The Other Bennet Sister: BritBox's Mary Bennet Spinoff, Explained
July 5, 2026 · Updated July 5, 2026
BritBox is adapting Janice Hadlow's novel The Other Bennet Sister into a 10-episode series starring Ella Bruccoleri as Mary Bennet — Pride and Prejudice's overlooked, bookish middle daughter, reimagined as the protagonist of her own romantic story.
What’s confirmed
- Star: Ella Bruccoleri as Mary Bennet
- Platform: BritBox
- Format: 10 episodes
- Source material: Janice Hadlow’s novel The Other Bennet Sister (2020)
- Premise: follows Mary as a young, unmarried woman navigating a romantic triangle — a life the original novel never bothers to imagine for her
Why Mary Bennet, of all characters
Of the five Bennet sisters, Mary gets the least narrative interest in Austen’s novel — she exists mainly as comic relief, valued by no one, including the narrator. A spinoff built entirely around her inverts Pride and Prejudice’s own hierarchy of attention, asking what the “plain,” “bookish” sister’s story looks like when she’s finally the one the camera follows. See our full Pride and Prejudice character guide for how little the original text actually gives Mary to work with — and how much this series has to invent.
This page is a living tracker — updated with trailer, release-date, and additional casting news as it’s confirmed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who plays Mary Bennet in The Other Bennet Sister?
Ella Bruccoleri stars as Mary Bennet in the 10-episode BritBox series.
Is The Other Bennet Sister based on a book?
Yes — it adapts Janice Hadlow's 2020 novel of the same name, which imagines a fuller life for Mary Bennet beyond her brief, often mocked appearances in Pride and Prejudice.
What does Pride and Prejudice actually say about Mary Bennet?
Very little — she is characterized mainly by pedantic moralizing and mediocre piano playing, the least developed of the five Bennet sisters. See our full character guide for what the novel gives her and what adaptations have had to invent.