Note: This story contains spoilers from “The Other Bennet Sister” Episode 10.
Sarah Quintrell, the lead writer and executive producer for “The Other Bennet Sister,” is well aware how precious Jane Austen’s characters are to fans of “Pride and Prejudice.” Yet, in the 200-plus years since Austen penned the novel, Quintrell felt it was time to look at these characters through a modern mindset.
Enter “The Other Bennet Sister,” a retelling and expansion of Austen’s most popular novel told through the perspective of the least noticed Bennet family member, Mary. The show, which debuted on BritBox for U.S. audiences last month and adapted from Janice Hadlow’s novel of the same name, thrusts Mary into the spotlight for the first time — allowing this lesser known Bennet (played by Ella Bruccoleri) and other iconic Austen figures to shine like never before.
“Mary does feel like a 2026 heroine,” Quintrell tells TheWrap. “We don’t have women like her at the center of any drama, let alone a period drama. So that, for me, is really important to explore a really nuanced female experience shot through a period lens.”
Though, Quintrell emphasized that “The Other Bennet Sister” was made by fans of Austen and the beloved screen adaptations of her work, adding, “It’s such a privilege to write in this world.”
And fans can expect more from these characters sooner than later, as BritBox and the BBC announced Wednesday “The Other Bennett Sister” will return for a three-part Christmas special — set to film this summer.
For Quintrell’s insights into bringing “The Other Bennet Sister” to life, including the many “Pride and Prejudice” Easter eggs, as well as her vision for a possible second season, keep reading. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
TheWrap: 2026 is headed toward a Jane Austen renaissance, of sorts. We’ve got a new “Pride and Prejudice,” a new “Sense and Sensibility” and now “The Other Bennet Sister.” Where do you see your adaptation fitting in this year of Austen?
Sarah Quintrell: I think with the 250 year anniversary of Austen’s birth, it did probably spark everybody in the U.K., because, you know, Austen is like Shakespeare to us — she’s right up there. So, it did spark this kind of run of adaptations, which I can’t wait to see, genuinely excited.
But I think what’s interesting is we’re thinking about what a period drama should look like now and how it should work now. I think it’s really interesting to be allowed to explore some of the characters on the outskirts — and Mary does feel like a 2026 heroine. We don’t have women like her at the center of any drama, let alone a period drama. So that, for me, is really important to explore a really nuanced female experience shot through a period lens.
What were the biggest hurdles in adapting a beloved book into a screen adaptation?
The Jane Austen fandom is an institution in the U.K. and globally. So, if I stopped to think about taking that on, I probably just would never have gotten out of bed or written anything. I just had to be like, it’s such a privilege to write in this world and have fun. And it generally doesn’t feel very grand, me at home in my study … Seven years I’ve had Mary in my life. Two years, every single day, full time. I sobbed when I finished writing her. I think the biggest hurdle is I had to have real economy of storytelling. I had five hours, and the book is 500 pages, so I had to just keep whittling things down.
Talk to us about casting Ella Bruccoleri as Mary Bennet, the titular “Other Bennet Sister.”
I mean, luckily, we had the most phenomenal casting team, led by Kahleen Crawford. It was really difficult to cast. Like, we’re so lucky in the U.K., we have such quality actors in abundance. But that specific part was very difficult. [It required] somebody who can walk the line of comedy that was needed, but also the pain that was needed, and often in the space of a minute, going back and forth between the two.
When Jennifer Sheridan, our lead director, came on board, she’d worked with Ella before, and she said, “Have you seen Ella Bruccoleri?” And we were like, “No.” She came in quite late in the process … and I was in the room when she came in, and, honest to god, I was like, “Thank you. We’re saved.” She was just phenomenal, and took it so far beyond anything any of us could have ever hoped for.
Through Mary, we get to see other iconic Austen characters in a different light, including Mrs. Bennet and Mr. Collins. Can you shed light on why Mary’s journey was the right vehicle to get more insight into these complicated people?
