In honor of Jane Austen’s 250th birthday on December 16th, BritBox has curated “Austen Forever,” a six-month programming slate celebrating the author’s enduring legacy. Expanding BritBox’s existing Jane Austen library, available to stream now, the collection will debut film and television adaptations alongside documentaries exploring her life and influence.
The lineup will feature works based on or inspired by Austen’s acclaimed, completed novels: Emma, Persuasion, Sense and Sensibility, Mansfield Park, Pride & Prejudice and Northanger Abbey. The celebration will also feature the highly anticipated premiere of The Other Bennet Sister in spring 2026.
The Other Bennet Sister, from acclaimed producer Bad Wolf (His Dark Materials, Industry), is a ten-part series based on Janice Hadlow’s celebrated novel and written for the screen by Sarah Qunitrell (The Power, Ella). Ella Bruccoleri (Ludwig, Call the Midwife) stars as one of Jane Austen’s most unassuming characters: Mary Bennet – the seemingly unremarkable and overlooked middle sister in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. The series follows Mary as she steps out of her sisters’ shadows in search of her own identity and purpose – finding herself in the middle of an epic love story along the way. Her journey will see her leave her family home in Meryton for the soirees of Regency London and the peaks and vales of the Lake District, all in search of independence, self-love and reinvention. Ruth Jones (Gavin & Stacey, Stella), Richard E. Grant (Withnail & I, Can You Ever Forgive Me?), Indira Varma (Obi-Wan Kenobi, The Night Manager), Richard Coyle (Heads of State, The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina), Dónal Finn (The Wheel of Time, SAS Rogue Heroes) and Laurie Davidson (A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story, The Girlfriend) will also be featured in significant roles.
To further expand the Austen experience, BritBox will debut its first-ever original Yule Log inspired by The Other Bennet Sister and filmed on set, available to stream on December 5. Viewers are invited to cozy up by a Regency-era hearth that blends seasonal warmth and Austenesque charm.
The Jane Austen collection joins BritBox’s growing lineup of themed programming, alongside curations of Agatha Christie and Charles Dickens adaptations, as well as fan favorite hubs like The Royals, Doctor Who and Death in Paradise universes.
“Jane Austen’s stories have inspired generations for over two centuries, and we’re delighted to celebrate her 250th birthday with BritBox audiences,” said Diana Pessin, Chief Marketing Officer, BritBox. “Austen Forever is more than a tribute to her legacy, it’s an invitation for fans to completely immerse themselves in the Austen universe. From timeless classics and celebrated adaptations that shaped pop culture to an original Regency-era yule log, Austen Forever builds on our vast library of great British storytelling while honoring Austen’s impact and building momentum for more of the stories and experiences coming soon to BritBox.”
Upcoming Releases
December 5, 2025: The Other Bennet Sister Yule Log | 2 x 60′ | BritBox Original, BritBox Exclusive, North America Premiere
In Jane Austen’s world, the drama crackles like a roaring fire. Cozy up by the hearth from BritBox’s upcoming Original series, The Other Bennet Sister, a fresh spin on Pride & Prejudice.
December 5, 2025: Jane Austen: The Rise of a Genius S1 | 3 x 60′ | BritBox Exclusive, North America Premiere
Far from the bonnets and ballrooms of her novels, Austen lived through an era of profound change, as revolutions and wars, inequality and disease ravaged Europe. At a time when women’s roles in society were strictly controlled, she transcended the chaos around her and the oppression she faced to create timeless masterpieces, filled with social commentary, humour and vivid characters, as insightful and adored today as they ever have been. In her quiet life in the countryside, she was inspired by the events of her own life. But, determined to become a writer, she turned down a wealthy suitor, battled with publishers and even published anonymously before finally seeing her work celebrated. Austen’s journey is one of defiance, determination, and brilliance. This series tells her story like never before, exploring the ways her work intersects with historical events and how her subversive critiques of high society life still capture the imagination, reaching far beyond their time and place.
December 5, 2025: Becoming Jane (2007) | 1 x 120′ | New to BritBox | *United States Only
Dramatised biography of the young Jane Austen (Anne Hathaway, Les Misérables), revealing how her feisty character affected her romance with a young Irishman and how the experience came to have an influence on her writing. Whilst her parents hope for her to meet and settle with a wealthy husband of considerable social status, she much prefers a roguish Celt with whom she can match intellects and share repartee.
