Channel 4's 'Brian & Maggie' to Debut on PBS in October

There is something deeply satisfying about seeing a show you've been obsessively following since it was announced, and after two years of emailing around to PBS asking if public broadcasting is picking up, finally, FINALLY, someone says yes. It's even better when that show is one you have been absolutely dying to see, both because of the actors involved and the material. In this case, the series in question is Brian & Maggie (formerly Brian and Margaret), which debuted on Channel 4 in the spring of 2025, starring Steve Coogan as Brian Walden and Dame Harriet Walter as Margaret Thatcher, and it will debut on most PBS stations starting in October 2025.

A brief bit of history for those who weren't alive in the 1980s: Margaret Thatcher, the only woman to have been elected Prime Minister in the U.K., was not a universally beloved figure. While she wasn't a full-on dictator, she espoused a pale variation of the theme with her Thatcherism, "authoritarian individualism." She ran roughshod over Liberals and Labour alike, dismantling major reforms that had made people's lives better in the name of lining the pockets of the rich. She had cops embed in Labour-leaning towns, posing as ordinary citizens, reporting on their neighbors to MI-5 for decades.

But like any thin-skinned autocrat, part of the reason she held power for so long is that no one in the press had the stones to push back.... until someone asked BBC anchor Brian Walden to do it.

Here’s the series synopsis:

Brian and Maggie looks at the final ever television interview of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and journalist Brian Walden, and asks whether the slow death of full-length political TV interviews puts modern democracy at risk.

1989. When Brian and Maggie came together for their last-ever TV interview, little did they know they were about to embark on one of the most famous political exchanges of all time. The 45-minute showdown became a national talking point and set in train a series of events that ended with Maggie’s resignation. Afterward, they never spoke again…

Dame Harriet Walter (Wolf Hall) stars as the titular Maggie, PM Margaret Thatcher, with Steve Coogan (....with Alan Partridge) co-starring as the titular Brian, BBC interviewer Brian Walden, a former Labour politician who was considered Auntie Beeb’s best political interviewer in his day. The stellar supporting cast includes Emma Sidi (Starstruck), Ross Armstrong (Mr. Selfridge), and Karan Gill (The Decameron). 

For the history nerds, here's the actual 1989 interview to see how the actors compare.

James Graham (Sherwood) wrote both installments, basing his script on political editor and TV producer Rob Burley’s book Why is This Lying Bastard Lying to Me?: Searching for the Truth on Political TV. (The book dedicates two chapters to explaining how the Thatcher interview came together and its aftermath.) 

Director Stephen Frears (A Very English Scandal) helmed both episodes, with Dan Winch producing. The series is executive produced by Sarah Monteith, Delyth Scudamore, and Rupert Majendie, alongside Baby Cow Productions, Coogan’s production company.

Brian & Maggie will debut on Sunday, October 5, 2025, at 8 p.m. ET on most local PBS stations, the PBS app, and the PBS Masterpiece Channel, followed directly by the premieres of Maigret Season 1 and The Gold Season 1, and will follow a weekly release schedule with Part 2 arriving on Sunday, October 12, 2025. Both episodes will be available as a binge on PBS Passport for members on premiere day.