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“Press” Coming to MASTERPIECE PBS in 2019 Shown from left to right: Priyanga Burford as Amina Chaudury, Charlotte Riley as Holly Evans, Ben Chaplin as Duncan Allen, Paapa Essiedu as Ed Washburn, and David Suchet as George Emmerson For editorial use only. (C) Lookout Point – Photographer: Dean Chalkley/Colin Hutton

Press | MASTERPIECE | Premieres Sunday, October 6 at 10 pm


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MASTERPIECE on PBS to Co-Produce “Press” Contemporary Drama
Set in the Turbulent World of Newspapers Through New Deal with BBC Worldwide and Lookout Point

Charlotte Riley repoirter for The Press on Masterpiece
Charlotte Riley (King Charles III, Jonathan Strange &; Mr Norrell) will play the News Editor of fictional broadsheet, The Herald.
Photo courtesy of Robert Viglasky/BBC Studios 2017 for MASTERPIECE and BBC One.
For editorial use only.

Press, written by Mike Bartlett (Doctor Foster, King Charles III) and produced by Deep Indigo, Lookout Point and BBC Studios for BBC ONE, will premiere
in the US as a co-production with MASTERPIECE on PBS, through a new deal with BBC Worldwide North America and Lookout Point.

Press is an ambitious new series set in today’s newspaper industry — its past riven by hacking scandals, its present at the mercy of the digital age and the 24-hour news cycle, its future uncertain. Bartlett’s razor sharp and observant drama will explore the turbulent media landscape through the fortunes of rival broadsheet and tabloid papers and the very different and colorful characters who work for them.

BAFTA award-winning producer Nigel Stafford-Clark, who has developed and is producing the show, comments, “At a time when both the nature and the role of the press have themselves become part of the news, there’s never been a better moment to focus on this unique world as the basis of a major television series. And I can’t think of anyone better to take that on than Mike Bartlett.”

Ben Chaplin (Apple Tree Yard, The Thin Red Line) who will play the Editor of fictional tabloid newspaper, The Post.
Photo courtesy of Robert Viglasky/BBC Studios 2017 for MASTERPIECE and BBC One.
For editorial use only.

Lookout Point’s Faith Penhale, Executive Producer, comments “We’re delighted to be working with Mike and Nigel on a series with so much contemporary resonance and relevance. And given the importance of this drama, it’s exciting to know that this tie-up with MASTERPIECE on PBS will offer signifcant exposure to audiences in North America on a network with an unparalleled track record in taking great British scripted content across the Atlantic.”

Bartlett’s television adaptation of his Tony®-nominated Broadway play, King Charles III, will air on MASTERPIECE on PBS in 2017.

Press will be executive produced by Mike Bartlett, Faith Penhale for Lookout Point, Bethan Jones for BBC Studios and Rebecca Eaton for MASTERPIECE on PBS. MASTERPIECE is presented on PBS by WGBH Boston.

About MASTERPIECE

The top-rated primetime show on PBS, MASTERPIECE celebrated its 45th anniversary in 2016. MASTERPIECE is presented on PBS by WGBH Boston. Rebecca Eaton is
executive producer. Funding for the series is provided by Viking River Cruises and Farmers Insurance® with additional support from public television viewers and contributors to The MASTERPIECE Trust. MASTERPIECE is known for presenting iconic shows such as Upstairs Downstairs, Prime Suspect, The Forsyte Saga, Poldark, Sherlock, Downton Abbey, and Victoria.