Jane Austen discussion

Ugh. No. I'm wary now thanks to that monstrosity calling itself Persuasion and everyone will expect Netflix to give P&P the Bridgerton treatment and not care at all about being true to the author and the story. I don't mind color blind or color conscious casting as long as the story is right. Can we dare hope this will end up as a modern adaptation instead?

https://variety.com/2024/tv/global/pr...

It’s so crucial for the makers to actually understand Austen and *like* Austen, and not try to force their pet projects into a framework they don’t care for but know will get them viewers. Agreed, Persuasion 2022 was such an unpleasant experience, I’d be very wary about this one.

Oh no! it's back on the table! Shudders! They CLAIM it shall adhere closely to the text.

https://www.netflix.com/tudum/article...

https://tvline.com/casting-news/pride...

"Now, best-selling author Dolly Alderton and director Euros Lyn (Heartstopper) are set to bring Pride and Prejudice to the screen once again, in a brand-new six-part limited series. The adaptation will hew closely to the original text, reuniting existing fans with the timeless novel, while also introducing a new generation to Austen.

“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, who won the National Book Award for her debut Everything I Know About Love in 2018, told Netflix. “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. The book is a gift to adapt — packed with drama and depth as well as comedy and charm. In it lies the opportunity to examine the complexities of love, family, friendship and society, while aspiring to Austen’s delightfully observational voice. 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 favorite book, and those who are yet to meet their Lizzie and Mr Darcy.”

The six-episode series is a period-faithful adaptation of the novel and features some of the UK’s most revered actors: Golden Globe winner Emma Corrin (Nosferatu, Black Mirror) and BAFTA winner Jack Lowden (Slow Horses, Benediction) will star as the central couple Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy, and Academy Award winner Olivia Colman (The Favourite, The Crown) will play Mrs. Bennet. “Playing Elizabeth Bennet is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” said Corrin, who starred in a dreamy adaptation of D.H. Lawrence’s Lady Chatterley’s Lover in 2022. “To be able to bring this iconic character to life, alongside Olivia and Jack, with Dolly’s phenomenal scripts, is truly the greatest honor. I can’t wait for a new generation to fall in love with this story all over again.”

I like Olivia Coleman, she's funny and her ancestor lived a real life Jane Austen romantic drama LOL! The waiflike Elizabeth actress looks familiar but I don't know her and I've never heard of this actor cast as Darcy. I'm not sure what period faithful means these days... Bridgerton period faithful, Persuasion period faithful, Hallmark period faithful or actually period faithful?

QNPoohBear wrote: "Ugh. No. I'm wary now thanks to that monstrosity calling itself Persuasion and everyone will expect Netflix to give P&P the Bridgerton treatment and not care at all about being true to the author a..."

I don’t have much hope in that regard—Bridgerton has reduced Jane to just a mere romance novelist.

Emmy wrote: "It’s so crucial for the makers to actually understand Austen and *like* Austen, and not try to force their pet projects into a framework they don’t care for but know will get them viewers. Agreed, ..."

Emmy wrote: "It’s so crucial for the makers to actually understand Austen and *like* Austen, and not try to force their pet projects into a framework they don’t care for but know will get them viewers. Agreed, ..."

Emmy wrote: "It’s so crucial for the makers to actually understand Austen and *like* Austen, and not try to force their pet projects into a framework they don’t care for but know will get them viewers. Agreed, ..."

Laforesta wrote: "QNPoohBear wrote: "Ugh. No. I'm wary now thanks to that monstrosity calling itself Persuasion and everyone will expect Netflix to give P&P the Bridgerton treatment and not care at all about being t..."

What a great comment—understanding and appreciating Jane, her deep psychological insight into her characters, her quiet resistance to societal norms, her elegance in both writing and conduct, her sharp wit... that's what truly matters.

Well, waiflike is certainly not period faithful unless you are talking about a poor person. So perhaps a faithful script, but 21st-century sensibilites on beauty standards.

Jan wrote: "Well, waiflike is certainly not period faithful unless you are talking about a poor person. So perhaps a faithful script, but 21st-century sensibilites on beauty standards."

Yes! People were smaller but not THAT much smaller. Men were trimmer than is fashionable now and some women were small. The dresses I saw on display at the fashion museum in Bath fit a small-medium size woman today. Jane Austen was very tall and thin and Anne Hathaway's dress looked a little more slim than the reproduction of Jane's dresses on display at Chawton Cottage when I visited in 2013 so a tall, slender actress would be OK but no stick insects and no tight lacing of "corsets" to give said stick insect a trimmer waistline because that's not what the stays were used for at that time. Or even Scarlet O'Hara's time...

I expect beach waves hair and running around outside with no bonnets plus incorrect or missing undergarments. Sandition made me shudder and that was supposed to be Jane Austen!

First look
https://variety.com/2025/tv/news/netf...

and they're still tossing around "rom com" which just makes people prejudiced against Jane, dismissing her as "chick lit" and "fluff" when she didn't even write romances! She wrote social satire/comedy of manners/drawing room comedy/marriage plot whatever you want to call it but don't call it rom com because that's simply not true. There's so much sharp criticism of society and I think that's why her novels endure. We recognize the characters even though the situations have changed.

THIS quote tells me it's NOT actually a "faithful" adaptation but a retelling.

“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. “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.”

Well, if they are going into the pages, perhaps they will get more right than 2005 P&P when the director decided on the project and had not even read the source material. Other than the Bennet sisters' names and ages, I am not sure anything was faithful to the book.