It was really interesting to look at this very familiar world and family and the characters within that world from a different point of view. So, seeing Mrs. Bennet as Mary’s mum, and we don’t often get to explore difficult mother-daughter relationships on the screen, they make people very uneasy. (Even though, if you speak to like five of your female friends, you’ll find someone. It’s not that unusual.)
We’re used to seeing Lizzie’s mother, but when we see Mary’s mother, that feels very different. Something that I love that Alyssa Ray Janice Hadlow did in the novel and I wanted to pick up on was that Mary sees people. She’s a character who sees other people, because she’s not the center of attention and “me, me, me, me, me. She’s had to be observant to kind of survive. And, in that state of observation, she sees the good in Mr. Collins. She sees what goes on with other people. And I think that allows us to explore the characters in a different way.
I also think the dynamic with her aunt is so beautiful to see, especially where Mary’s torn down so much.
I think that was one of the things I was most excited to explore, really. The transformative power of kindness on a young life. You know, young women in society, it’s so easy for people to be flippantly unpleasant to them, to ignore them, to kind of use their power over them, because they’re just young women. And Mrs. Gardiner is there, like shepherding. She’s not judging. And I think that is just a beautiful thing to watch — and I think we could all learn a thing or two about the respect that we show young women in society.
Let’s talk about the men of “The Other Bennet Sister”: Mr Hayward and Mr. Ryder. What was it like writing these male characters to be more than a Mr. Darcy or a Mr. Wickham prototype?
It was a real pleasure. And the lads, Dónal [Finn] and Laurie [Davidson], did, honestly, a phenomenal job. I mean, with Laurie, you never feel like Ryder is a cad or a rogue. He’s just charming. He’s like a labrador puppy, and it’s very seductive. With Dónal’s Hayward, he’s vulnerable. And I think what felt important to me with Mr. Sparrow, Mr. Collins, and then Ryder and Hayward is that Mary could have ended up with any of them and she would have been all right, you know?
The point is that they all bring something different to her life. They all move her on. Her happiness is in her own hands … The confidence and allowing her to be herself that Ryder gives her is vital to her journey. And then the love of Hayward, and so they all give something. And you know, as my crew gift, I had Team Hayward and Team Ryder t-shirts made up. I stuck in five rogue Team Collins shirts. There was a scrap for the Team Collins shirts. It was so funny.
“The Other Bennet Sister” now lives in this greater Austen-verse, and I saw so many homages to previous adaptations in the show — including wet white shirts, tense dance moments, hand flexes, etc. What was it like incorporating that into your script while also trying to make it its own?
I never wanted to do anything that would be distracting, I needed people who didn’t know Austen’s world to also enjoy it. But anything I could get in, I would. Janice does it brilliantly in the book, she has all these Easter eggs about Jane Austen’s life and other Austen novels. So, I felt like I could pick that up and run with it. And not least having Lucy Briers, the 1995 actress who played Mary, as the first character who is kind to our Mary in playing Mrs. Hill. So, that was really special.
Jen Sheridan, our lead director, is obsessed as well with the other adaptations and with Austen. And so, then she did more. She matched shots from the 1995 iteration, you know. We have a moment where Mary blows out a candle and then stubs her toe on the way to bed. And it’s matched with a shot of Lizzie, [played by Keira Knightley in the 2005 film adaptation], who blows out the candle perfectly and just makes her way to bed neatly. And we did the Mary version. It takes her two blows.
In the U.S., we always want six seasons and a movie. Is there any chance of a season two? And is there a Bennet family member that you would like to explore more deeply if given the chance?
I think there are definitely Austen characters to explore more. I think Kitty is a really interesting character. We’ve been racking our brains like, “Can we make this group of actors into our first ever TV rep company?” We adore them. We would all work together, including the crew, in a heartbeat. So if there’s a way back, but I’m not prepared to send Mary down a big live snake and make season one feel like a cheat. None of us want that. But if there’s a way in, or there’s something we can do, we will do everything we can to find it.
“The Other Bennet Sister” is available to stream on BritBox.
The post ‘The Other Bennet Sister’ EP on Those ‘Pride & Prejudice’ Easter Eggs, Team Hayward vs. Ryder and Season 2 Hopes appeared first on TheWrap.
