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The Other Bennet Sister (television series)

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The Other Bennet Sister is a television series, based on the novel of the same name, which is, in turn, based on Jane Austen's influential 1813 novel, Pride and Prejudice.[1][2] It was first broadcast, on the BBC, on March 18, 2026.[3] The series is ten episodes long.[4]

The original novel was by Janice Hadlow, and the scripts were written by Sarah Quintrell.[1][5] Quintrell has said that she was surprised by Austen's work, when she was young, by how strongly she identified with her characters.[6]

The Bad Wolf film production company produced the series.[1] Its previous projects included His Dark Materials.

Comparisons have been made to the very popular BBC 1995 adaptation of Pride and Prejudice -- the one that starred Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy.[1]

Televisual quotes screenwriter Quintrell[2]:

“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. 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."[2]

plot

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The first two of the ten episodes re-tell the events of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, from Mary's perspective.[7] Later episodes have her live with her kindly aunt and uncle Gardiner, in London, and later with her sister, Elizabeth. She makes several admirers.

critical reception

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The series was positively received. According to the The Hollywood Reporter the series was the BBC's most popular, in the past year, with 7.3 million viewers.[8]

Defector magazine called the series "a rare treasure."[7] It notes, "Blessedly, the show does not have her undergo a nerdy girl takes off her glasses at prom only for everyone to realize she’s a stunner style transformation."

Cosmopolitan magazine called the series "genuinely the most wholesome show on television right now."[9]

Yahoo News remarked on how the series portrays Mary's mother as a much more damaging influence on Mary's self-esteem, than the same character has on her sister in Jane Austen's original novel.[10] It said the writer, Quintrell, "pushes against the fact that when it comes to films and TV, there is still a stigma around showing a mother-daughter relationship that feels cruel, outside of an over-the-top fairytale."

Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett, writing in The Guardian, identifies herself as having been an ostrcized "shy bookish girl", like Mary, during her adolescence.[11] She asserted that shy bookish girls are still made to feel out of place, today.

"Other bookish women I know, who were once bookish girls, have said the same about the experience of watching The Other Bennet Sister. It all goes to show how rare it still feels to have a TV drama, especially a costume drama, whose heroine is an ordinary-looking young woman, as opposed to one who looks like a supermodel. Equally refreshing is that her character arc isn’t purely a romantic one. There is romance, of course, but the show’s narrative focus is less an Austenian marriage plot and more about Mary coming to terms with who she is, finding independence and learning to love herself. If I had a teenage daughter, I’d be trying to get her to watch it with me, possibly in vain.[11]

cast

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cast of The Other Bennet Sister[12][13]
image actor role character's age age IRL notes
Ella Bruccoleri Mary Bennet 18 35
Maddie Close Jane Bennet 22 26
Poppy Gilbert Lizzy Bennet 20 26
Molly Wright Kitty Bennet 17 29
Grace Hogg-Robinson Lydia Bennet 16 29
Indira Varma Mrs Gardiner 51
Richard Coyle Mr Gardiner 53
Richard E. Grant Mr Bennet 68
  • Played Sir Walter Elliot in a 2022 adaptation of Jane Austen's Persuasion
Ruth Jones Mrs Bennet 58
Tanya Reynolds Caroline Bingley 33
Anna Fenton-Garvey Charlotte Lucas 27 27
Ryan Sampson Mr. Collins 25 39
Varada Sethu Ann Baxter 33
  • A character not found in Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice
Aaron Gill John Sparrow
  • A character not found in Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice
Laurie Davidson Mr. Ryder 33
  • A character not found in Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice
Dónal Finn Mr. Hayward
  • A character not found in Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice

rough work

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[14]

