National Geographic’s latest original scripted series is “A Small Light”, which is a limited series that is based on the inspiring true story of Miep Gies, who is a young, carefree and opinionated woman — at a time when opinions got you killed ― when Otto Frank asked her to help hide his family from the Nazis during WWII. Without hesitation, Miep agreed. For the next two years, she and her daring and devoted husband, Jan, with several other everyday heroes, watched over the Frank, van Pels and Pfeffer families hiding in the secret annexe.

The eight-episode series is a hard-hitting drama series that shows the reality of living in Amsterdam during the second world war. While many know about the story of Anne Frank and her diary, telling the story from the perspective of Mipe and Jan, gives the story a different take, showing how the kindness of people can make a huge impact on those around you.

With the series being created originally for Disney+, while the show does explain everything going on during the war and deals with difficult themes, it keeps the tone suitable for teenagers. For any teenager learning about World War 2 for school, this is going to be a very useful series to give some context for the situation, though it’s worth noting that in this series, like most historical drama shows, the story has been changed to make it more interesting for viewers, and to make it more suitable for a modern sensibility, which makes sense to tell this important story to a younger generation, but sometimes it feels unnecessary.

The acting in this series is superb, with Bel Powley’s portrayal of Miep to be captivating, as she showcases the emotions so beautifully throughout the show, which really allows you to connect with her character, because she’s acting how we would think we would act in this situation, though in reality, we probably wouldn’t. And Joe Cole does a fantastic job of showcasing your everyday person, who is slowly pushed further and further into acting uncharacteristically, as the war goes on. The pair just have a great chemistry together, which allows Miep’s emotions to bounce off Jan’s more mild-mannered nature. Liev Schreiber is also great as Otto, the head of the family, and he just commands the screen anytime he appears.

“A Small Light” is an amazing drama series, that mixes the highs and lows of a true story. Not everything is doom and gloom. We get to see the characters playfully interacting with one another, dealing with the day-to-day things, that make them human, but also making the ending even more painful. And the scene involving the raid by the Nazis, even though you know it’s coming, is extremely painful to watch because of the reality of what they’ve lived through but, worse of all, the fate that this means.

This isn’t always an easy watch, as it has some emotional moments that really make you think about the realities of the war and what people went through, from getting enough food, to what happens when someone is sick or just being in constant fear of being discovered. There are so many elements to this show which really help tell the story of what it was like trying to hide a family for years.   The constant worry that there could be a knock on the door with a raid or bad news, having to be looking over your shoulder constantly and to not let your emotions out, because it won’t end well.   While also highlighting the very best in people and human nature.

Overall, “A Small Light” is a fascinating, hard-hitting drama series that brought me to tears on many occasions and is a show that showcases that Disney+ can deliver high-quality drama series. This is a must-see show and an easy recommendation for everyone to check out.  It isn’t always comfortable to watch, but it’s an important history lesson for us all, especially so we don’t forget what happened.

Rating – 4.5 Out Of 5

The first two episodes of “A Small Light” are going to be released on Disney+ and Hulu on Tuesday, 2nd May 2023, with two episodes being released weekly. The show will also be released on the National Geographic channel in the US.

Roger Palmer

Roger has been a Disney fan since he was a kid and this interest has grown over the years. He has visited Disney Parks around the globe and has a vast collection of Disney movies and collectibles. He is the owner of What's On Disney Plus & DisKingdom. Email: Roger@WhatsOnDisneyPlus.com Twitter: Twitter.com/RogPalmerUK Facebook: Facebook.com/rogpalmeruk

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