A Small Light


A Small Light is a biographical war drama miniseries about Miep Gies, a secretary who helped her Jewish employer Otto Frank, his family, and other Jewish refugees go into hiding after the German invasion of the Netherlands during the Second World War. The series was created by Joan Rater and Tony Phelan. It premiered on National Geographic on May 1, 2023 and on Disney+ and Hulu the following day.

Premise

helps her Jewish employer Otto Frank, his family, and other Jewish refugees go into hiding during World War II after the German invasion of the Netherlands.

Cast and characters

Main

Guest

Episodes

Production

Development

It was announced in February 2022 that Disney+ had greenlit the miniseries from National Geographic, which Tony Phelan and Joan Rater wrote and Susanna Fogel directing multiple episodes of the series. In April Bel Powley was cast as Gies, with Liev Schreiber starring as Otto Frank and Joe Cole as Jan Gies. Amira Casar, Billie Boullet and Ashley Brooke would join in June, with Boullet cast as Anne Frank.
Production began by July 2022, with filming taking place between Hradec Králové, Prague and Amsterdam in summer 2022.

Music

The series' soundtrack was executive produced and co-produced by Este Haim, and features covers by musicians including Danielle Haim, Kamasi Washington, Sharon Van Etten, Angel Olsen, Weyes Blood, Remi Wolf, King Princess, Orville Peck, and Moses Sumney. The soundtrack album was released on May 23, 2023.

Release

A Small Light premiered on National Geographic on May 1, 2023. It was released on Disney+ and Hulu on May 2, 2023. It later aired on Freeform on May 6, 2023.

Reception

Audience viewership

On May 4, 2023, according to Jordan Williams of Screen Rant, "With over 11 million recorded attention signals across online platforms, A Small Light is generating considerable buzz from potential viewers, including the second-greatest hype on YouTube for May 2023 releases."

Critical response

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 100% approval rating with an average rating of 8.80/10, based on 34 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "Bel Powley's arresting performance burns bright in A Small Light, a sensitive portrait of heroism in the face of all-encompassing tragedy." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 83 out of 100 based on 16 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".
Christine Persaud and Nick Perry of Digital Trends included A Small Light in their "Best Shows on Hulu Right Now" list. Kelly Connolly of TV Guide included A Small Light in their "74 Best TV Shows on Hulu Right Now" list. Tamara Fuentes of Cosmopolitan included A Small Light in their "30 Best TV Shows of 2023 We Can't Get Enough Of" list.

Accolades