The Other Bennet Sister

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.

The Other Bennet Sister is hands down the best Austen-inspired series to hit television in years, if not decades, surpassing the likes of Masterpiece on PBS’s Sanditon. Its fresh approach to classic material only enhances Austen’s enduring genius.

The Other Bennet Sister is the show you've been waiting for but didn't know you needed, the perfect offering for these dark times, and a prime example of how timeless and irresistible the period romance subgenre can be when it's actually done right.

The Other Bennet Sister is so breezy and full of heart, most viewers will fall for it right away.

The Other Bennet Sister adapts Janice Hadlow’s 2020 novel into a light yet thoughtful romantic comedy that is bound to delight fans of the genre, anyone experiencing Bridgerton withdrawal, and even, I think, those hard-to-please Janeites.

Immensely charming and thoughtful, “The Other Bennet Sister” makes up for its sluggish pace with a bold feminist narrative and a delightful lead.

The performances are first-rate, Ms. Bruccoleri above all, though Ms. Varma is wonderful. So is Ms. Jones, even though Mrs. Bennet is a shrewish plague upon her most introverted daughter. It is a credit to principal writer Sarah Quintrell that the peculiarities of the characters in “Pride and Prejudice” become more acute as they age.

The Other Bennet Sister is a worthy spiritual and narrative successor to Austen's most famous work, a wonderfully cozy, comforting, romantic, and uplifting new period dramedy.

It’s incredibly tough to inject freshness into stories so frequently retold. But The Other Bennet Sister provides the ideal hit, combining all the comfort-watching pleasure of a beloved classic with the anticipation of following a previously little-known character on a brand new journey of self-discovery.

Like Mary herself, The Other Bennet Sister‘s flaws are outweighed by its better qualities.

“The Other Bennet Sister” is best when it tries to imagine the very human person whose older sisters are Jane and Elizabeth Bennet. Ella Bruccoleri is a real asset as Mary.

Matters improve for both Mary and the viewer when she is sent away to be a governess and is allowed to develop some character and interests. Until then, The Other Bennet Sister feels too slight a thing even for the pre-watershed Sunday evening slot it is designed for (insofar as time slots mean anything to us in these crazy digital streaming days). But the growing charm and heft – not to mention the lovely central performance from Bruccoleri – make it one worth sticking with.