Courtesy of BritBox/BBC

‘The Other Bennet Sister’ Producer Jane Tranter on Mary’s ‘Emotional Resonance’ and Eyeing Austen’s Other Overlooked Characters for Screen

07 May 2026 by K.J. Yossman · Variety

For a long time period dramas were in the doldrums.

Now, between the success of “Wuthering Heights,” Netflix’s upcoming “Pride and Prejudice” and of course “Bridgerton” going from strength to strength, there’s a surplus of bonnets and bosoms on screen.

Now comes “The Other Bennet Sister,” which premieres May 6 on BritBox (it is already available on the BBC in the U.K. and Ireland). Based on Janice Hadlow’s novel of the same name, its protagonist is Lizzie Bennet’s less charismatic sister Mary, following her as she tries to step out of her family’s shadow and find her own place in the world.

With its awkward and inelegant heroine, played by “Call the Midwife’s” Ella Bruccoleri, the show is not a classic period drama, although it is peppered with fun nods to its forebears. In particular, fans of the BBC’s iconic 1995 adaptation of “Pride and Prejudice,” which starred Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle, will spot plenty of Easter Eggs (here’s one: Lucy Briers, who portrayed Mary in the 1995 series, plays housekeeper Mrs Hill in “The Other Bennet Sister.”)

The 10-part limited series, which will have a weekly episodic rollout, is adapted by Sarah Quintrell with Maddie Dai and comes from “Industry” and “Doctor Who” producer Bad Wolf. Ahead of the show’s U.S. debut, executive producer and Bad Wolf founder Jane Tranter sat down with Variety to talk about Mary’s appeal to contemporary audiences, other overlooked Jane Austen characters she’s considering developing for screen and the future of Bad Wolf shows, including “Industry” and “Doctor Who.”

In recent years the appetite for period dramas slowed a little bit. Did that affect the development of “The Other Bennet Sister”?

Whenever anyone says “This subject or this area — nobody’s interested,” I immediately become very interested in it… I like a zag when everyone else is zigging.

But with “The Other Bennet Sister,” Janice talked to me about this idea probably eight or nine years ago and I looked at it initially when it was just a few pages of a synopsis for her book and I said “I would love to do this.”

I thought that the world needed a story which took someone who was not a conventional heroine and put them at the center. And there was going to be an awful lot of emotional resonance and relatability with today’s generation of young women with Mary Bennet, more so than there would be [with Elizabeth Bennet.]

Do you have a favorite scene in the series?

There are a couple of scenes that I specifically asked to have put in that weren’t in the book. Mary Bennet ends up in a situation where she has not one but two suitors … both suitors need to be in the lake and we need to see them come out of the lake in the white shirt, not just walking around the bank with it sprayed down, but actually we need to see them walk out, sort of Leo Woodall style in in “Bridget Jones [Mad About the Boy]” and that’s a nod to television audiences and fans of that beloved 1990s adaptation.

I absolutely love the scene where Mary’s being tried out for spectacles, which is a little thing in the novel but I thought “I haven’t seen that before” — like, “Better with? Better without?” and Mary’s anguish — which I just thought was the best thing to reach a hand out to a modern audience and say, “Mary is just like us.”

Was it conceived as a limited or returning series?

It’s a limited series. But the characters just live on.

Would you want to do more with Ella as Mary?

Honestly, it really depends on Janice and her thinking. At the moment we’re concentrating on looking at the novels of Jane Austen, because that’s what we always set out to do. But having set up “The Other Bennet Sister,” you can’t help but think “What would happen if – ?” so we’ll see. We’ll see what Janice says, and Sarah, obviously.

Would you consider doing a series about any of Elizabeth’s other sisters?

I think that Mary Bennet and the Bennet family continues to live on in our minds, so potentially. But Mary Bennet isn’t the only character in Jane Austen’s novels who Jane Austen gives a bit of a side eye to and that is really what interests me.

Does that mean you’re in development on something else Austen-related?

We are thinking about it.

Bad Wolf also produce “Industry,” which is a very different type of show. Can you tell us anything about where creators Mickey Down and Konrad Kay plan to take it in the final season?

No, I won’t. But what I will say is just as every season of “Industry” has been a step on from the season before, and that’s what’s kept Industry fresh and for Mickey and Konrad, and therefore fresh for an audience as well. So there was a huge leap between [Seasons] 2 and 1, and an even bigger leap between 3 and 2, and then a massive leap between 4 and 3, and there will be another leap between 5 and 4.

So you can’t tell us anything about the ending?

[Laughingly] It’s going to have a supremely happy ending in keeping with the four seasons that have preceded it.

And are there any plans for Bad Wolf to produce more episodes of “Doctor Who”?

Bad Wolf was commissioned by the BBC and Disney+, along with BBC Studios, to be the producer for hire that made 26 episodes in this big BBC and Disney+ deal… There was never any talk of more than that. That’s all we were commissioned to do and that is now done. We’ve obviously talked about doing a Christmas special with the BBC. So talks about all of that are going on at the moment.

Will it be with Billie Piper?

All conversations are going on at the moment.

Bad Wolf celebrated its ten-year anniversary in 2025. Do you feel any difference in the company now?

It’s like the day after a big birthday, you feel exactly the same as you did two days before. So I feel every day is both wonderful and terrifying. I think that for 10 years we’ve just moved forward and now we’ll do the same again. It definitely gives you a pause for reflection and think, “Alright, we need to change.” You can’t be defined only by what you’ve done. You need to keep looking and keep moving forward and thinking, “Alright, what can we do that’s different?” and keep finding fresh ways to tell the stories that we want to tell. But it’s the same for every independent producer. Every day you’re just hanging on, it’s like a roller coaster. Hanging on, you’ve got your ups, you’ve got you downs.

There has been a lot of consolidation in the industry, from Paramount buying Warner Bros. to Banijay snapping up All3Media and rumors of Comcast bidding for ITV. Does that worry you?

I think it’s something that concerns me more as a human being. As a producer, my job is just to get those stories out to an audience in the best way I can, and one way or another, the opportunities are always there to be fought for. The money is always a bit scrappy and you just go out and you do the best you can. And I feel that Bad Wolf will continue to do that. As a human being obviously it worries me hugely, but that’s a different question.

This interview has been condensed and edited.