To commemorate Hanukkah, National Geographic released a first-look photo from the upcoming limited series A SMALL LIGHT, premiering this spring on National Geographic and Disney+. Reflecting on the holiday’s themes of resistance, resilience, and courage, this first look shows Miep and Jan Gies, the Frank family, the van Pels family, and Fritz Pfeffer in a scene from the show in which they gather to celebrate the Jewish Festival of Lights while hidden in the secret annex.
The powerful, eight-episode limited series 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. It was Miep who found Anne’s diary and preserved it so that she and Otto could later share it with the world. 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 photo is 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. The remaining cast includes 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; 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. Executive producers are Peter Traugott and Lisa Roos for Keshet Studios, Alon Shtruzman for Keshet International, and Avi Nir for Keshet Media Group.
About National Geographic Content
Award-winning and critically acclaimed National Geographic Content, part of a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company and the National Geographic Society, creates and delivers riveting stories and experiences in natural history, science, adventure, and exploration. Inspiring a deeper connection to the world, the content studio reaches 300 million people worldwide in 180 countries and 33 languages across the global National Geographic channels (National Geographic Channel, Nat Geo WILD, Nat Geo MUNDO), National Geographic Documentary Films, and direct-to-consumer platforms Disney+ and Hulu. Its diverse content includes Emmy® Award-winning franchise Genius, series Life Below Zero and Secrets of the Whales, and Oscar®- and BAFTA award-winning film Free Solo. In 2022, National Geographic Content was awarded eight News and Documentary Emmys®, in addition to Life Below Zero‘s Emmy win for Outstanding Cinematography for a Reality Program, its sixth Emmy overall. For more information, visit natgeotv.com or nationalgeographic.com.
