke about these and other facets of his character, his journey... Read More