It’s hard not to adore actress, Jewish mom of four and grandmother of one Marlee Matlin. Aside from sharing adorable videos of eating chocolate gelt and getting frank about tough issues like sobriety, Matlin has made Hollywood history multiple times — she was the first deaf person to win an Oscar in 1987 for “Children of a Lesser God,” and in 2022, the “CODA” star and executive producer became part of the first predominantly deaf cast to win both a coveted Best Ensemble in a Feature Film Award at the SAG Awards and an Oscar for Best Picture.
And now, Matlin is bringing some of that history-making energy to PBS. The actress’s installment in the much beloved “American Masters” series, the Emmy-winning documentary series that features profiles of American cultural icons, will be the first with ASL as a primary language, and will feature Matlin’s wonderful longtime ASL interpreter, Jack Jason (who, like Matlin, is Jewish). It will also incorporate never-before-seen home videos and follow her illustrious career — starring in movies like “What the #$*! Do We (K)now!?” and shows like “The West Wing,” “Seinfeld” and “Switched At Birth.”
The documentary will be directed by Shoshannah Stern, who is a history maker in her own right. Her show “This Close” for Sundance TV was the first show written and created by, and starring, deaf people (Matlin also acted in the project). A fourth-generation deaf person and the granddaughter of Holocaust survivors, the Jewish actress has had her own incredible career, starring in “Weeds,” “Jericho,” “Supernatural” and “Grey’s Anatomy.” She is also a writer on Disney+’s “Echo,” the “Hawkeye” spinoff starring the deaf superhero who goes by that moniker, played by Alaqua Cox, who is deaf and Native American. The film will be Stern’s directorial debut, and it’s hard to think of a more special way to begin that career trajectory than by directing an in-depth episode for one of the longest-running PBS shows about someone who helped pave the way for Stern and other deaf actresses and creators to have their own amazing careers.
“As a deaf woman who first saw herself reflected in Marlee as a child, I was inspired to become an actor. I am now an actor, a writer and, with this film, a director. I am experiencing everything Marlee has made possible in a beautiful metaphysical tandem,” Stern shared in a statement. “In our film, the telling of her story is rendered through the easy familiarity people have with an interviewer who shares their lived experience. Hopefully, because of this, our project will exemplify why nobody, much less Marlee Matlin, should be alone anymore.”
Aside from Matlin and Stern, the movie will feature some really incredible creators, including “Children of a Lesser God” director Randa Haines, “CODA” director Sian Heder, “The Walking Dead” and “Eternals” star Lauren Ridloff (who also has an amazing Jewish husband!), actor and producer John Maucere, “West Wing” creator Aaron Sorkin and Matlin’s longtime friend and supporter Henry Winkler. Winkler met Matlin when she was just a child taking acting classes, and encouraged her to follow her dream. He let her stay in his family’s home when she was shooting “Children of a Lesser God” and even hosted her wedding in his backyard (you can see a picture of the two of them dancing together on that special day). Matlin has shared that Winkler has been “like a second father figure to me since we met,” and it will be truly amazing to get a glimpse of their special connection in this film.
“American Masters” first started airing in 1986 — its inaugural installment was about Jewish playwright Arthur Miller, and it has featured many Jewish greats, from Albert Einstein to Leonard Bernstein, Stella Adler, Maurice Sendak and Paul Simon. The Matlin documentary is slated to premiere sometime in 2025, and we honestly can’t wait to watch it.
