'Miss Austen Returns' Rumored for Season 2

The 250th anniversary celebration of Jane Austen's birth in December continues to be a central focal point for the entertainment industry in 2025. Thus far, we've had a feature film, Jane Austen Wrecked My Life, and the PBS series Miss Austen. Still to come: The Other Bennet Sister, Jane Austen: Rise of a Genius, and a new adaptation of Pride & Prejudice. However, apparently, one of these limited series may be a whole lot less limited and expand to a second season to air post-Austen Semiquincentennial, as Christine Langan, the head of Bonnie Productions, told Deadline that the company is working on a sequel: Miss Austen Returns.

To clarify, this is not an official announcement of a second season being commissioned. The article mentions that it is currently assumed Masterpiece will be on board as a co-producer with Bonnie, as it was with Season 1; however, that is in no way a given at this time, and should not be taken for granted. (We reached out to Masterpiece for comment but did not hear back by press time.)

What the interview actually indicates is that Langan's company is in the preparatory stages of making a sequel. According to Deadline, Keeley Hawes has signed on to reprise her role as Cassandra Austen, if this project gets off the ground, as have "other key cast members." More importantly, writer Andrea Gibb, who adapted the first season from Gill Hornby's best-selling book of the same name, is currently penning scripts. Gibb used up all the material from Hornby's book in the first season, but that's ok, since in the interim, he has written a sequel, The Elopement, which happened to hit bookshelves the week after Miss Austen concluded its PBS run.

Since this information comes directly from a production company executive who was being interviewed about a different project when she brought it up, there is no press release and no synopsis for a Miss Austen sequel series. However, for those who have not read Hornby's latest release, here is the synopsis for The Elopement:

1820. Mary Dorothea Knatchbull is living under the sole charge of her widowed father, Sir Edward – a man of strict principles and high Christian values. But when her father marries Miss Fanny Knight of Godmersham Park, Mary’s life is suddenly changed. Her new stepmother comes from a large, happy, and sociable family, and Fanny’s sisters become Mary’s first friends. Her aunt, Miss Cassandra Austen of Chawton, is exceptionally kind. Her brothers are not only amusing, but handsome and charming.

And as Mary Dorothea blossoms into a beautiful young woman, she forms a special bond with one Mr. Knight in particular. Soon, they are deeply in love and determined to marry. They expect no opposition. After all, each is from a good family and has known the other for some years. It promises to be the most perfect match. Who would want to stand in their way?

“People watching Miss Austen might think, how does it return?” Langan told Deadline. “To a large degree, it’s down to the fact that Gill wrote another novel, which we optioned, and which created the potential for Cassandra to come back. The Elopement is drawn from a very rich family history; the Austens were very fertile, and there are a lot of them. This is a well-researched true story that happens later on [from Miss Austen], around the 1820s, and to a wing of the family that involves Cassandra.”

“In the present tense of the narrative in Miss Austen, Cassandra was carrying the legacy of Jane Austen. Then, in the past tense, you understood the chemistry and the dynamic between them. Well, you’re going to see more of both of those [elements], but the past-tense years that we focus on will be ones that were highly creative for Jane and when her novels were actually being published. Cassandra is carrying the flame in the present-tense part, and rather than burning letters and looking after Jane’s privacy as in the first series, this is about an interpretation of Jane’s meaning and value.”

Season 1 starred Hawes as present-day Cassandra Austen, alongside Jessica Hynes (Years & Years) as Mary Austen, Rose Leslie (Game of Thrones) as Isabella Fowler, and Mirren Mack (The Doll Factory) as Dinah. One assumes that at least Hynes or Leslie has also agreed in principle to return, though it's notable that neither gets name-dropped.

Patsy Ferran (Firebrand) stars as Jane in the flashbacks, with Synnøve Karlsen (Passenger) playing young Cassy, Liv Hill (The Serpent Queen) as young Mary, Phyllis Logan (Downton Abbey) as their mother, Mrs. Cassandra Austen, and Logan's real-life husband, Kevin McNally (The Crown) as Mr. Austen. It is not clear if any of them will return for a second series.

Other than Gibb, none of the production team is confirmed to return as yet. We expect that to change if and when PBS decides to get involved in a second season.

All episodes of Miss Austen are streaming on PBS Passport for members. We will report back if and when this project gains forward momentum.