Jane Austen was born on December 13, 1775, exactly 250 years ago. To celebrate, we’ve compiled a list of all of the BBC and MASTERPIECE Austen adaptations streaming on demand now for APT Passport subscribers (with any donation of at least $5/month or $60/year). All Alabama APT Passport donations directly benefit Alabama Public Television.
PBS Passport is available on pbs.org and the free PBS App, on Roku, Google Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Samsung Smart TV, Android TV, and iOS and Android devices.
1.
Miss Austen
Miss Austen takes a historic literary mystery – the notorious burning of Jane Austen’s letters by her sister Cassandra – and reimagines it as a fascinating, witty, and heartbreaking story of sisterly love, while creating in Cassandra a character as captivating as any Austen heroine. Keeley Hawes (The Durrells in Corfu, Bodyguard, Line of Duty) stars in this new four-part series.
Based on Gill Hornby’s best-selling novel, this period drama brings a fresh and intimate perspective to the Austen sisters’ lives — their joys, heartaches, and the passions that would shape Jane’s iconic novels.
Keeley Hawes as the loyal and loving Cassandra leads an ensemble cast that includes Rose Leslie (Game of Thrones, Downton Abbey), as family friend Isabella Fowle, Patsy Ferran (Living) as young Jane Austen, and Synnøve Karlsen (Bodies) as young Cassy, among others.
2.
Pride & Prejudice
Many adaptations of Pride and Prejudice have hit the big and small screens, but perhaps the most popular premiered in 1995 on BBC, famously starring Colin Firth, Jennifer Ehle and more—and was also penned by Sanditon (and Les Misérables) creator Andrew Davies!
Andrew Davies’ multi-award-winning, 6-part adaptation of Jane Austen’s classic Regency romance stars Colin Firth, Jennifer Ehle and a fabulous supporting cast. This Pride and Prejudice pulsates with energy as lively, witty Elizabeth Bennet charms smoldering, haughty Darcy against a backdrop of a picture-postcard countryside, small-town assembly rooms and English stately homes.
3.
Emma
Emma premiered on MASTERPIECE in 2009, starring Michael Gambon (Harry Potter, Gosford Park), Romola Garai (The Miniaturist) and more.
In the 4-part mini-series, Emma Woodhouse delights in the conviction that she’s the perfect matchmaker. But she’s playing a dangerous game as she persuades her new friend, the young, pretty and socially inferior Harriet, to reject a marriage proposal to a local farmer in favor of dashing Mr Elton. So begins a story which challenges Emma’s naivety, her social preconceptions and her own relationships.
4.
Sense & Sensibility
Fans may remember when Sense and Sensibility premiered in 2008 starring Dominic Cooper, Janet McTeer, Dan Stevens (Downton Abbey), Lucy Boynton and more.
From acclaimed writer Andrew Davies (Pride & Prejudice, 1995) comes this enchanting new 3-part adaptation of Jane Austen’s classic novel about love and marriage. Marianne Dashwood wears her heart on her sleeve when she falls in love with the charming but unsuitable John Willoughby. Elinor, sensitive to social convention, struggles to conceal her own romantic disappointment, even from those closest to her.
5.
Northanger Abbey
An adaptation of Northanger Abbey arrived on MASTERPIECE in 2008, starring Academy Award-nominated actress Felicity Jones (The Theory of Everything, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story). Also in 2008, an adaptation of Persuasion starring two-time Academy Award nominee Sally Hawkins (The Shape of Everything) debuted. (Sadly, Persuasion is not available to stream on PBS at this time.)
In Jane Austen’s gentle parody of gothic fiction, Felicity Jones plays romance addict Catherine Morland. Invited to a medieval country house that appeals to her most lurid fantasies, she forms a close friendship with the younger son on the estate, Henry Tilney, played by JJ Feild, but their budding romance is mysteriously cut short.
6.
Sanditon
Just before her death, Austen penned 11 full chapters and one 12th incomplete one of Sanditon, the tale of a budding seaside resort and the intriguing characters who live there, but the novel was, unfortunately, never finished by Austen. Instead, numerous authors over the years have attempted their own completions of the Austen fragments—and most recently, renowned screenwriter Andrew Davies (Pride & Prejudice and Sense & Sensibility) took on the task.
Sanditon, starring Theo James, Rose Williams and more, originally aired in the U.S. on MASTERPIECE in 2020. The 3-season series tells the story of Charlotte Heywood (Rose Williams), a spirited and somewhat impulsive young woman who travels from her rural English home to an up-and-coming seaside resort town to reinvent herself.
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