‘The Other Bennet Sister’ Is Getting a Three-Part Christmas Special

Just as the BBC and BritBox smash hit rolls out its finale in the U.S., fans can start preparing for a very merry (Mary?) holiday treat. Producer Jane Tranter tells IndieWire what we might expect.

Now this is news worth celebrating. Just as American fans of BritBox’s delightful series “The Other Bennet Sister” are presumably breaking out their hankies as the streaming hit’s finale arrives on domestic screens today (and more on that to come on IndieWire later today), the streamer and the BBC have announced a wonderful treat. Can you say, “three-part Christmas special”?

Sarah Quintrell, who wrote nine of the 10 episodes of the series, will return to write all three episodes based on storylines by author Janice Hadlow. Asim Abbasi, who directed five episodes of the series, will also return to direct.

Per today’s announcement, the special will shoot primarily in Wales this summer, and will see the return of Mary Bennet herself, Ella Bruccoleri. Other stars were not named in today’s announcement, but it does promise that “a host of other familiar faces from the series [are] set to return.” There’s also no release date announced as of yet, but we expect this holiday treat to unspool during the merriest (Mary-iest?) time of the year.

Produced by Bad Wolf, the special will air exclusively in the U.S. and Canada on BritBox and exclusively in the UK on BBC iPlayer and BBC One.

Jane Tranter, executive producer and CEO of Bad Wolf, shared in a statement, “We always hoped audiences would fall in love with Mary Bennet’s story, but the response to ‘The Other Bennet Sister’ has exceeded even our most optimistic expectations. These Christmas specials give us the chance to spend a little more time with characters audiences have taken to their hearts, and to explore what happens after the wedding bells fade and real life begins. Returning to the world of Mary Bennet with our brilliant partners at the BBC and BritBox feels like the perfect way to celebrate the success of the series and give viewers a treat this Christmas.”

IndieWire got on Zoom with Tranter just minutes before the news was announced, and pressed the seasoned TV executive for more details on the special. Asked about an official release date and if we can bank on a Christmas-y release, Tranter smiled, “I think that will probably be safe-ish [to think that]. You can never predict these things, but wouldn’t it be lovely? Yes. It would be very special.”

And, despite its billing as a Christmas special, the three episodes will most likely be aired during the holiday season, but not be about the holiday season. One reason? History!

“Christmas didn’t take off till the Victorian era with Prince Albert and the Regency era wasn’t so big on it,” Tranter said. “We also feel that our world of ‘The Other Bennet Sister,’ and actually a lot of the world of Jane Austen, exists in the spring and early summer. It exists when the hedgerows are blooming, when the blossom is out. It’s a very attractive bonnets, bows, bouquets kind of feel, and we want to stay true to that vibe.”

But there will be some new additions to the tone and thrust of the story, as Tranter shared that much of it will be focused on what is unfolding post-wedding for Mary and her husband, Tom Hayward, played by Dónal Finn.

“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 said. “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?”

It’s no surprise that BritBox, the BBC, and producers Bad Wolf are staying in “The Other Bennet Sister” business, as the special’s announcement also notes that the series “delivered record-breaking results in the U.S. and Canada, driving five times more new subscribers to BritBox in its first five weeks than any previous launch on the service. The series also helped BritBox achieve the strongest quarter of subscriber growth in its history. Since debuting, more than 40 percent of active subscribers have watched the show on the platform. Abroad, it was the biggest launch of a new drama across all platforms and streamers in the UK since May 2025, with 7.3 million viewers watching in its first 28 days.”

“The Other Bennet Sister” special is commissioned by Jon Farrar, chief content officer, direct to consumer, BBC Studios, for BritBox North America; and Lindsay Salt, director of BBC Drama, for BBC iPlayer and BBC One. The executive producers are Kate Crowther, Becca Kinder, and Jane Tranter for Bad Wolf, Rebecca Ferguson for the BBC, Robert Schildhouse, Jon Farrar, and Jess O’Riordan for BritBox, Sarah Quintrell, and Janice Hadlow. The series has been developed and overseen by Bad Wolf’s managing director Dan McCulloch and chief creative officer, Ryan Rasmussen.

All ten episodes of “The Other Bennet Sister” are now streaming on BritBox.