BBC’s The Other Bennet Sister is captivating audiences — but how can Jane Austen fans watch the series?
Based on the novel by Janice Hadlow, The Other Bennet Sister follows the events from Pride and Prejudice from Mary Bennet’s (Ella Bruccoleri) point of view. The story then departs from that to follow Mary as she travels to London and the Lake District and the overlooked sister from the big Bennet family has a romantic adventure in Regency England.
In addition to Bruccoleri, The Other Bennet Sister stars Ruth Jones, Richard E. Grant, Indira Varma, Richard Coyle, Róisín Bhalla, Reggie Absolom and Jasmine Sharp. Laurie Davidson, Dónal Finn, Varada Sethu, Aaron Gill and Maddie Close also appear on the show.
Poppy Gilbert, Molly Wright, Grace Hogg-Robinson, Tanya Reynolds, Anna Fenton-Garvey, Ryan Sampson and Lucy Briers round out the cast. The series premiered in the U.K. in March, which viewers can check out on BBC iPlayer.
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In the U.S., period drama fans can watch The Other Bennet Sister on May 6. The series will be available on BritBox in the U.S. and Canada but Amazon Prime offers a weeklong free trial as well.
Bruccoleri previously teased what fans can expect.
“From a young age, she’s seen as not having the same desirable qualities as her sisters,” Bruccoleri told The Hollywood Reporter. “She comes to believe that she’s innately unlovable. And then the minute that she steps away from her family, she begins to see things differently. I mean, she has setbacks all the time, but it’s a story about the transformative power of kindness, really.”
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She continued: “It’s disguised as a love story. I personally just don’t see it that way. I think it’s a love story between Mary and herself.”
Bruccoleri was excited to unpack the role, adding, “With Mary, she doesn’t understand the rules of the game. She tries incredibly hard to be something that is pleasing to other people. And she does that through study — really extensive study, because that’s what she knows. That’s how her brain works.”
She added: “She studies how to be as appealing as her sisters, [and] to her mother, mainly. But just goes about it completely the wrong way. It still doesn’t work. I think I really related to that in Mary, the industriousness of her. That’s the way I approach my job as well as — I do it through study rather than instinct. And I can be quite obsessive with the amount that I prepare for something.”
