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It is a truth universally acknowledged that Jane Austen fans must be in want of a new Jane Austen adaptation. Luckily for us Austen devotees, Netflix has come to the rescue. Production on Pride & Prejudice, a new six-part limited series helmed by beloved UK author Dolly Alderton, is officially in production.
Published in 1813, Pride and Prejudice is arguably Austen’s most famous novel. The story has previously been adapted into multiple formats, notably with the BBC’s 1995 miniseries that starred Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth and Joe Wright’s 2005 film that starred Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen. Pride and Prejudice will be Netflix’s second stab at an Austen adaptation, following their divisive take on Persuasion back in 2022.
The news comes amid Netflix’s recent success with another Regency-era romance series: Bridgerton. Adapted from Julia Quinn’s romance novel series, the show follows the courtships and eventual marriages of siblings from the noble Bridgerton family. It is currently in production for its fourth season.
Ahead, everything we know so far about the latest entry to the Jane Austen cinematic universe.
Meet the cast.
It’s official: Emma Corrin (The Crown, Nosferatu) and Jack Lowden (Mary Queen of Scots, Dunkirk) will officially take on the roles of Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy in the six-part limited Netflix series. Corrin will have an onscreen reunion with her former costar on The Crown, Olivia Colman (The Favourite, The Lost Daughter), who will play family matriarch Mrs. Bennet.
“Playing Elizabeth Bennet is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Corrin, who is also executive producing, said in a statement provided to Deadline. “To be able to bring this iconic character to life, alongside Olivia and Jack, with Dolly’s phenomenal scripts, is truly the greatest honour. I can’t wait for a new generation to fall in love with this story all over again.”
Iconic Pride and Prejudice adaptations in the past have featured Jennifer Ehle and Keira Knightley as protagonist Elizabeth Bennett, the witty and second-eldest sister of the Bennett family. Meanwhile, Colin Firth and Matthew Macfadyen have previously portrayed Elizabeth’s love interest, the haughty and incredibly wealthy Fitzwilliam Darcy.
Other cast additions include Rufus Sewell as Mr. Bennet, Freya Mavor as Jane Bennet, Daryl McCormack as Mr. Bingley, Louis Partridge as Mr. Wickham, Jamie Demetriou as Mr. Collins, Rhea Norwood as Lydia Bennet, Siena Kelly as Caroline Bingley, and Fiona Shaw as Lady Catherine de Bourg. Newcomers Hopey Parish and Hollie Avery will make their onscreen debuts as Mary Bennet and Kitty Bennet.
Here’s our first look at the series.
On July 29, Netflix dropped the first still from the adaptation, which showed the five Bennet sisters walking in a field with their mother, Mrs. Bennet.
Dolly Alderton is writing the scripts.
Deadline reports that Dolly Alderton, a novelist and screenwriter, has been tasked with bringing Austen’s manuscript to life.
“Once in a generation, a group of people get to retell this wonderful story, and I feel very lucky that I get to be a part of it,” Alderton said in a statement, per Deadline. “Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice is the blueprint for romantic comedy—it has been a joy to delve back into its pages to find both familiar and fresh ways of bringing this beloved book to life. With Euros Lyn directing our stellar cast, I am so excited to reintroduce these hilarious and complicated characters to those who count Pride and Prejudice as their favourite book, and those who are yet to meet their Lizzie and Mr. Darcy.”
Alderton has previously adapted her debut book—a 2018 memoir titled Everything I Know About Love—into a BBC rom-com series. Most recently, she released her debut novel, Good Material, in 2023.
If you’re worried that Netflix might Bridgerton-ify Pride and Prejudice, lay your fears to rest. Netflix promises that the show “will be a faithful, classic adaptation of the novel.”
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