“Masterpiece” Celebrates 50 Years of Must-Watch TV for Anglophiles

by Tom Warner Best & Next Department

2021 marks the 50th anniversary of Masterpiece (formerly known as Masterpiece Theatre), which premiered on PBS stations in January 1971, making it America’s longest-running weekly prime-time drama. Long before Britbox and Acorn TV, Masterpiece was the program that launched America’s love affair with prestige British television imports. From Upstairs, Downstairs to Downton Abbey; from Agatha Christie’s Poirot to Sherlock; and from The Six Wives of Henry VIII to Wolf Hall, Masterpiece has consistently presented critically acclaimed adaptations of literary classics, historical dramas, mystery whodunits, and clever “BritWit” comedies. Along the way, Masterpiece has garnered 83 Primetime Emmys,18 Peabody Awards, seven Golden Globes and two Oscars. To celebrate this golden anniversary, Best & Next compiled this list of classic “Masterpieces” that are available to check out from Pratt using our Sidewalk Service, Books-by-Mail or Hoopla digital streaming services.

Happy Women’s History Month! Throughout March, we’ll be spotlighting the great accomplishments, talents and contributions of women in history and culture. Take a look at these documentaries streaming over on Kanopy. Don’t forget you can watch up to 10 movies a month.

Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise

With unprecedented access, filmmakers Bob Hercules and Rita Coburn Whack trace Dr. Angelou’s incredible journey, shedding light on the untold aspects of her life through never-before-seen footage, rare archival photographs and videos and her own words.

Rachel Carson: American Experience

Drawn from Carson’s own writings, letters and recent scholarship, this film illuminates both the public and private life of the woman who launched the modern environmental movement and revolutionized how we understand our relationship with the natural world.

Chisholm ’72

Recalling a watershed event in US politics, this Peabody Award-winning documentary takes an in-depth look at the 1972 presidential campaign of Shirley Chisholm, the first black woman elected to Congress and the first to seek nomination for the highest office in the land.

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