‘The Other Bennet Sister’ Will Fill That ‘Bridgerton’-Sized Hole in Your Heart (and So Much More)

Already a smash hit in its native UK, this delightful 10-episode limited series adapts Janice Hadlow's novel about a misunderstood "Pride and Prejudice" character into something of deep comfort and joy.

What’s good for the goose is not always good for the gander. But, sometimes, just sometimes, that goose is delightful enough to warrant her very own special treatment. That’s a theory that works very well when a) considering the charming new series “The Other Bennet Sister” on its own (many) merits and b) addressing this own critic’s sterling recommendation for it as a “Bridgerton” substitute, despite mere months ago hailing the Netflix series for its deft handling of a variety of characters and plots.

When it comes to “The Other Bennet Sister,” however, a reversal is true: this one works so well because it focuses primarily on one character. The titular one, of course.

Based on Janice Hadlow’s popular novel of the same name and cleverly divided into ten episodes (each clocking in at about half an hour, and both wonderfully episodic and ripe for bingeing), “The Other Bennet Sister” turns its eye away from the ever-popular Elizabeth Bennet (Jane Austen’s beloved “Pride and Prejudice” heroine) to focus on perpetual punching bag Mary Bennet (brought to life through a star turn from Ella Bruccoleri). Fans of Austen’s novels (or even just the many film and shows they have inspired over the decades) recognize Mary as the odd duck (the other) of the Bennet clan, a studious and shy young lady who never fit into the Jane-and-Lizzy mold (classy, smart, beautiful) and who wisely stayed away from the Kitty-and-Lydia way of doing things (well, let’s just call it “high-spirited” and move on).

In Austen’s enduring novel, Mary is very much off to the side, occasionally popping in to do something simply mortifying, from reading (ack!) to bad piano forte-playing (a crime!) to even attempting to woo the Bennets’ wildly off-putting cousin Mr. Collins (the humanity!). While her sisters are dedicated to love and romance, however that may look to them, Mary mostly seems to tick between wanting to be left alone and wanting to be seen on her own merits. In a family like the Bennets, that’s an impossible ask.

Which is where Hadlow’s novel, here adapted primarily by Sarah Quintrell (who wrote nine of the ten episodes, with Maddie Dai taking on the duties for Episode 4), finds its footing. In true Austen fashion, this work of lightly speculative fiction is frothy and fun, but also deeply invested in digging into the real price of being a woman in Regency-era England. If you thought things were complicated for Lizzy or Jane (or, God forbid, Lydia), Mary’s story offers a winning and wise entry with its own pains and pleasures to spare.

Only slightly interested in winks and nods to Austen’s original novel, and with most of those callbacks appearing in the limited series’ first two episodes (keep your eyes peeled for a hand-flex!), “The Other Bennet Sister” picks up precisely where the book begins. It’s spring in the village of Meryton. None of the five Bennet sisters are married, a major problem in a world where all property and wealth passes to male heirs. Alas, hope has arrived in the form of a rich, unmarried man, as Charles Bingley and his company have just moved in to Netherfield Park.

If you know “Pride and Prejudice,” you know where is all going to go. What’s most thrilling about “The Other Bennet Sister” is where all that goes after. While the series’ first two episodes hew closely to Austen’s novel, they do so from Mary’s unique perspective. Even the most devoted fans of the Bennet clan (especially Elizabeth and Jane, played here by Poppy Gilbert and Maddie Close, respectively) have to be honest with themselves: this family is kind of a lot. And while the show’s audience will come to have a greater understanding for, say, Mrs. Bennet (Ruth Jones) by its finale, we do enter this world through Mary’s eyes and experience.

And what does that look like? Well, it’s not ideal! The middle daughter of the family has always felt outside of its cliquey confines, what with Lizzy and Jane forming such a pair and Kitty and Lydia (Molly Wright and Grace Hogg-Robinson) practically sharing a brain. Their father (Richard E. Grant, very fun casting) loves to pretend that none of their feminine worries apply to him (he’s right! because he’ll be dead when all those line of succession chickens come home to roost!). Their mother is obsessed with marrying all the girls off, but has seemingly decided that bookish, sensible Mary isn’t worth the energy.

And then goes and gets spectacles!

