'Cracking the Code' to open the 2025-26 Season of PBS Independent Lens

Broadcast premiere on Monday, October 6th

Narrated by Mark Ruffalo, Cracking the Code: Phil Sharp and the Biotech Revolution, an inspiring story of vision, perseverance, and the power of science to transform modern medicine, will premiere on INDEPENDENT LENS on October 6, 2025. The documentary feature chronicles the life and career of Phil Sharp through his groundbreaking RNA biology discovery that redefined how we understand genes and genetic disorders.

Cracking the Code tracks Sharp’s journey from his early days in a shack with no indoor water or electricity on a Kentucky tobacco farm to winning the Nobel Prize for his discovery of RNA splicing, which kick-started the global biotechnology revolution.

The film will premiere PBS’s INDEPENDENT LENS on October 6, 2025, at 10 p.m. (check local listings). The film will also be available to stream on the PBS app and PBS YouTube.

Visit the Cracking the Code page on our website or at INDEPENDENT LENS to learn more about the film.