National Geographic has released a first-look photo and details from the upcoming limited series “A SMALL LIGHT,” based on the story of Anne Frank. It will premiere Spring 2023 on National Geographic and Disney+.
The Series Details
The eight-episode limited series takes a different angle on the historic story,and tells the remarkable story of 20-something secretary Miep Gies (Bel Powley), who didn’t hesitate when her boss Otto Frank (Liev Schreiber) asked her to hide him and his family from the Nazis during World War II.
For the next two years, Miep, her husband Jan (Joe Cole), and several other everyday heroes watched over the eight souls hiding in the secret annex. I’ve actually visited the house in Amsterdam, and it is mind-blowing to think they hid for all that time in such a tiny area.
In fact, it was actually Miep who found young Anne Frank’s diary and preserved it so that she and Otto could later share it with the world.
National Geographic says the series title comes from something Gies said late in her life: “I don’t like being called a hero because no one should ever think you have to be special to help others. Even an ordinary secretary or a housewife or a teenager can turn on a small light in a dark room.”
Also in the cast are Amira Casar, who plays Edith Frank, mother to Margot and Anne; Billie Boullet, who portrays Anne Frank; and Ashley Brooke, who plays Anne’s older sister Margot Frank.
Plus, Eleanor Tomlinson as Tess (Miep’s best friend), Andy Nyman as Hermann van Pels, Caroline Catz as Auguste van Pels, and Noah Taylor as Dr. Fritz Pfeffer, who all hid in the annex with the Frank family.
Rounding out the cast are Sally Messham as Bep Voskuijl, Ian McElhinney as Johannes Kleiman, and Nicholas Burns as Victor Kugler, Miep’s coworkers; and Liza Sadovy as Mrs. Stoppelman, Laurie Kynaston as Casmir, and Sebastian Armesto as Max Stoppelman.
“A SMALL LIGHT” is produced by ABC Signature in partnership with Keshet Studios for National Geographic.
Executive producers and writers Joan Rater and Tony Phelan (ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Council of Dads”) serve as showrunners, and DGA award-winner and Emmy®-nominated executive producer Susanna Fogel (“The Flight Attendant,” “Cat Person”) directs multiple episodes, including the pilot.
The Photo
The first look photo provided by National Geographic shows the Frank, van Pels, and Gies families celebrating Hanukkah.
From left: Liev Schreiber as Otto Frank, Ashley Brooke as Margot Frank, Rudi Goodman as Peter van Pels, Billie Boullet as Anne Frank, Amira Casar as Edith Frank, Caroline Catz as Mrs. van Pels, Noah Taylor as Dr. Pfeffer, Joe Cole as Jan Gies, Bel Powley as Miep Gies, and Andy Nyman as Mr. van Pels.