From Jane Tranter’s Bad Wolf, the BBC and BritBox North America have greenlit The Other Elliot Sister, a ten-part drama following Elizabeth Elliot, the eldest sister in Jane Austen’s Persuasion, with Sony Pictures Television distributing.
The series will form part of BritBox’s new Austen Untold anthology franchise, dedicated to the author’s overlooked and underexplored characters. The 10×30-minute series is slated to start production in 2027, adapted by Sarah Quintrell (The Other Bennet Sister) from Janice Hadlow’s upcoming novel of the same name.
It follows the success of The Other Bennet Sister, which is returning soon for a three-part holiday special. The Other Bennet Sister drove five times more new subscribers than any previous title in its first 90 days on BritBox, delivering the platform’s highest-ever week of signups and strongest quarter of subscriber growth. In the U.K., the BBC One commission was the biggest new drama across all platforms and streamers since March 2025, with 6.5 million watching in its first 28 days. It also generated 250 million views across the BBC’s accounts on TikTok, YouTube, Instagram and Facebook.
“The extraordinary response to The Other Bennet Sister confirmed what we’ve long known: audiences have a deep love for Jane Austen’s worlds and an appetite for stories that uncover new perspectives within them,” said Jon Farrar, chief content officer for DTC at BBC Studios. “With Austen Untold, we’re investing in bold reimaginings centered on the overlooked figures whose complexity and emotional journeys have often remained in the background of Austen’s stories.”
Tranter, CEO of Bad Wolf, added. “Elizabeth Elliot is an intriguing figure at the edges of Persuasion—someone we know just enough about to wonder what might be going on beneath the surface. We’re delighted to be returning to the world of Jane Austen with the BBC and BritBox, and to bring another overlooked character to the center of her own story as part of Austen Untold, an exciting new anthology that gives us the chance to explore Austen’s world through the eyes of characters whose stories have yet to be fully explored.”
A MIA Moment with Jane Tranter
Lindsay Salt, director of BBC Drama, added, “We’re thrilled to be returning to Jane Austen’s world once more with The Other Elliot Sister. The audience instantly fell in love with Mary Bennet, and we’re sure they will do the same with Elizabeth Elliot. It promises to be yet another captivating, heartfelt adaptation from Sarah Quintrell.”
