Elizabeth and Joe Seamans have been making documentaries for almost 50 years.   

Joe filmed and directed numerous National Geographic Specials for PBS, including Serengeti Diary, Realm of the Alligator, and Treasures from the Past. He also produced and directed programs for NOVA, including The Great Robot Race, and Car of the Future, featuring Tom and Ray Magliozzi from Car Talk. He was director of photography for The Farmer’s Wife and Country Boys, directed by David Sutherland for Frontline/PBS.

Elizabeth was one of Fred Rogers’ primary collaborators and a script writer and filmmaker for Mister Roger’s Neighborhood, as well as writer/producer for documentaries produced by Fred Rogers’ company, including Old Friends, New Friends, Fred Rogers’ Heroes, Safe Havens, and Cops and Kids. She has won numerous awards for her films about children and folklife, Conversations in Rhyme, funded by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Elizabeth’s mother came from Hickman County, Tennessee, where the McLearen family has lived and farmed since 1824. Learn more about her life here.