Your Pride & Prejudice Homework Before the Netflix Miniseries Drops

A new Pride & Prejudice is coming, and this one has absolutely no business being as stacked as it is. Netflix is releasing a six-part miniseries written by Dolly Alderton and directed by Euros Lyn, with Emma Corrin as Lizzy, Jack Lowden as Darcy, and Olivia Colman as Mrs. Bennet. No release date yet but production wrapped in the UK, so 2026 is happening whether you're ready or not.

On the podcast we talked about all of this, and we also realized that a new adaptation is the perfect excuse to do your homework. Whether you've seen all of these or none of them, here's every P&P adaptation worth watching before Netflix has its turn.

1995 BBC Miniseries

Start here. Six episodes, Colin Firth, the wet shirt, Jennifer Ehle being the sharpest Lizzy ever put on screen. It's the most faithful adaptation and the one every other version gets measured against. If you haven't seen it, clear your weekend.

2005 Film

The 1995 miniseries has the better Lizzy, but the 2005 film has the better Darcy. Matthew Macfadyen plays him as genuinely socially awkward rather than just cold, and the cinematography makes it one of the most beautiful versions to exist. The rain proposal and the hand flex have been living rent-free in people's heads for twenty years for a reason.

Bridget Jones's Diary (2001)

Helen Fielding wrote Bridget Jones as an explicit P&P retelling, and then the movie had the audacity to cast Colin Firth as the Darcy analog, making him essentially play Mr. Darcy playing Mr. Darcy. It holds up completely and proves this story works in literally any setting.

Austenland (2013)

Keri Russell plays an Austen superfan who spends her savings on a Regency theme resort to find her own Darcy. It is deeply cheesy and commits entirely to that bit. Watch it in the right headspace and you'll have a great time.

Pride & Prejudice + Zombies (2016)

This should not work, and yet. The Bennet sisters are zombie-slaying martial arts experts and the movie is still surprisingly faithful to the source material. Lizzy is still sharp, Darcy is still insufferable, and the zombies are almost incidental. Weirdly worth your time.

Death Comes to Pemberley (2013)

P.D. James wrote a murder mystery sequel to P&P, someone turned it into a miniseries, and Matthew Rhys plays Darcy. It's darker than your typical Austen content and raises real questions about what life at Pemberley actually looked like after the happily ever after. A different vibe, but a good one.

Lost in Austen (2008)

A modern woman accidentally swaps places with Elizabeth Bennet, ruins the entire plot, and then desperately tries to fix it. Meta, funny, and completely self-aware. One of the more creative takes on the source material and worth watching for the concept alone.

Pride & Prejudice: A Latter-Day Comedy (2003)

P&P transplanted to BYU campus with Mormon college students. Low budget, high commitment, and genuinely charming if you meet it where it is.

---

The Netflix version has a cast that could genuinely compete with 1995 for the title of best adaptation, and we'll be covering it on the podcast the second it drops. In the meantime, get caught up.