The BBC comes back to the world of Pride and Prejudice with a spinoff about Elizabeth Bennet's sister, Mary Bennet. Titled The Other Bennet Sister, the show is an adaptation of Janice Hadlow's eponymous novel. Bad Wolf, who made Doctor Who, will make the show consisting of 10 parts based on a Sarah Quintrell screenplay.
The official synopsis reads, “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.”
Mary experiences an epic romance in The Other Bennet Sister, as she goes away from her Meryton-based family house to the Lake Distric in London. There, she looks for romance, acceptance, and independence.
Rebecca Ferguson executive produces the show on behalf of the BBC, alongside Kate Crowther, Jane Tranter, and Becca Kinder of Bad Wolf. Hadlow and Quintress also serve as executive producers. The makers are yet to make cast announcements for the show.
"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,” stated Quintrell. “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.”
The 1995 Pride and Prejudice adaptation from the BBC, starring Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle, was a runaway hit in the United Kingdom and abroad. There is also a commercially successful 2005 film adaptation of Austen's novel, starring Matthew MacFadyen and Keira Knightley.