We Found Your New Must-Watch Masterpiece Drama on PBS
Set your DVRs, because there’s new historical drama lighting up Masterpiece on PBS on Sunday nights. Act fast, though, because this miniseries is only three episodes long. It’s entitled The Miniaturist, and it’s a haunting three-part drama produced by the BBC. It premiered in the U.K. last year, while the first episode premiered on PBS on Sunday, September 9.
The series is based on the 2014 novel The Miniaturist written by English actress and writer Jessie Burton. It tells the story of a young woman named Petronella Oortman (“Nella” for short), who moves from Holland to Amsterdam when she marries a wealthy merchant trader named Johannes Brandt. Her absent husband soon gifts her a dollhouse replica of their home, and she enlists the help of an unknown artist to help her fill the house with miniatures. The artist, however, seems to know more than they should. The suspense builds when the miniature figurines come to mirror the Brandt household and reveal secrets about its inhabitants—they may even foretell the future. Who is the miniaturist, and how long will the Brandt’s secrets remain hidden? You’ll have to tune in to find out.
Watch the Trailer:
The Miniaturist stars Anya Taylor-Joy (Split, Thoroughbreds) as Nella, Alex Hassell (Cold Mountain, Suburbicon) as her husband, Johannes Brandt, and Romola Garai (Suffragette, I Capture the Castle) as Johannes’ sister, Marin. It also stars Paapa Essiedu and Hayley Squires.
You can stream the first episode now on pbs.org (no special subscription required!), and you can catch the final two episodes in the three-part series on upcoming Sundays at 9/8c. If you can’t watch it when it airs, you can purchase the miniseries on Amazon beginning September 18. If you'd like to read the book before watching the adaptation, be sure to pick up the novel on which the series is based—you can find it at Indiebound and on Amazon.
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What have you been watching lately? Let us know your PBS favorites, and be sure to leave a comment telling us if you like The Miniaturist.
