'The Other Bennet Sister' Season 2: Everything We Know
There's more from the BBC Limited Series still to come—and the team behind the show is interested in more Jane Austen retellings.
The Other Bennet Sister is the delightful comfort watch that took over the internet in the first half of 2026. Based on Janice Hadlow's novel of the same name, the BBC and BritBox's period drama is a retelling of Pride Prejudice with the focus on Mary, the titular, oft-overlooked middle child of the Bennet family. While Jane Austen adaptations are nothing new, The Other Bennet Sister stands out with its charming focus on giving the late bloomer both the rom-com treatment and her own journey of self-discovery.
Though U.K. viewers were the first to fall in love with The Other Bennet Sister, the historical romance later arrived stateside, with the series finale landing on BritBox on June 24. Fans who are mourning the end of their new favorite show may be wondering whether Mary's story will continue. Read on for everything we know about the future of The Other Bennet Sister.
William Ryder (Laurie Davidson) and Mary Bennet (Ella Bruccoleri) in The Other Bennet Sister.
Is 'The Other Bennet Sister' renewed for season 2?
Unfortunately for fans, Mary Bennet's story has (mostly) come to an end. The Other Bennet Sister is billed as a limited series, and the 10-episode season is a complete adaptation of Janice Hadlow's novel, so it doesn't look like the series will return for future seasons.
Of course, limited series tend to find ways to live on if they're popular enough. According to The Radio Times, The Other Bennet Sister became the BBC's biggest drama launch of the last 12 months, with the first episode drawing 7.3 million viewers in its first 28 days on BBC One and iPlayer. With that kind of popularity, the network may be taking note and considering how the show could continue.
Will 'The Other Bennet Sister' return for more episodes?
The Other Bennet Sister fans are getting more episodes! On the day of the BritBox series' finale, the streamer announced that Mary Bennet and co. will return for a three-part Christmas special, answering fans' pleas for a bit more time with their favorite Bennet.
"We know how much audiences have fallen in love with Mary Bennet, and we’re thrilled that her story isn’t over yet," Jess O’Riordan, Executive Producer and Commissioning Executive for BritBox, said in a statement. "We are so pleased Mary’s story will continue for three more chapters and to welcome audiences back into the world of The Other Bennet Sister this holiday season."
Mary (Ella Bruccoleri) and Tom Hayward (Dónal Finn) play with the Gardiner family.
When will 'The Other Bennet Sister' Christmas Special come out?
There isn't an official release date for the special episodes of The Other Bennet Sister yet, but the biggest clue lies in their unofficial title. In the tradition of other smash-hit British shows, the special will debut during the Christmas season. (It's still unclear whether the U.S. and the U.K. will get the episodes at the same time.)
The show is also working on quite a quick turnaround. Production was spotted filming the three-part special in Wales this past summer. According to local reports, filming has wrapped as of early September, so all signs are pointing toward a holiday release.
Which cast members will return for 'The Other Bennet Sister' Christmas special?
So far, Ella Bruccoleri (Mary Bennet) is the only actor confirmed to reprise her role, but the rest of the main cast will likely join her. The surest bet is Dónal Finn, who plays Mary's now-husband Tom Hayward.
The Other Bennet Sister also stars Poppy Gilbert (Lizzie Bennet), Maddie Close (Jane Bennet), Molly Wright (Kitty Bennet), Grace Hogg (Lydia Bennet), Ruth Jones (Mrs. Bennet), Laurie Davidson (William Ryder), Aaron Gill (John Sparrow), Varada Sethu (Ann Baxter), Indira Varma (Mrs. Gardiner), Richard Coyle (Mr. Gardiner), and Tanya Reynolds (Caroline Bingley).
Tom Hayward, Mary Bennet, and William Ryder are the central love triangle of The Other Bennet Sister.
What will 'The Other Bennet Sister' Christmas special be about?
While the overall plot is under wraps, executive producer Jane Tranter teased some details on The Other Bennet Sister Christmas special to IndieWire. The special won't see Mary celebrating Christmas, as "the Regency era wasn’t so big on [the holiday]." Instead, it'll focus on newlyweds Mary and Tom Hayward and their life post-wedding, with Quintrell writing the episodes based on storylines from source author Janice Hadlow.
“The thing that Janice was interested in is, Jane Austen always pulls the camera away, in her novelistic way, at the point of marriage,” Tranter told the outlet. “And I think it’s really because Jane Austen’s novels are about longing and about love, and once marriage has been found, Jane Austen herself knew well enough that it could easily not be a choice between marriage or misery, but marriage and misery. [She] doesn’t tread down that path and doesn’t delve in [to that], Jane Austen herself was never married and she doesn’t delve into that…but we were interested in seeing, but what if we did go into the next step of what life was going to be like for the Haywards?”
Will 'The Other Bennet Sister' get a spinoff?
Austenheads, rejoice! The BBC has greenlit a new series from the author behind The Other Bennet Sister. Per Tellyvisions, the new show will adapt Hadlow's upcoming book, The Other Elliot Sister, which is set to give another undersung Austen character her main-character moment.
"...We were looking to do more in that world," Lindsay Salt, BBC Director of Drama, teased while speaking at the 2026 Edinburgh TV Festival. "So Janice Hadlow's upcoming book, The Other Elliot sister... a clue, figure out the Austen fans out there in terms of what book that will be based on! But I think we found a really fun brand there where we've refreshed period drama for BBC."
The Other Elliot Sister, will reportedly be set in the world of Persuasion and focus on one of Anne's sisters. No other plot details for the novel have been announced, so it's currently unknown whether the titular sister will be Elizabeth or Mary. However, the novel is expected to release in the next year or so, and the early announcement from the BBC signals that the network could fast-track the spinoff to get it out as quickly after the book as possible.
The Bennet sisters, from left: Jane (Maddie Close), Lizzie (Poppy Gilbert), Mary (Ella Bruccoleri), Kitty (Molly Wright), and Lydia (Grace Hogg-Robinson).
Even before the Christmas special was announced, the team behind The Other Bennet Sister had hinted that they were interested in exploring more of the Jane Austen canon. In a May 2026 interview with Variety, executive producer Jane Tranter expressed an interest in returning to the world of the show, teasing that they're "thinking about" doing another Austen-related series.
"I think that Mary Bennet and the Bennet family continues to live on in our minds, so potentially," Tranter said, when asked about the possibility of a new series starring the Bennets. "But Mary Bennet isn’t the only character in Jane Austen’s novels who Jane Austen gives a bit of a side eye to, and that is really what interests me."
How can I watch 'The Other Bennet Sister?'
The Other Bennet Sister is currently streaming on BritBox, with every episode out now. BritBox offers a seven-day free trial, after which a subscription starts at $10.99 per month.
As stated, it hasn't been announced when the Christmas specials drop, but there is a chance they could air in the U.K. on BBC iPlayer before BritBox in the U.S. If that's the case, you can use a VPN to watch. If you don't have a VPN, you can use one like Nord VPN.
