Netflix Set to Adapt Contemporary Jane Austen Retelling 'Pride'

While word on the street is that Netflix is working on a proper new series adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, it's apparently not the streamer's only upcoming project connected to the Jane Austen classic. According to Deadline, they're also developing a feature adaptation of author Ibi Zoboi's bestselling 2018 YA novel Pride. The book is described as a contemporary "remix" of Auten's tale, shifting the setting to setting to Brooklyn and populating its story with a diverse mix of multicultural characters from different socio-economic backgrounds. The story deals with timely themes of gentrification, class, and cultural identity.

In this version of the tale, the Bennets are the Benitezs, a Haitian-Dominican family whose five daughters are deeply involved in the life of their community. The Darcys are the much more affluent family who move into their gentrifying Bushwick neighborhood, turning a previously run-down building into a virtual mansion in the process. The clash between them that follows is familiarly Austenian in terms of all the bickering and longing; however, it's laced with timely social themes that will feel very relatable to modern readers. 

Pride has had a torturous development history. HBO and Warner Bros. originally optioned it as a TV series, but for whatever reason, that never came to pass. Netflix is now reportedly developing the title into a movie, along with Alloy Entertainment and President Barack Obama's Higher Ground Productions. 

Here's the book synopsis. 

“Zuri Benitez has pride. Brooklyn pride, family pride, and pride in her Afro-Latino roots. But pride might not be enough to save her rapidly gentrifying neighborhood from becoming unrecognizable. When the wealthy Darcy family moves in across the street, Zuri wants nothing to do with their two teenage sons, even as her older sister, Janae, starts to fall for the charming Ainsley. She especially can’t stand the judgmental and arrogant Darius. Yet as Zuri and Darius are forced to find common ground, their initial dislike shifts into an unexpected understanding. But with four wild sisters pulling her in different directions, cute boy Warren vying for her attention, and college applications hovering on the horizon, Zuri fights to find her place in Bushwick’s changing landscape, or lose it all.”

The Bear's Karen Joseph Adcock is writing the adaptation, which is part of Netflix's extensive deal with the Obamas' production company. Higher Ground has already produced numerous titles for the streamer, including the children's cartoon Waffles + Mochi, the Michelle Obama documentary Becoming, and the Irish mystery series Bodkin. 

Leslie Morgenstein and Elysa Koplovitz Dutton produce for Alloy Entertainment. Vinnie Malhotra, president of Higher Ground Productions, Anikah McLaren, Head of Film, and Mark Wright, VP of Film, produce on behalf of Higher Ground. Adock is also a co-producer. 

No specific casting or production details are yet known.