In the candlelit corridors of Regency romance reimagined for the reckoning of our time, Netflix’s latest Austen adaptation arrives like a velvet-gloved gauntlet, challenging the corseted constraints of the classic with a “sharp, feminist twist” that’s blending the simmering sensuality of Bridgerton with the poignant pulses of Normal People and the subversive stabs of Saltburn in a six-part saga that’s already being crowned “iconic” and “devastating.” Premiering during Jane Austen’s 250th anniversary year on October 15, 2025, the series—from the incisive pen of Dolly Alderton (Everything I Know About Love) and directed by The Crown‘s Jessica Hobbs—stars Keri Russell (The Diplomat) as a fiercely modern Elizabeth Bennet, whose wit wars with societal shackles in a world where inheritance isn’t just estates but empowerment. “It’s Pride & Prejudice with a pulse – feminist fire in empire waistlines,” Alderton tells Radio Times, her script a scalpel slicing through the satire to reveal the raw revolutions beneath.
The saga’s subversive surge? Spellbinding: Episode 1’s “Bennet’s Bold” catapults Elizabeth into the fray, a Netherfield ball where Darcy’s disdain (Domhnall Gleeson, Ex Machina‘s enigmatic edge) masks a magnetic menace, her sister’s scandal a siren for societal sabotage. Russell’s Elizabeth? A “masterclass in mischief,” her wry quips warping to weary watchfulness, unraveling a ripple of regrets where a suitor’s “suicide” surfaces as sabotage. Co-stars carve the chaos: Phoebe Dynevor as the “suspicious sister” with a sting, Andrew Scott as the “haunted handler” with a grudge, and Indira Varma as the “calculating” confidant with secrets. Alderton’s script quivers with quips – “Pride is a prejudice we all wear” – but the “brutal” brutality bites: A botched ballroom burial buries a body, a VVIP viper’s venom turns ally to assassin.
The “bigger than Bridgerton”? Barbaric: Alderton’s adaptation amps the “pacy” probe with “spooky” soundscapes and “authentic” accents, Hobbs’s direction a “gripping” gasp of “grim themes” in Regency’s “eerie charm.” The Guardian‘s Lucy Mangan raves “very well-made, pacy drama” with Russell’s “reliably likeable” levity; The Independent‘s Ed Power hails Dynevor’s “Icily Glamorous” iciness and the “understated and spooky” score. Evening Standard‘s Vicky Jessop praises the “overall confidence, style and authenticity.” Skeptics? “Mired in modernity,” but the 1-in-2 clue-to-cliff ratio hooks, BARB metrics outgunning The Jetty.
This isn’t whodunit wallpaper; it’s a web-weaving whirlwind, the series a scalpel to the soul where prides prick and prejudices pierce. Elizabeth’s edge? Edgy. The empire’s empire? Entangling. October 15? Not a drop – a detonation. Binge it; the balls bewilder, the betrothals betray. Russell’s resolve? Relentless. The obsession? Overnight, inescapable.
