BBC Commissions Adaptation of 'The Other Bennet Sister'

For at least two generations of Jane Austen lovers, 2025 is a banner anniversary year. It’s the 30th anniversary of the beloved 1995 BBC miniseries adaptation of Pride & Prejudice, the six-part ultra-faithful version of the series with Jennifer Elhe as Elizabeth Bennet and Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy, beloved by everyone from my mother to Depression Barbie. (Legit, the first and only time I have ever seen myself represented in a hit blockbuster film.) For those who came of age post-2000, it’s also the 20th anniversary of the 2005 big-budget film adaptation of Pride & Prejudice, the one with Keira Knightly as Elizabeth Bennet and The Official Inferior Darcy Matthew Mcfadyen. Unsurprisingly, the BBC is planning a celebration for its half of this double-anniversary, with a brand new ten-part miniseries adapting Janice Hadlow’s 2020 best-seller, The Other Bennet Sister.

Those who have not read the novel may well ask, “Which other Bennet sister?” as Elizabeth famously has four sisters (in order, eldest Jane, followed by Elizabeth, and then younger sisters Mary, Lydia, and Kitty), all of whom her mother is focused on marrying off. In the novels, Jane and Elizabeth are rivals as the two eldest, and Lydia and Kitty are often paired together as the two less mature ones. That leaves poor Mary as the middle child and, perhaps unsurprisingly, the heroine of this novel, following her experiences after her two elder sisters marry and move out.

The BBC is commissioning The Other Bennet Sister from Bad Wolf (Russell T. Davies’ company under the Sony umbrella), with screenwriter Sarah Quintrell (His Dark Materials) set to pen all episodes. “I’m thrilled to be telling the story of Mary - the other Bennet sister - exploring what it is to come of age when you’re the odd one out,” Quintrell said as part of the press release. “It’s a joy to be adapting Janice Hadlow’s brilliant take on such a beloved classic with the team at Bad Wolf and to have found our home at the BBC. I grew up (an awkward, anxious teen, getting everything wrong...) watching the BBC’s wonderful Austen adaptations. It’s the stuff every writer dreams of, and I can’t wait to bring this beautiful story to screen - not least, for all the Marys out there.”

Here is the synopsis for the forthcoming series:

The Other Bennet Sister is a fresh spin around the ballroom for one of Jane Austen’s most unassuming characters: Mary Bennet – the seemingly unremarkable and overlooked middle sister in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. The series takes as its premise that - when it comes to the Bennet sisters - while we dream of being Lizzy, in reality, most of us are more like Mary. Unlike her sisters, Mary isn’t your typical period drama heroine. She is awkward, anxious, preachy, full of facts, a terrible singer… overlooked by her mother and seemingly destined to an empty dance card for the rest of her life… until Mary takes matters into her own hands. The Other Bennet Sister gives Mary Bennet the epic love story nobody predicted for her, taking her from her family home in Meryton to the soirees of Regency London and the peaks and vales of the Lake District - all in search of independence, romance, and most elusive of all, self-love and acceptance.

No cast or directors have been set yet; filming is expected to begin in early 2025, and announcements will arrive in due course. The Other Bennet Sister was commissioned by the Director of BBC Drama, Lindsay Salt, as a ten-installment series comprised of 30-minute episodes. Quintrell will pen all episodes and executive produce along with the novel's author (and former BBC controller), Janice Hadlow. The rest of the producing team includes Rebecca Ferguson for the BBC and Kate Crowther, Becca Kinder, & Jane Tranter for Bad Wolf. 

The Other Bennet Sister will debut on the BBC in late 2025. We will begin taking bets for who will land it for the U.S. market: PBS, which initially aired the 1995 miniseries and still has it available on select PBS Passports; BritBox, which has the 1995 P&P available to stream across the U.S.; or Starz, which has the 2005 P&P. (We are naturally rooting for Masterpiece.)