A modern re-telling of Jane Austen’s novels titled Modern Austen is in the works at CW. Hollywood has adapted Austen’s novels numerous times. Pride and Prejudice has been remade countless times starting as early as 1938, but today’s most commonly known adaptations are the 2005 film starring Keira Knightley and the 1995 BBC TV series. Sense and Sensibility, Mansfield Park, and Persuasion are Austen’s other most commonly adapted novels. The most recent Austen adaption is the 2020’s Emma starring Anya Taylor-Joy (The Queen’s Gambit) and Johnny Flynn.
Variety confirmed that CW is developing Modern Austen as an anthology series. Each season will be based on one of six of Austen’s novels and will be retold in installments of one-hour long episodes. The upcoming anthology series’ unique aspect is that all of the stories will be retold in a modern setting. The first season will be a contemporary version of Pride and Prejudice that is set in San Francisco.
Eleanor Burgess created the series and will write, as well as serve as executive producer along with Stephanie Allain and Gabrielle Ebron. Burgess’s most recent writing credit, HBO’s Perry Mason, proves that she is experienced in writing period pieces and retelling classic stories. Modern Austen challenges her to take the “period piece” out of Austen’s classic novels.
Modern Austen is a one-hour anthology series that reimagines Austen’s beloved novels as six modern stories, offering a kaleidoscopic look at love and family in our time of inequality and disconnection.
