The BBC is to tell the story of The Other Bennet Sister, adapting a novel penned by former BBC Two Controller Janice Hadlow and produced by Bad Wolf.
The book tells the story of Mary Bennet – the seemingly unremarkable and overlooked middle sister in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Unlike her sisters, Mary isn’t your typical period drama heroine. She is awkward, anxious, preachy, full of facts, and overlooked by her mother. She is seemingly destined to an empty dance card for the rest of her life, until Mary takes matters into her own hands.
Hadlow’s book was published in 2020. She is a former BBC Two controller who commissioned the likes of Great British Bake Off, Line of Duty and Wolf Hall during her tenure.
The Other Bennet Sister will be penned by The Power co-creator Sarah Quintrell. Bad Wolf, which is currently seeing BBC-HBO hit Industry perform well on both sides of the pond, is producing.
The Other Bennet Sister will air on the 30th anniversary of the BBC’s hugely successful version of Pride and Prejudice, which starred Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth as Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy.
BBC Drama Director Lindsay Salt said: “The BBC’s Pride and Prejudice will forever be a classic moment in television history, and it’s incredibly exciting to return to Jane Austen’s irresistible world and go even further than before – this time in the footsteps of The Other Bennet Sister, Mary.”
The Other Bennet Sister was commissioned by Salt. EPs are Kate Crowther, Becca Kinder and Jane Tranter for Bad Wolf, Rebecca Ferguson for the BBC, Quintrell, and Hadlow. The series has been developed and overseen by Bad Wolf’s Director of Content, Dan McCulloch.
