‘Sanditon’ – Andrew Davis’s adaptation of Jane Austen’s final unfinished novel – launches on PBS this Sunday, January 12th with a two hour special made up of the first two episodes capturing the themes and characters Austen was just starting to explore before her death with a fresh energy and style. If the past is another country there’s no better voyage to take in the cold January of 2020…
The series is already most anticipated/must-see in The New York Times, Indiewire & USA Today & boasts a richly varied ensemble from Theo James to Anne Reid and Kris Marshall combined with fantastic newcomers we’ll be hearing much more from like Rose Williams (as heroine Charlotte Haywood), Crystal Clarke and Lily Sacofsky.
Behind camera, are production designer Grant Montgomery (Peaky Blinders), composer Ruth Barrett (Bodyguard), DoP David Raedeker (Souvenir) and casting director Jill Trevellick (Downton Abbey) working wonders with late Regency style & attitude while the pilot/ first three episodes are directed by… yours truly.
So if beautifully dressed English-folk engaged in a whirlwind of mischief, duplicity & romance is what you need right now… Buckle up and enjoy.
PBS’s Sanditon is a new kind of Jane Austen adaptation. Oozing with sex, concerned with racial and class politics, and full of scheming anti-heroines who will do whatever it takes to get to the top, it simultaneously throws away the quaint, courtly image of Austen’s work while embracing the bitter acid of her pen… All in all, it makes for a profoundly juicy watch
– decider
It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single Jane Austen adaptation in possession of good reviews upon its U.K. airing, must be in want of a U.S. audience. For those of us who regularly get our bonnets in a twist, the debut of ITV’s “Sanditon” stateside on PBS is a cause for celebration.
– indiewire
Watch the Sanditon trailer here