You know how Hollywood feels like every generation needs their Spider-Man? It feels like someone – who??? – has decided that every generation needs their own Mr. Darcy as well. If I’m being honest, I love both of the most well-known versions of Pride and Prejudice, the BBC miniseries starring Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle, and the Joe Wright film starring Keira Knightly and Matthew Macfayden. Both are imperfect, but both are completely enjoyable and mostly faithful to Jane Austen’s most beloved novel. I always think that younger people should just watch the 2005 film if they want an easy-to-digest version, because Keira really does such an amazing job as Lizzie, and she had such chemistry with Macfayden’s Darcy. But still, they’re remaking it into a Netflix miniseries and the cast list so far sounds… eh, interesting??
Jane Austen’s timeless novel Pride and Prejudice has inspired many works of art since its release — and now it’s headed to Netflix!
On April 10, the streamer announced that best-selling author Dolly Alderton and director Euros Lyn were adapting Pride and Prejudice into a six-part series, starring Emma Corrin, Jack Lowden and Olivia Colman.
“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 told Tudum. “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 new series will join the lineup of dozens of other movies and series that have been adapted from Austen’s novel. While no release date has been announced yet, there are plenty of versions available to view throughout the wait.
The Pride and Prejudice series will be a period-faithful adaptation and closely follow the original text, per Tudum.
I’m trying to balance my anger at the idea that every generation should “retell” this story versus my hope that the miniseries format will help with a faithful-to-the-text adaptation. Like, if we’re doing straight adaptations with all of Austen’s nuances, the miniseries format is the best way to go. And P&P hasn’t been a miniseries since 1995! THIRTY YEARS AGO!!
As for the cast so far… Olivia Colman was cast as Mrs. Bennett, not Lady Catherine de Bourgh, although Colman could totally play Lady Catherine!! But she’ll be a fantastic Mrs. Bennett, and I hope they don’t update the character to make her less pushy or gauche. Emma Corrin as Lizzie is honestly inspired casting – if you want to know if Emma can play period drama, check out Lady Chatterley’s Lover on Netflix, which is SUCH a good adaptation and Emma is fantastic in it. Jack Lowden is better known to me as Saoirse Ronan’s husband. He’s good looking, for sure. But can he brood in corners and stare longingly at Lizzie?? Also: who should they cast as Jane and Bingley? Charlotte? Wickham?
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
