TV Talk: ‘Masterpiece’ boss on PBS cuts; 'The Pitt' season 2 teaser debuts

This weekend, as “Masterpiece” series “The Marlow Murder Club” (9 p.m. Sunday) and “Unforgotten” (10 p.m. Sunday, WQED-TV) return for new seasons, it seemed prudent to check in with “Masterpiece” executive producer Susanne Simpson on what impact the federal government defunding PBS will have on one of PBS’s most popular, long-running shows.

Last week, PBS announced it will slash its budget by 21%, but Simpson said, so far, “Masterpiece” remains unscathed.

“I am confident we have the funding to maintain the full schedule at 57 hours every year, and we are planning and developing (shows) for 2027 and 2028,” Simpson said, attributing her confidence to the show’s sponsors, Viking Cruises, which is committed through 2027, and donors to the Masterpiece Trust.

Simpson wouldn’t say what percentage of the “Masterpiece” budget comes from PBS, but she’s received assurances “Masterpiece” won’t be cut because the drama is the biggest revenue generator for PBS.

“Stations have found the most number of subscriptions they have to the membership portal (PBS Passport) is because of ‘Masterpiece’ programs,” Simpson said. “That makes money for local stations in membership dues. … That’s why we’re not affected the way other programs will be.”

In addition to this weekend’s returning series, Simpson is eager for viewers to see several upcoming “Masterpiece” shows, including:

• “Maigret” (9 p.m. Oct. 5): The French detective Maigret has appeared on “Masterpiece Mystery!” before, most recently in 2016 as played by Rowan Atkinson. For this new, contemporary version, Simpson said they’re taking a page out of the “Inspector Morse”-to-“Endeavour” playbook by making this “Maigret” an origin story.

“It really reminded me a lot of ‘Endeavour’ where you see the young detective and how he becomes (the older Maigret) and you get a lot more backstory about his family,” Simpson said. “He’s married; his wife is part of the story.”

The series is written by Patrick Harbinson, a veteran of “24” and “Homeland.”

• “The Gold” (10 p.m. Oct. 5): In an unusual turn for “Masterpiece,” the show will air the first season of bank heist drama “The Gold,” which already streamed on Paramount+ in 2023.

Simpson said Paramount+ only aired the first season, starring “Downton Abbey” alum Hugh Bonneville as the lead investigator of a real-life 1983 robbery, for three months.

“We consider ourselves a series of premieres, and PBS expects that of us. We don’t do second windows as a matter of course,” Simpson acknowledged. But “The Gold” needed an American partner to get its second and final season made, so Simpson got on board. Season 2, which has never aired in the U.S., will air on “Masterpiece” in fall 2026.

• “All Creatures Great and Small” (Sunday nights, January): There’s yet to be an official pickup announcement for more seasons of “All Creatures” beyond Season 6, arriving in January 2026, but Simpson sounds optimistic the show will continue.

“We’re hoping it will go as long as the cast is interested in doing it,” she said. “We’d be happy if it continues for a long time.”

• “The Forsytes” (9 p.m. Sunday, spring 2026): “That’s our biggest show coming up,” Simpson said of this new take on John Galsworthy’s “The Forsyte Saga,” previously made for PBS in 1967 and in 2002.

Unlike the 10-hour 2002 miniseries, this version is intended to return season after season. Filming on season 2 wrapped recently and is likely to premiere in spring 2027.

Simpson said development of “Forsytes” originated with “Masterpiece” because traditional British program suppliers, ITV and BBC, are no longer doing as many costume dramas.

“We know that the American audience has a huge appetite for those,” Simpson said. “Look at ‘Bridgerton’ and ‘The Gilded Age.’ Our audience has grown up with all the great costume dramas, and I think that’s a heavy expectation on us to be bringing those to our audience.”

The first season of “Forsytes” is a never-before-seen prequel offering more backstory on the characters. Season 2 picks up with events in the classic story. The series is written by Debbie Horsfield, who previously scripted “Poldark” for “Masterpiece.”

“The women characters in the book are not very well developed, so Debbie made a decision that we have to explore who those women are and we have done that more than previous adaptations of the show,” Simpson said.

• “The Count of Monte Cristo” (10 p.m. Sunday, spring 2026): “Masterpiece” has never adapted the Alexandre Dumas novel. This eight-hour miniseries was made by an Italian company and is directed by Bille August (“Les Misérables”) and stars Sam Claflin (“Daisy Jones & the Six”) in the title role. Jeremy Irons also appears in the series.

‘The Pitt’ teases Season 2

This morning, HBO Max released a teaser trailer for Season 2 of Pittsburgh-set ER drama “The Pitt,” which returns for new episodes in January.

The one-minute preview shows Dr. Robby (Noah Wyle) returning for a new day of work and Dr. Langdon (Patrick Ball), wearing a Penguins hat, coming back to the ER for the first time since his stint in rehab.

Coming soon

Diane Sawyer hosts “Unexpected Journey” (8 p.m. Tuesday, ABC), a one-hour special focused on Bruce Willis amidst his frontotemporal dementia diagnosis.

Summer movies “Thunderbolts” arrives Wednesday on Disney+, and live-action “Lilo & Stitch” follows on Sept. 3.

LL Cool J hosts the “2025 MTV VMAs Live” (8 p.m. Sept. 7, CBS, MTV and Paramount+).

Season 3 of Netflix’s excellent “The Diplomat” streams Oct. 16.

Season 2 of Paramount+’s “Landman” debuts Nov. 16.

Sometime this fall, as it separates from NBC, MSNBC will be renamed MS NOW (My Source for News Opinion and the World), a truly bizarre choice.

Channel surfing

Four senior videographers — Aaron Sledge, Robert Hopson, Stephen Willing and Tim Lawson — retired from KDKA-TV in the past week, leading some insiders to wonder what the impact will be on the station’s newscasts, particularly with this week’s departure of news director Shawn Hoder for a new job in Atlanta. … Comcast’s Xfinity added World Soccer Ticket, an $85 monthly add-on featuring games from Premier League, UEFA Champions League, LALIGA, Liga MX, MLS and next year’s FIFA World Cup across nearly 60 channels, plus Peacock Premium. … In addition to snapping up Tegna this week, FTVLive.com reports broadcast conglomerate Nexstar may be interested in buying Cox Media Group, which owns Pittsburgh’s WPXI.