Introducing Endless Mode: A New Games & Anime Site from Paste
Forget superhero fancasting or Shakespearean tradition—the hottest actorly lineage in town is Pride And Prejudice. Elizabeth Bennetts throughout history include Greer Garson, Jennifer Ehle, Lily James, and Kiera Knightley. Now joining their ranks is one of the generation’s buzziest stars, Emma Corrin, who will be the latest Lizzie in Netflix’s upcoming Pride And Prejudice series. Corrin will also serve as an executive producer on the show, a six-part limited series that “will hew closely to the original text, reuniting existing fans with the timeless novel, while also introducing a new generation to Austen,” per Netflix.
It’s clear that the new television adaptation, which is being penned by Dolly Alderton, is sparing no expense, at least in the talent department. The latest in a line of dashing Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcys is Slow Horses star Jack Lowden. And in a perfect bit of casting, Lizzie’s busybody mother Mrs. Bennett will be played by Oscar winner Olivia Colman. The project marks a mother-daughter reunion for Colman and Corrin, who faced off as Queen Elizabeth and her daughter-in-law Diana Spencer on another Netflix project, The Crown.
All three of these actors have generally stellar resumés, but they notably all have classic literary adaptations under their belts. Lowden appeared in the 2016 War & Peace miniseries; Corrin starred in the 2022 film Lady Chatterly’s Lover. Colman, meanwhile, is cornering the market on literature’s most eccentric and irksome female characters: Madame Thenardier in 2019‘s Les Misérables, Miss Havisham in Great Expectations, and now the obnoxious Mrs. Bennet.
In a statement, Corrin said, “Playing Elizabeth Bennet is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. To be able to bring this iconic character to life, alongside Olivia and Jack, with Dolly’s phenomenal scripts, is truly the greatest honour. I can’t wait for a new generation to fall in love with this story all over again.”
Pride And Prejudice has had many adaptations of all kinds, including “loosely-inspired-by” adaptations (Bridget Jones’ Diary) and fanfiction-esque spin-off adaptations (Death Comes To Pemberley). The last straightforward P&P came 20 years ago with Joe Wright’s film, starring Knightley, Matthew Macfadyen, and Brenda Blethyn in these three roles. The last straightforward P&P television series was a decade before that, starring Ehle, Colin Firth, and Alison Steadman as Mrs. Bennet. Both of those modern adaptations remain extremely beloved; the BBC miniseries has the distinction of getting name-dropped in the Barbie movie as a favorite of “Depression Barbie.”
“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, author of Everything I Know About Love and creator of the comedy series of the same name, said in a statement (via 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. 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 favourite book, and those who are yet to meet their Lizzie and Mr Darcy.”
