Five Reasons to Give 'Sanditon' a Try

As most period drama fans probably already know, new Jane Austen drama Sanditon is headed to PBS's Masterpiece this January. And, technically, it's a drama that's "new" in multiple terms - it's an adaptation of the existing 11 chapters of Austen's final, unfinished novel, and a continuation of it, with the remaining bulk of the story penned by showrunner Andrew Davies, who's not only brought many versions of the author's works to the screen, but gave us that infamous shot of Colin Firth striding out of the lake at Pemberley back in the 1990s.

So, you know, if anybody's qualified to make a leap about how Austen might have continued this story, it's probably Davies. But the existence of Sanditon does propose an intersting conundrum for fans - it's the one time we're all going to watch an Austen story together and have no idea what's going to happen next. The story isn't set in stone, and it pretty much feels like anything could happen.

But if that sense of the possible isn't enough reason for you to give Sanditon a try, we've got a few other reasons you should tune in for the premiere on Sunday.