Premieres Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025 at 10 p.m. on KPBS TV / KPBS+
In early 2023, three amateur codebreakers announced they had successfully decoded the secret correspondence of one of the most tragic characters in European history: Mary, Queen of Scots.
57 encrypted letters detail the exiled queen’s efforts to free herself from imprisonment and gain advantage over her rival, Queen Elizabeth. Now, after four centuries, Mary’s urgent pleas can be revealed.
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Credits: A Lion Television Scotland and GEDEON Programmes production in association with ARTE France for BBC, in association with ZDF and The WNET Group, in collaboration with SBS Australia, Histoire TV and SVT Sweden. Narrated by Jay O. Sanders. Directed by Russell Barnes, Augustin Viatte, and Craig Collinson. Written by Augustin Viatte. Produced by Stéphane Millière, Valérie Guérin, and Helena Hunt. Executive Producers for Lion TV are Richard Bradley, Sarah Sarkhel, and Lisa Hazlehurst. For SECRETS OF THE DEAD: Julian Lim is producer; Benjamin Phelps is senior supervising producer; Stephanie Carter is executive producer; Stephen Segaller is executive in charge.
SECRETS OF THE DEAD is an award-winning history and science PBS documentary series.