December 5, 2025: Clueless (1995) | 1 x 90′ | New to BritBox
Jane Austen’s 1816 novel Emma turned into a fresh and satirical look at ultra-rich teenagers in a Beverly Hills high school. Cher (Alicia Silverstone) is a pampered upper-class girl who cares less about getting good grades than wearing the right clothes and being as popular as possible. However, she also has an innate urge to help those less fortunate, like the two introverted teachers she brings together and new friend Tai (Brittany Murphy, Girl, Interrupted), who starts out a geek and ends up a Cher prodigy.
December 5, 2025: Emma (1996) | 1 x 120′ | New to BritBox
In this adaptation of Jane Austen’s classic novel, pretty socialite Emma Woodhouse (Gwyneth Paltrow, Shakespeare in Love) entertains herself by playing matchmaker for those around her. Her latest “project” is Harriet Smith (Toni Collette, The Hours), an unpretentious debutant, while Emma herself receives the attentions of the dashing Frank Churchill (Ewan McGregor, Staged). However, Emma’s attempts at matchmaking cause more problems than solutions and may ultimately jeopardize her own chance at love and happiness.
January 2, 2026: Persuasion (1995) | 1 x 100′ | New to BritBox
As one of three daughters of the wealthy Sir Walter (Corin Redgrave, Four Weddings and a Funeral), Anne (Amanda Root, The Sixth Commandment) is a privileged but lonely member of the English aristocracy. When her father leaves on a trip, he rents out part of his estate to relatives of Anne’s ex-fiancé, Capt. Frederick Wentworth (Ciarán Hinds, Belfast). Though Anne demurred over the marriage because of Wentworth’s poor social standing and connections, he has since become very successful, and when he visits, Anne must confront the life she left behind.
February 6, 2026: Sense and Sensibility (1995) | 1 x 120′ | New to BritBox
Sense and Sensibility tells of the Dashwood sisters, sensible Elinor (Emma Thompson, Why Didn’t They Ask Evans?) and passionate Marianne (Kate Winslet, The Holiday), whose chances at marriage seem doomed by their family’s sudden loss of fortune. Alan Rickman (Love Actually), Hugh Grant (A Very English Scandal) and Greg Wise (The Crown) co-star as the well-intentioned suitors who are trapped by the strict rules of society and the conflicting laws of desire.
March 6, 2026: Mansfield Park (1999) | 1 x 120′ | New to BritBox
A poor relation with a talent for writing and an independent wit, Fanny Price (Frances O’Connor, Mr. Selfridge) is sent to live on the estate of a rich uncle who promotes her marriage to an equally well-to-do neighbor, but Fanny proves to have a mind and a willful spirit of her own.
April 3, 2026: Austenland | 1 x 97′ | New to BritBox | *United States Only
Jane Hayes’s (Keri Russell, The Americans) adoration of all things Jane Austen is complicating her love life. Determined to be the heroine of her own story, Jane spends her life savings on a trip to Austenland, an eccentric resort where guests experience complete immersion in the Regency era. Armed with her bonnet, corset and needlepoint, Jane strives to avoid spinsterhood … but has a difficult time determining where fantasy ends and real life—and maybe even love—begins. Jennifer Coolidge (The White Lotus) and Jane Seymour (Harry Wild) also star in this charming romantic comedy.
April 3, 2026: Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001) | 1 x 120′ | New to BritBox | *Canada Only
A single woman in her thirties decides to turn her life around, beginning with a diary and the complex romantic entanglements with two very different men.
April 3, 2026: Pride & Prejudice (2005) | 1 x 120′ | New to BritBox
In this adaptation of Jane Austen’s beloved novel, Elizabeth Bennet (Keira Knightley, Atonement) lives with her mother, father and sisters in the English countryside. One of the eldest, she faces mounting pressure from her parents to marry. When the outspoken Elizabeth is introduced to the handsome and upper-class Mr. Darcy (Matthew Macfadyen, Stonehouse), sparks fly. Although there is obvious chemistry between the two, Darcy’s overly reserved nature threatens the fledgling relationship.
May 1, 2026: Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001) | 1 x 120′ | New to BritBox | *United States Only
A single woman in her thirties decides to turn her life around, beginning with a diary and the complex romantic entanglements with two very different men.
Spring 2026: The Other Bennet Sister | 10 x 30′ | BritBox Original, BritBox Exclusive, North America Premiere
Ella Bruccoleri (Ludwig, Call the Midwife) stars as one of Jane Austen’s most unassuming characters: Mary Bennet – the seemingly unremarkable and overlooked middle sister in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. The series follows Mary as she steps out of her sisters’ shadows in search of her own identity and purpose – finding herself in the middle of an epic love story along the way. Her journey will see her leave her family home in Meryton for the soirees of Regency London and the peaks and vales of the Lake District, all in search of independence, self-love and reinvention.
