PBS digs into archaeological mystery with Zed doc The Lost Tombs of Notre-Dame

The Lost Tombs of Notre-Dame debuts on Arte France this month

US broadcaster PBS is to air archaeological documentary The Lost Tombs of Notre-Dame as part of its science series Nova next month.

The 52-minute film, produced by French prodco Zed, looks at two mysterious lead sarcophagi, usually used to bury important people, that were excavated during restoration work at the Paris cathedral after it was seriously damaged by fire in 2019.

The documentary premieres on Arte France on November 30, while Nova’s version will air on December 18. It will also stream on the PBS app, Nova on YouTube and at pbs.org/nova.

Made with the participation of the National Institute for Archaeological Research and CNRS Images, the title has also been pre-sold to TV5 Québec-Canada, Planète+, Česká Televize, Foxtel, RTBF and Mediaset.

Manuel Catteau, president of Zed, said: “This new agreement in the American market testifies to our teams’ ability to raise productions to the highest editorial and artistic level, and to meet the demands of a partner as prodigious as Nova for PBS.”

Chris Schmidt, co-executive producer for Nova, said: “It’s a privilege to be able to take viewers inside this riveting forensic mystery – buried for centuries underneath the Notre-Dame cathedral.”