The BBC released a trailer for upcoming drama series Miss Austen, with Keeley Hawes (Bodyguard, Line of Duty, It’s A Sin) starring as Jane Austen’s sister Cassandra, on Tuesday and unveiled a Sunday, Feb. 2 launch date.
In the U.S., the series will air on Masterpiece on PBS from Sunday, May 4.
All four episodes will become available on its BBC iPlayer streaming service from 6 a.m. London time that day, and the series will begin airing weekly episodes on BBC One that evening. Adapted from Gill Hornby’s best-selling novel of the same name, the drama is produced by Bonnie Productions for Masterpiece, in association with the BBC.
Miss Austen has been adapted for television by BAFTA-winning writer Andrea Gibb (Elizabeth Is Missing, Mayflies). It “takes a literary mystery – Cassandra Austen notoriously burning her famous sister Jane’s letters – and reimagines it as a fascinating, witty and heart-breaking story of sisterly love, while creating in Cassandra a character as captivating as any Austen heroine,” according to a synopsis.
The new trailer features Hawes in her role as Cassandra “Cassy” Austen, providing a glimpse at her bond with and loyalty to her sister, Jane. It also shows Young Cassy (Synnøve Karlsen) and Jane Austen (Patsy Ferran) in a flashback as they navigate “the romantic infatuations, female friendships and dashed hopes which shaped their lives, and laid the foundations for Jane’s unforgettable stories,” the BBC said.
“The drama begins in 1830, many years after Jane has died, Cassandra rushes to visit Isabella (Rose Leslie), the niece of her long-dead fiancé, who is about to lose her home following her father’s death,” says a plot description. “Cassandra is ostensibly there to help Isabella, but her real motive is to find a hidden bundle of private letters which, in the wrong hands, she fears could destroy Jane’s reputation. On discovering them, Cassandra is overwhelmed as she is transported back to her youth.”
Miss Austen’s cast also includes Phyllis Logan (Downton Abbey, Shetland), Max Irons (Condor, The Wife), Alfred Enoch (How to Get Away with Murder, Foundation), Jessica Hynes (Life After Life, Years and Years), Mirren Mack (The Witcher: Blood Origin, The Nest), Kevin McNally (The Crown, Ten Percent), Calam Lynch (Bridgerton, Sweetpea), and Liv Hill (The Serpent Queen, Elizabeth Is Missing).
Directed by BAFTA award-winning filmmaker Aisling Walsh (Maudie, Elizabeth Is Missing), the show is produced by Stella Merz (Gentleman Jack, Renegade Nell).
The series is a co-production of Bonnie Productions and Masterpiece, in association with the BBC and Federation Stories. The executive producers are Christine Langan for Bonnie Productions, Susanne Simpson for Masterpiece, and Polly Williams for Federation Stories. Hawes, Andrea Gibb and Walsh are also executive producers. Federation Studios will distribute the series internationally.
This year marks the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth. Watch the Miss Austen trailer below.
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