BBC and BritBox International are reteaming with The Power writer Sarah Quintrell and powerhouse producer Bad Wolf for The Other Bennet Sister, a ten-part drama that puts Mary Bennet—the overlooked sibling from Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice—front and center.
Ella Bruccoleri, whose recent turns in Call the Midwife and Bridgerton have built buzz, takes the lead as Mary, stepping out from the shadow of her more famous sisters in a character-forward story that pushes Austen’s world into fresh territory. The series is adapted from Janice Hadlow’s bestselling novel of the same name and will roll out on BBC iPlayer and BBC One in the UK, with BritBox International holding rights in the U.S. and Canada. Sony Pictures Television is onboard to handle global distribution.
The series is structured as a 10-episode run, with Quintrell penning nine episodes and Maddie Dai (We Were Dangerous) scripting the remaining chapter. The writers’ room aims to reframe Mary’s arc from background eccentric to protagonist tackling the social and emotional minefields of Regency-era England—from Hertfordshire drawing rooms to London salons and the wilds of the Lake District.
Bad Wolf, the studio behind His Dark Materials and the upcoming Doctor Who reboot, is producing, with Jane Tranter calling Bruccoleri’s take on Mary “nuanced, comic, and emotionally resonant.” The creative team is positioning the series as both a literary adaptation and a standalone drama that mines universal themes of identity, longing, and reinvention.
No firm airdate has been set, but the series is being positioned as part of a larger BBC slate marking Jane Austen’s 250th anniversary year—timing that will almost certainly factor into its UK launch strategy.
For BritBox, it’s another swing at prestige period drama with broad co-viewing appeal. For Bad Wolf and the BBC, The Other Bennet Sister is a chance to revisit one of the most adapted fictional universes through a sharper, less-explored lens.
