An upcoming 10-part Regency-era book adaptation will provide the perfect template for one of Bridgerton’s two upcoming seasons. Long before Bridgerton season 4 stormed the streaming charts, Netflix announced that the steamy historical romance series had been renewed for seasons 5 and 6. After months of speculation, it’s now revealed that the recently widowed Francesca (Hannah Dodd) will lead season 5 in the show’s most groundbreaking outing yet, finding new love with her late husband’s cousin, Michaela (Masali Baduza).
This leaves Francesca’s elder sister, Eloise (Claudia Jessie), somewhat in the lurch, however, as her character continues to resist the rules of polite society without ever truly forging her own path. While Bridgerton season 5 will undoubtedly set events in motion for Eloise, as season 4 did for Francesca, the real test for the “black sheep” of the Bridgerton family won’t come until her very own sixth season.
The wait for Bridgerton’s upcoming seasons will be long. Thankfully, in the meantime, a new Regency-era romantic drama is set to be released in the United States soon, based on not one, but two bestselling books. Inspired by Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice, The Other Bennet Sister (which recently premiered in the UK to a near-perfect, 92% Rotten Tomatoes critics’ score) is author Janice Ladlow’s, the BBC’s, and BritBox’s take on the oft-forgotten middle Bennet sister, Mary, and her journey of self-discovery, romance, purpose, and joy.
Firmly the middle child, Mary Bennet (Ella Bruccoleri) has long been overshadowed by her four sisters. Jane’s (Maddie Close) beauty, Lizzie’s (Poppy Gilbert) tenacity, and Kitty’s (Molly Wright) and Lydia’s (Grace Hogg-Robinson) youthful vigor have forced Mary to the sidelines. According to her surprisingly unpleasant mother — The Other Bennet Sister is told from Mary’s perspective, even the bits that take place during Pride & Prejudice — Mary is too plain to attract a suitor.
Of course, Eloise Bridgerton has a much kinder mama, and no one would ever accuse a Bridgerton child of being “plain,” but Mary and Eloise do have a lot in common. Both find genuine pleasure and joy in reading, learning, and debating their interests, and they both feel like the odd ones out in their family. Much like Mary, Eloise is surrounded by beautiful sisters who have found success and even love on the marriage market, leaving her feeling increasingly disconnected from family and friends.
Perhaps most importantly, neither feels a desperate need to find love or a husband. While Mary does throw her hat in the ring when an opportunity presents itself, she’s largely content to study and teach. Both characters meet men who are romantically interested in them — Eloise had Theo (Calam Lynch) in Bridgerton season 3, while Mary connects with several eligible bachelors during The Other Bennet Sister — but for the most part, they’re both more interested in staying true to themselves.
In The Other Bennet Sister, a tragic family event leads Mary to leave the Longbourn estate for the first time in her life, as she accepts an offer to stay with her family in London. A major city like London has plenty to offer a woman as sheltered as Mary, and she finds new appreciation for poetry, games, and companionship. Her journey to London and beyond is a genuine eye-opener.
In Eloise’s corresponding Bridgerton book, Julia Quinn’s To Sir Phillip, With Love, a major part of her story involves leaving the security of her family home and heading out on a spontaneous trip to the countryside to visit the man who will, very much unbeknownst to Eloise at the time, become her husband. While Mary and Eloise essentially make opposite journeys, both their adventures change them forever, allowing them to find a part of themselves they’d forcefully ignored for too long.
The Other Bennet Sister isn’t meant to be as steamy, sexy, or daring as Bridgerton. Its tone is more comedic and light-hearted, set up more as a sitcom than a proper drama with 10, 30-minute episodes. Still, there’s no denying the similarities between Eloise and Mary’s stories, and The Other Bennet Sister may prove to be the perfect substitute for anyone anxiously awaiting Eloise’s Bridgerton story.
Although it’s encouraging that Bridgerton season 5 is already in production, it’ll be a long wait before new episodes air on Netflix. The Other Bennet Sister, however, is coming out very soon, with the show premiering on BritBox in North America next month on May 6, just a few weeks after its debut in the UK.
With Bridgertonand shows like Apple TV’s The Buccaneers and PBS Masterpiece’s The Forsytes helping the historical romance genre find renewed public interest, there’s no better time for audiences to meet one of Jane Austen’s most forgotten heroines in The Other Bennet Sister.