Rebecca Eaton

In her three-and-a-half-hour interview, Rebecca Eaton talks about growing up in Pasadena, CA and attending Vassar College. She discusses her first job after graduation, at BBC Radio in London, and on returning to the United States to work first for Boston’s WGBH radio and then for WGBH television. She talks about the atmosphere at PBS in the early 1970s, and outlines her transition to producing Masterpiece Theatre (later renamed Masterpiece). Eaton goes into detail about her role as executive producer for Masterpiece Theatre, including working with Alistair Cooke and Vincent Price, dealing with early sponsor Mobil and later sponsor Viking Cruises, and challenges the program has faced with more recent competition from outlets like Netflix and HBO. She touches on notable Masterpiece programs, including Prime Suspect, “The American Collection,” and “The Complete Jane Austen,” as well as Sherlock. Eaton talks about Downton Abbey, detailing how the series came to Masterpiece, the immense popularity of the show, and working with Julian Fellowes. She concludes by discussing the challenge of balancing her work life and personal life, advice to aspiring producers, and her greatest career achievements and regrets. Adrienne Faillace conducted the interview on March 21, 2019 in Cambridge, MA.