The Definitive Jane Austen Streaming Guide

It is a truth universally acknowledged that when a new Jane Austen adaptation arrives, everyone has to pull out all the previous ones and compare. Part of this stems from the fact that there are only six books to begin with. With a limited catalog that gets new versions once a generation or so, it’s easier to compare and contrast how our society is growing and changing in how we present these classic comedy-of-manners romances.

Our culture has reached a point in its cycle where a new generation of Austen TV series and movies should step forward; the last major bout was 2005-2009, so we’re nearly overdue. So far, the title that’s gotten the most attention is the oddity one-off Sanditon, based on Austen’s unfinished 11-chapter manuscript, which is oddly fitting for our current fanfic era. We’ve had a couple of false starts: the 2020 Emma opened the weekend before the pandemic shutdown, and Netflix’s first attempt at Persuasion was straight-up embarrassing. But things are looking up. The new Sense & Sensibility is getting great reviews, and Netflix is trying again with Pride & Prejudice. If it’s successful, maybe someone will try to adapt Mansfield Park and Northanger Abbey as well.

In honor of the new Sense & Sensibility and forthcoming Pride & Prejudice, not to mention the successes of offshoots like The Other Bennet Sister and Miss Austen, we present Telly Visions’ Definitive Guide to Streaming Jane Austen.

Sense & Sensibility

Including the newest film, Jane Austen’s 1811 debut novel, Sense & Sensibility, has had six adaptations.

• 1971: All episodes of the oldest remaining adaptation of Sense & Sensibility, the BBC’s Joanna David/Ciaran Madden TV series, have been rescued by fans and are streaming on YouTube.
• 1981: The Irene Richard/Tracey Childs BBC seven-part TV series is on BritBox, but, for some reason, not part of the “Austen Forever” collection.
• 1995: The Emma Thompson/Kate Winslet feature film is mostly only available as a streaming rental, but it’s also free (with ads) on Pluto TV.
• 2008: Screenwriter Andrew Davies has adapted more Austen novels than anyone else alive, the bulk of which were released between 2007 and 2009 on ITV. His 2008 Hattie Morahan/Charity Wakefield three-part Sense & Sensibility adaptation is part of BritBox’s “Austen Forever” collection.
• 2024: The first-ever all-Black cast TV movie version of Sense & Sensibility with Deborah Ayorinde/Bethany Antonia is on Hallmark+.
• 2026: The Daisy Edgar-Jones/Esmé Creed-Miles feature film is currently in theaters, and will stream on Peacock by the end of 2026.

Pride & Prejudice

Including the forthcoming Netflix adaptation, Austen’s most popular novel, the 1813 Pride & Prejudice, has had ten adaptations, though nearly all before 1967 were live BBC broadcasts that weren’t recorded, and no one considered worth preserving.

• 1940: The original Pride & Prejudice feature film, which starred Greer Garson as Lizzie and Laurence Olivier as Darcy, is sadly only available as a streaming rental.
• 1967: Like the 1971 S&S, fans have uploaded all six episodes of the black-and-white Celia Bannerman/Lewis Fiander Pride & Prejudice TV series to YouTube.
• 1980: The Gold Standard until 1995, the six-part Elizabeth Garvie/David Rintoul BBC TV series is part of BritBox’s “Austen Forever” collection.
• 1995: Still the Gold Standard, Andrew Davies’ original hit, the Jennifer Ehle/Colin Firth BBC TV series is also part of BritBox’s “Austen Forever” collection; accept no substitutions or inferior Darcys. Void where prohibited.
• 2005: The Gold Standard for feature films, the Keira Knightley/Matthew Macfadyen adaptation is somehow only available as a streaming rental, and I, for one, require this to be fixed yesterday.
• 2026: The forthcoming Emma Corrin/Jack Lowden six-part TV series will arrive on Netflix in December 2026.

Mansfield Park

Only three adaptations of 1814’s Mansfield Park exist, making it the second-least popular of Austen’s official six novels.

• 1983: The earliest adaptation, the six-part Sylvestra Le Touzel/Nicholas Farrell BBC TV series, is part of BritBox’s “Austen Forever” collection.
• 1999: The Frances O’Connor/Jonny Lee Miller feature film is free on YouTube with ads, or available to stream without them on YouTube TV.
• 2007: Because Andrew Davies has earned the title Austen Completionist for the Ages™, his ITV adaptations included a Mansfield Park Billie Piper/Blake Ritson TV movie. Even so, it’s the only ITV adaptation not on BritBox. It is available to stream for free on YouTube.

Emma

Thus far, there are eight adaptations of 1815’s Emma; like Pride & Prejudice, nearly all before 1967 were live BBC broadcasts that were not recorded and are lost to time.

