BBC, Masterpiece meet Miss Austen
FIRST LOOK: Keeley Hawes and Rose Leslie star in Miss Austen, a four-part drama that will air on the BBC and Masterpiece in the US in 2025 to mark 250 years since Jane Austen’s birth.
Based on Gill Hornby’s novel of the same name, the series 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.
The drama begins in 1830, many years after Jane has died. Cassandra (Hawes) rushes to visit Isabella (Leslie), the niece of her long-dead fiancé, who is about to lose her home following her father’s death. 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. In flashback, we meet Young Cassy (Synnøve Karlsen) and Jane (Patsy Ferran) as they navigate the romantic infatuations, family feuds and dashed hopes which shaped their lives, and laid the foundations for Jane’s unforgettable stories. Cassandra’s re-evaluation of her past eventually leads her to find a way to guide Isabella towards the path of true happiness.
The pictures show Hawes (Bodyguard) as Cassandra Austen and Leslie (Game of Thrones) as Isabella Fowle. Karlsen (Last Night in Soho), Ferran (Living), Phyllis Logan (Downton Abbey), Max Irons (Condor), Alfred Enoch (How to Get Away with Murder), Calam Lynch (Bridgerton) and Liv Hill (The Serpent Queen) are also seen in their roles for the first time.
Jessica Hynes (Life After Life), Mirren Mack (The Witcher: Blood Origin) and Kevin McNally (The Crown) also star in the series.
Written by Andrea Gibb (Elizabeth is Missing), Miss Austen is produced by Bonnie Productions for Masterpiece, in association with the BBC and Federation Stories. Production finished earlier this year.
The series is directed by Aisling Walsh (Maudie, Elizabeth is Missing) and produced by Stella Merz (Gentleman Jack, Renegade Nell).
The executive producers are Christine Langan for Bonnie Productions, Susanne Simpson for Masterpiece and Polly Williams for Federation Stories. Hawes, Gibb and Walsh are also executive producers. Federation Studios will distribute the series internationally.
Miss Austen will launch on Masterpiece on May 4, 2025, and on BBC One and BBC iPlayer in 2025.
tagged in: Andrea Gibb, BBC iPlayer, BBC One, Keeley Hawes, Masterpiece, Miss Austen, Rose Leslie