Rebecca Eaton has been the executive producer of “Masterpiece Theatre” since 1985, so she has both an intimate knowledge of the PBS series and a true love for its mission of presenting classic works.
Back in 2007, she became keenly aware that the show was losing some of its cachet. People still loved it, but it was “beginning to be that program that my parents used to watch.”
She decided to take a hard look at everything about the award-winning series, “because I didn’t want it to be mutton dressed as lamb or, put another way, the older lady in a too-short skirt.”
Eaton will be the keynote speaker for the Be More Awards, presented by WTCI-TV 45 March 6 at the Chattanooga Convention Center. The awards honor individuals and businesses that have improved the quality of life in Chattanooga, particularly in the nonprofit community.
Eaton said “Masterpiece” was nowhere near going off the air, but it was “becoming a dusty jewel” that no longer was at the forefront of people’s minds, she said.