References

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  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Kimberley Bond (2024-10-10). "The Other Bennet BBC announces Pride and Prejudice spin-off". Harper's Bazaar magazine. Archived from the original on 2024-10-31. Retrieved 2025-02-02. Titled The Other Bennet Sister, the 10-part drama will focus on Mary Bennet – Lizzy’s supposedly unremarkable sister and the middle Bennet daughter that is typically overlooked.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Jon Creamer (2024-10-09). "Bad Wolf preps The Other Bennet Sister". Televisual. Retrieved 2025-02-02. The ten-part drama is written by Sarah Quintrell (The Power, Ellen) in her first drama series commission for television, and is based on the novel of the same name by Janice Hadlow.
  3. ↑ "The Other Bennet Sister is biggest launch for a new Drama since May 2025". BBC News. 2026-04-22. Retrieved 2026-04-23. Since the show launched on 15 March, the 28-day figure makes The Other Bennet Sister the biggest launch of a new drama in the UK across all platforms and streamers since May 2025, with 4.1m (56%) of the audience viewing through BBC iPlayer.
  4. ↑ Rachel King (2025-12-17). "'The Other Bennet Sister': Everything We Know About BritBox Adaptation of Janice Hadlow's Book". Town & Country magazine. Retrieved 2025-09-28. Set over 10 episodes, the show notes say the series will follow Mary “as she steps out of her sisters’ shadows in search of her own identity and purpose – finding herself in the middle of an epic love story along the way. Her journey will see her leave her family home in Meryton for the soirees of Regency London and the peaks and vales of the Lake District, all in search of independence, self-love and reinvention.”
  5. ↑ K.J. Yossman (2024-10-09). "BBC Revisits 'Pride and Prejudice' With Mary Spinoff Titled 'The Other Bennet Sister'". Variety magazine. Archived from the original on 2024-10-09. Retrieved 2025-09-09. '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,' said Quintrell.
  6. ↑ Shola Lee (2025-12-13). "The Other Bennet Sister cast on why we love Austen". BBC Home. Retrieved 2025-09-28. 'I came to [Jane] Austen as a kid from Croydon, in my teens, thinking that she couldn't possibly have anything to say to me,' says Sarah Quintrell, screenwriter for the upcoming BBC drama The Other Bennet Sister. However, after reading the author's works, she couldn't believe how connected she felt to Austen's characters. It was as though she "knew everybody" in the 19th century novels, she says.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Brandy Jensen (2026-05-11). "Finally, An Austen-ish Adaptation Worth Watching". Defector magazine. Archived from the original on 2026-05-10. Retrieved 2026-04-23. And thank god for that, because the BBC’s The Other Bennet Sister (adapted from Janice Hadlow’s 2020 novel of the same name) is a rare treasure: an Austen-ish adaptation that actually justifies its own existence.
  8. ↑ Lily Ford (2026-04-22). "'The Other Bennet Sister' Becomes Biggest U.K. Drama Launch in a Year". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 2026-04-22. Retrieved 2026-05-13.
  9. ↑ Mehera Bonner (2026-05-12). "'The Other Bennet Sister' May 13 Episode Clip". Cosmopolitan magazine. Archived from the original on 2026-05-13. Retrieved 2026-04-23. The Other Bennet Sister is genuinely the most wholesome show on television right now (fight me) and the best is yet to come.
  10. ↑ Elisabetta Bianchini (2026-05-05). "'The Other Bennet Sister' with 'Bridgerton' star focuses on what Jane Austen's 'Pride and Prejudice' missed". Yahoo News. Retrieved 2026-04-23.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett (2026-03-29). "A new Austen drama made me wonder: is the fate of bookish young women really so different today?". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2026-03-29. Retrieved 2026-05-13. Watching Ella Bruccoleri’s excellent performance reunited me with those awful feelings of shyness and exclusion, of walking with your head down in the hope that no one notices you.
  12. ↑ Kelli Boyle (2025-06-17). "What Is 'The Other Bennet Sister' About? Cast, Premiere Date and More Details About 'Pride and Prejudice'-Inspired Series". tvinsider. Archived from the original on 2025-06-19. Retrieved 2025-09-09. The Other Bennet Sister follows Mary as she steps out of her sisters’ shadows in search of her own identity and purpose – finding herself in the middle of an epic love story along the way. Her journey will see her leave her family home in Meryton for the soirees of Regency London and the peaks and vales of the Lake District, all in search of independence, self-love, and reinvention.
  13. ↑ Ellise Shafer (2025-06-17). "Ruth Jones, Richard E. Grant, Indira Varma, Richard Coyle and More Join 'The Other Bennet Sister' at BBC and BritBox". Variety magazine. Archived from the original on 2025-06-17. Retrieved 2025-09-09.
  14. ↑ Alex Ritman (2025-12-11). "'The Other Bennet Sister' First Look: Richard E. Grant and Ruth Jones Play Discerning Parents in 'Pride & Prejudice' Spinoff From BBC, BritBox (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety magazine. Retrieved 2025-09-28. Just ahead of Jane Austin’s 250th birthday on Dec, 16, the first look photos from “The Other Bennet Sister” — about the oft-overlooked middle sister in “Pride and Prejudice” — have been unveiled.
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