WADLOW ON PBS FOR VIEWERS IN THE USA
- Madoc9
- Oct 28
- 3 min read
Ever since the documentary about the Wadlow portrait aired on Netflix titled “Stuff of Dreams”, we have had people from America asking when can they see it, as it was only available in the UK. Well, the answer is November 12th on PBS in the series Secrets of the Dead. Here’s a link with a short promo.
It’s not quite the same as the Netflix version because PBS wanted some changes so that it would fit the series format. That means we have added expert interviews to those we already had, such as the team from UCL and Jean Penicaut. The people who very kindly agreed to take part are some of the world’s leading experts on Shakespeare, his theatre, and of course portraits of Shakespeare.
Our experts are:
Tarnya Cooper is the world’s leading expert on portraits of Shakespeare having curated the 2006 Searching for Shakespeare exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery.
Lena Cowen Orlin is a trustee of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust and author of “The Private Life of William Shakespeare.” She is Professor Emerita of English at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. She served as Executive Director of the Folger Shakespeare Library’s centre for advanced research.
Emanuel Stelzer is Associate Professor in English Literature at Verona University. He is the author of “Portraits in Early Modern English Drama: Visual Culture, Play-Texts, and Performances.” He is co-chair of the 12th World Shakespeare Congress in Verona 2026.
Peter O'Donoghue is York Herald of Arms at the College of Arms in London. Peter is a heraldic and genealogical scholar with over fourteen years' professional experience in the field.
Charles Nicholl is an English author specializing in works of history, biography, literary detection, and travel. His subjects have included Christopher Marlowe, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Nashe and William Shakespeare. He is the author of “The Lodger: Shakespeare on Silver Street” and “Shakespeare and His Contemporaries.”
The new interviews were added to broaden the programme into a discussion about Shakespeare portraits in general and if possible, for them to discuss the Wadlow portrait and how realistic my claims may be.
This has been something we have been wanting for years now, the lack of engagement from academics and experts being a major cause of frustration. We are grateful to all of them for their time and, more importantly, for engaging, whether for or against.
We would also like to thank PBS and the Secrets of the Dead team for their interest and dedication to our project. These are difficult times for PBS. Some of you will be aware that PBS stands for Public Broadcasting Service. They are a non-profit public television broadcaster in the United States, and they are important for educational and public service programming, known for broadcasting high-quality and culturally significant content that are not generally broadcast by the commercial networks.
They have been very much in the news of late due to the cessation of funding from the government in the USA, putting them in a difficult and precarious position.
We were thrilled and amazed at the reception Stuff of Dreams received, with many messages of support and praise for the story, the portrait and the film itself. We had fabulous reviews in the national press and articles about the programme in the Sunday Times, The Daily Mail and the Sun. So, if you have any comments on Picturing Shakespeare we would love to hear them.
Steven and Madoc 28/10/25
Comments