Streaming Now on BritBox
Emma (1972) | 6 x 45′
In Emma Woodhouse’s (Doran Godwin, The Irish R.M.) imprudent attempts to meddle in her friends’ love lives, she is counseled and criticized by her brother-in-law, whose attentions are motivated by more than just brotherly love.
Emma (2009) | 4 x 60′
Romola Garai (Atonement) is Jane Austen’s fickle heroine, fatally convinced she is good at matchmaking, but unaware she is playing a dangerous game that might finally force her to grow up.
Lost in Austen | 4 x 45′
A thoroughly modern heroine threatens to ruin one of the world’s greatest literary love stories in this ingenious reinvention of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.
Mansfield Park (1983) | 6 x 60′
In Jane Austen’s witty Regency romance, impoverished Fanny (Sylvestra Le Touzel, The Crown) is sent to live with her more affluent uncle and struggles for acceptance by her shallow relatives. Will her good nature win her a valued place in the household and help her in finding love?
Miss Austen Regrets (2007) | 1 x 85′
Based on Jane Austen’s actual letters and diaries, this drama unravels the secrets of this elusive woman. Jane (Olivia Williams, The Crown) is nearing her forties and has never married. To her niece, Fanny Knight (Imogen Poots, Jane Eyre) – a young, pretty girl desperate to fall in love – Jane is a favourite aunt who offers the wisdom and knowledge that will help her in her own search for a happy marriage. But surely the woman so capable of writing love on the page must have experienced love herself? Jane surrenders little to her niece, but secrets there are, and Jane is forced to examine afresh the reasons why she has remained single.
Northanger Abbey (1987) | 1 x 89′
Jane Austen’s classic story of a young girl whose head is full of romantic and melodramatic notions about the world. Through her adventures, Catherine Morland (Katharine Schlesinger, Doctor Who) comes to learn that marriage in the society of her day is determined not by true love but by wealth and social status.
Persuasion (2007) | 1 x 92′
At the age of nineteen, Anne Elliot (Sally Hawkins, Spencer) fell deeply in love with handsome young naval officer Frederick Wentworth (Rupert Penry-Jones, Those About to Die). But with neither fortune nor rank to recommend him, Anne’s family were against the match and persuaded her to break off the engagement. Now twenty-seven, Anne has lived to regret her decision. She has never stopped loving Wentworth, and when he returns from sea having made his fortune and reputation, she can only watch as every eligible young woman in the district falls at his feet. Has he forgotten the girl he left behind? And can he forgive her for listening to her family instead of her heart?
Pride & Prejudice (1980) | 5 x 60′
While Mrs. Bennet (Priscilla Morgan, Separate Tables) frantically tries to find husbands for her five daughters, willful and strong-minded Elizabeth Bennet (Elizabeth Garvie, The House of Eliott) matches wits with haughty Mr. Darcy (David Rintoul, Wild Cherry) in this highly praised adaptation of Jane Austen’s celebrated novel.
Pride & Prejudice (1995) | 6 x 60′
Andrew Davies’ (Bridget Jones’s Diary) multi-award-winning adaptation of Jane Austen’s classic Regency romance. Colin Firth (The King’s Speech) and Jennifer Ehle (Lioness) lead a fabulous cast in this definitive 1995 adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. Pulsating with energy, the lively, witty Elizabeth Bennet charms smouldering, haughty Darcy against a backdrop of a picture postcard countryside, small-town assembly rooms and English stately homes.
Sense and Sensibility (1981) | 7 x 30′
In this adaptation of the Jane Austen classic, set among the stately homes of picturesque Dorset and Somerset, two sisters with differing attitudes toward life and love navigate their romantic lives in a society obsessed with wealth and status. Starring Irene Richards (David Copperfield), Tracey Childs (Howards’ Way), Annie Leon (EastEnders).
Sense and Sensibility (2008) | 3 x 60′
In Andrew Davies’ (Bridget Jones’s Diary) enchanting adaptation of Jane Austen’s classic novel, two sisters learn what it takes to find love and happiness in a society where wealth and status govern the rules of love. Starring Charity Wakefield (The Great), Hattie Morahan (The Gilded Age), and Lucy Boynton (A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story).