PBS's Official 'Brian & Maggie' Trailer Brings Down a Prime Minister

There is an accepted truism about historical period dramas as a way for our culture to process the current landscape more easily than dealing with the present reality. Taking the issues of the day and running them through a funhouse mirror of the past makes it easier for audiences to accept, because they experience it at a remove. However, it also serves as a reminder that, to borrow from Mark Twain, "History doesn't repeat itself, but it often rhymes." PBS's newest U.K. acquisition, Brian & Maggie, which debuts in October, is a perfect example of past events that are remarkably similar to the present-day political climate.

The two-part series follows the intertwined careers of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and BBC interviewer Brian Walden, a pair of lower-middle-class kids who made good due to Oxbridge scholarships. Kindred spirits, Thatcher appreciated that Walden took her seriously; Walden loved that she actually answered questions instead of giving glib soundbites. He was also a Thatcherite himself, with genuine, deep-seated conservative values.

However, with Thatcher winning three general elections in a row, she began to believe herself invincible. She began tacking ever more rightward, refusing to consider joining the new Euro currency plan, and feuding with her longtime advisors. As she edged further into Authoritarianism, those around her became alarmed. She refused to consider any of their warnings to be worth her notice. But when her longtime Treasury Chancellor publicly resigned over policy differences, her detractors saw an opening.