• 1972: The oldest existing adaptation, the 1972 Doran Godwin/John Carson BBC TV series, is part of BritBox’s “Austen Forever” collection.
• 1996: Like the 2005 Pride & Prejudice, the 1996 Gwyneth Paltrow/Jeremy Northam Emma feature film is only available as a streaming rental, which someone should really fix.
• 1996: The ITV Kate Beckinsale/Mark Strong TV movie that came out at the same time as the feature film is at least streaming free on YouTube.
• 2009: Another entry from the Andrew Davies set of adaptations done for ITV, the four-part Romola Garai/Jonny Lee Miller TV series is also part of BritBox’s “Austen Forever” collection.
• 2020: The Anya Taylor-Joy/Johnny Flynn feature film is streaming for Prime Video subscribers.

Northanger Abbey

Poor Northanger Abbey, published after Austen’s death in 1817, has only been adapted twice. There’s a reason this meme exists.

• 1987: The Katharine Schlesinger/Peter Firth BBC TV movie is available on Disney+ internationally, and under the Hulu banner in the States.
• 2007: Unsurprisingly, the most recent Northanger Abbey is from the Andrew Davies collection for ITV, the Felicity Jones/JJ Feild TV movie. Surprisingly, unlike Mansfield Park, it is part of BritBox’s “Austen Forever” collection.

Persuasion

Published at the tail end of 1817, Persuasion is by far Austen’s most popular posthumous book. It has had five adaptations, one predating 1967 and, unsurprisingly, also lost.

• 1971: The ITV/Grenada two-part adaptation of Persuasion, starring Ann Firbank and Bryan Marshall, is another one rescued by fans and available on YouTube as a result.
• 1995: The Gold Standard Amanda Root/Ciarán Hinds feature film version is on BritBox, but, for some reason, not part of the “Austen Forever” collection.
• 2007: However, Andrew Davies’ Persuasion, from his set of adaptations done for ITV, the Sally Hawkins/Rupert Penry-Jones TV movie, is part of BritBox’s “Austen Forever” collection.
• 2022: The absolute worst version of any Austen adaptation ever made, the deeply misbegotten Dakota Johnson/Cosmo Jarvis TV movie of Persuasion on Netflix should not be watched by anyone.

Lady Susan

More of a novella, Lady Susan was published in 1871, and has never been adapted under its original title.

• 2016: The only adaptation of the novella is the Kate Beckinsale/Chloë Sevigny feature film, set in the 1970s and retitled Love & Friendship. Available to stream on Prime Video.

Sanditon

Sanditon was the unfinished Austen novel that never got adapted until this decade, but it ran three seasons to make up for it.

• 2019: Andrew Davies cemented his title as Austen Completionist for the Ages™ ten years after adapting all six finished Austen novels, with his take on Sanditon. The Rose Williams/Theo James TV series ran for three seasons thanks to the Austen fandom and the Sanditon Sisterhood. All three seasons are on PBS Passport and the PBS Masterpiece Prime Video Channel.

Works Inspired By Jane Austen

Pride & Prejudice Inspired

• Bride & Prejudice: What if Pride & Prejudice, but South Asian? Streaming rental only.
• Lost in Austen: What if Pride & Prejudice, but time-travel? Part of BritBox’s “Austen Forever” collection.
• Austenland: What if Pride & Prejudice, but it’s a theme park? Streaming on YouTube.
• Death Comes to Pemberley: What if Pride & Prejudice, but it’s cozy crime? Streaming on PBS Passport & the PBS Masterpiece Prime Video Channel.
• Pride & Prejudice & Zombies: What if Pride & Prejudice, but it’s zombies? Streaming on Netflix.
• Fire Island: What if Pride & Prejudice, but it’s LGBTQ+? Streaming on Disney+ internationally, and under the Hulu banner in the States.
• The Other Bennet Sister: What if Pride & Prejudice, but it’s Mary? Streaming on BritBox, but for some reason not part of the “Austen Forever” collection. Christmas special due out in December 2026.

Other Austenalia

• Jane Austen in Manhattan: Merchant & Ivory romance over staging Austen. Another one rescued by fans, and streaming on YouTube.
• Metropolitan: What if Mansfield Park, but Manhattan? Streaming on HBO Max.
• Clueless: Alicia Silverstone’s Emma. Streaming on Paramount+.
• The Bridget Jones series: The original is “What if Pride & Prejudice, but present-day?” but by the time they get to The Edge of Reason, all the novels have gotten a shout-out. All films are streaming on Peacock.
• Miss Austen Regrets: Olivia Williams’ Jane Austen. Part of BritBox’s “Austen Forever” collection.
• Becoming Jane: Anne Hathaway’s Jane Austen. Available as a streaming rental or free (with ads) on Pluto.
• The Jane Austen Book Club: All six novels eventually turn up in this romcom starring Emily Blunt. Available as a streaming rental or free (with ads) on Tubi.
• The Lizzie Bennet Diaries/Emma Approved/Welcome to Sanditon: YouTube trilogy series based on Pride & Prejudice/Emma/Sanditon.
• Miss Austen: Keeley Hawes’ Cassandra Austen. Streaming on PBS Passport & the PBS Masterpiece Prime Video Channel. Season 2 expected in 2027/2028.

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