The casting has been announced for a new six-part adaptation of Pride and Prejudice – and Jane Austen fans approve of the choices.
The Netflix series, written by Everything I Know About Love author Dolly Alderton, will star Emma Corrin as Elizabeth Bennett and Jack Lowden as Mr Darcy. Meanwhile, Olivia Colman will play Lizzie’s mother, Mrs Bennett.
Corrin will also make their debut as an executive producer on the project alongside Alderton and director Euros Lyn, best known for his work on shows including Doctor Who and Heartstopper.
“Playing Elizabeth Bennet is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Corrin, who uses they/them pronouns, said in a statement to Deadline.
“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.”
Alderton said: “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. 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.”
Fan responses to the new adaptation so far have been mixed, although many praised the “impeccable” Corrin and noted that they have a strong background in period dramas, including Lady Chatterley’s Lover, and the horror film Nosferatu, set in the 1800s.
Corrin also starred opposite Colman in Netflix’s The Crown as Princess Diana to Colman’s Queen Elizabeth II.
Colman, too has plenty of experience in period dramas, from her Oscar-winning turn in The Favourite to Miss Havisham in the BBC series Great Expectations.
Scottish actor Lowden, meanwhile, won an Oliver Award for his performance as Oswald in Richard Eyre’s 2013 adaptation of Ibsen’s Ghosts, and also had a lead role in the BBC’s 2016 adaptation of War & Peace. He received rave reviews for his portrayal of the poet Siegried Sassoon in the 2021 film Benediction.
Austen’s 1813 novel Pride and Prejudice has been the subject of TV and film adaptations and spin-offs for almost a century, the first appearing on television in 1938.
Arguably the two most popular are the 1995 BBC series starring Colin Firth as Mr Darcy and Jennifer Ehle as Elizabeth Bennett, and the 2005 film starring Keira Knightly and Matthew Macfadyen.
Netflix adapted Austen’s novel Persuasion in 2022, starring Dakota Johnson; the film received negative reviews.
“I don’t trust Netflix with any adaptation but I have faith in Emma [Corrin] and Olivia [Colman] so we shall see,” one Austen fan wrote on X/Twitter.
“Jack Lowden in Benediction is sort of an all time great performance, so I'll hold off on passing judgement here,” another person said. “Could have the range.”
Others despaired over Netflix’s involvement, with one sceptic commenting: ‘Good cast but is yet another Pride & Prejudice adaptation really where we need to be putting our focus rn? NO.”
“Do we really need another Pride and Prejudice adaptation?” another remarked.
One happy fan said the 1995 series was superior but said Colman was the “perfect choice” to play Mrs Bennett.
Alderton’s Pride and Prejudice will go into production in the UK later this year.
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