Seeing Mary’s own existence through her fresh eyes (literal and metaphorical) is certainly compelling enough — you will never look at the ill-fated Netherfield Ball the same way — but things really get cooking in Episode 3, when Mary (and the rest of the fam) are upended by tragedy. Picking up after the events of “Pride and Prejudice,” the series uses the primary upheaval of the Bennet family’s life to push Mary out of what has become an exceedingly inhospitable nest. (Major respect to beloved Bennet employee Mrs. Hill, played by Lucy Briers, who continually raises the idea that Mary should just get away from these people for a bit.)

Once again, it’s the lovely Gardiners (here played by Indira Varma and Richard Coyle) who pick up and dust off an ailing Bennet sister (and, yes, later in the season, they’ll even take Mary on a trip, as they did so long ago with Lizzy). In Mary’s case, her aunt and uncle request she join them in London to temporarily serve as a governess to their charming children. And while the concept of working is horrifying to nearly everyone else, Mary is captivated by the possibility of striking out on her own, even with the comfort of the very sweet Gardiner family.

Earlier in the season, Mrs. Bennet throws a holy fit over Mary dancing twice with young Mr. Sparrow (Aaron Gill), a man only guilty of a) fitting Mary for her spectacles and b) working in a shop “with a bell,” as the matriarch so haughtily dismisses it. That moment is essential to the series and Mary’s own evolution, because when she listens to her mother’s demands to stop dancing with Mr. Sparrow, lest people talk, Mary sees the true cost of not listening to her own heart. She hurts Mr. Sparrow, she denies her own desires, and she gives over to the court of public opinion. In London, she is resolute, she will not live like that.

Through the following seven episodes, the series sees Mary doing something quite rare in the episodic format: she grows and evolves, learns new things, makes mistakes, finds her footing, and respects her own wishes. But, despite the use of words like “grow” and “evolve,” Mary’s core self does not change. That is a feature, not a bug. She remains a little awkward, a touch shy, incredibly smart, perhaps a bit pushy, and wonderfully optimistic. How truly delightful to get to spend time with a character such as this (and with Bruccoleri, an instant classic Austen heroine).

Mary’s story and journey is bolstered on many sides and with many elements. The London she inhabits, for instance, is not the grand and bottled world of “Bridgerton,” but one that feels more real in its details, be it crowded sitting rooms or tight-cornered shops. Her clothing tells endless stories, too, as she moves from her plain Longbourn apparel to some eye-popping gowns (purchased by Mrs. Gardiner, who encourages Mary to pick whatever appeals to her) to more cozy, colorful everyday outfits. Her spectacles? They stay firmly on.

Many people come into Mary’s life, and her willingness to let them in is genuinely inspiring. Not all of them are worthy (at least, not at first), including natty twists on both Charlotte Lucas (Anna Fenton-Garvey) and Caroline Bingley (Tanya Reynolds, turning in a wholly wonderful performance). Mary dips into female friendships with the seemingly like-minded Ann Baxter (Varada Sethu), but really finds her place when it comes to two (yes, two) suitors.

There’s the reserved lawyer Tom Hayward (Dónal Finn), a close friend of the Gardiners, who takes a shine to Mary’s own dorkiness. And there’s the more overtly dashing William Ryder (Laurie Davidson), whose great sense of fun pulls something similar out of Mary. Mary Bennet, the life of the party! Who knew! Perhaps the greatest accomplishment of the series is just that, selling a vision of Mary that somehow aligns with what we knew and the wide gap of what we did not.

And yet, Mary can never fully escape the pull of her family, who remain stubbornly resistant to her charms, especially her mother. Fans of the whole family need not despair after Mary alights for London, as she will eventually reunite with all of them, struggling to hold fast to her new life while her old one titters and fritters around her. Can anyone ever really change? Maybe not, but everyone can be the best version of themselves, which Mary and “The Other Bennet Sister” happily accomplish.

The series is already a smash hit in its native UK (of course), and should transfer easily across the pond and to its many eager Austen fans. But its overall feeling of comfort and joy, smartly imagined time and place, and nifty 30-minute episodes might just be able to break through to a wider audience simply seeking a good time in front of the television. The classic stories hold for a good reason, and that includes smart refreshes like this one. It’s time for you to get a new favorite Bennet sister. We sure have.

Grade: A-

“The Other Bennet Sister” will debut on BritBox on Wednesday, May 6 with the first three episodes, followed by new episodes weekly.