‘Miss Austen’ release date, cast, plot, and more

The BBC and PBS Masterpiece love producing a good mystery series, whether they feature brutal murders, cozy small-town crime, or anything in between. Next year, though, they’ll be trying their hand at a new type of mystery: the literary mystery. More specifically, the mystery of why Cassandra Austen burned almost all of renowned author Jane Austen’s letters.

It’s a question that has confounded the literary community and historians for decades—centuries, even. Was Cassandra merely trying to save her younger sister’s fragile reputation in a gossiping, opinionated, high-brow English society, or was her intention more personal? This and more will be explored in the upcoming period drama Miss Austen, based on the novel of the same name by author Gill Hornby.

Does Miss Austen have a release date?

Yes, Miss Austen does have a release date. PBS Masterpiece has announced that Miss Austen will premiere on Sunday, May 4, 2025. In the U.K., the four-episode miniseries will likewise premiere on BBC One and BBC iPlayer in 2025, though an exact release date has yet to be confirmed. Happily, 2025 also marks 250 years since Jane Austen was born. Austen fans, unite!

Introducing the cast of Miss Austen

Leading the cast of Miss Austen is British acting heavyweight Keeley Hawes, known for her work in shows like Line of Duty, The Durrells in Corfu, and Bodyguard, who will be portraying the titular Cassandra Austen. Joining Hawes is Game of Thones’ Rose Leslie as Cassandra’s deceased fiancé’s niece, Isabella Fowle, whose social predicament kickstarts Cassandra’s letter-burning adventure. The series will include various flashbacks, which means we’ll meet a young Cassandra and Jane. Portraying young Cassandra is Synnøve Karlsen (Last Night in Soho), while Patsy Ferran (Living) will play budding author Jane.

Rounding out the cast are Phyllis Logan (Downton Abbey), Max Irons (The Wife), Alfred Enoch (How to Get Away with Murder), Calam Lynch (Bridgerton), and Liv Hill (Elizabeth Is Missing), as well as Jessica Hynes (Life After Life), Mirren Mack (The Witcher: Blood Origin) and Kevin McNally (The Crown).

What do we know about Miss Austen’s plot?

Miss Austen will be a story of love, romance, societal pressure, squashed hopes and dreams, and family feuds. These universal themes permeate all of Jane Austen’s literary works, from Pride & Prejudice to Mansfield Park and Sense & Sensibility. Most importantly, however, Miss Austen will be a story of sisterhood, of how Cassandra took it upon herself to encourage and protect Jane’s writing career and how they shaped one another’s lives for the better. The official plot synopsis, as released by the BBC, reads as follows:

“The drama begins in 1830, many years after Jane has died. Cassandra rushes to visit Isabella, the niece of her long-dead fiancé, who is about to lose her home following her father’s death. Cassandra is ostensibly there to help Isabella, but her real motive is to find a hidden bundle of private letters which, in the wrong hands, she fears could destroy Jane’s reputation.

On discovering them, Cassandra is overwhelmed as she is transported back to her youth. In flashback, we meet Young Cassy and Jane as they navigate the romantic infatuations, family feuds and dashed hopes which shaped their lives, and laid the foundations for Jane’s unforgettable stories. Cassandra’s re-evaluation of her past eventually leads her to find a way to guide Isabella towards the path of true happiness.”

According to the BBC, Miss Austen will turn Cassandra into “a character as captivating as any Austen heroine.” I think it’s high time we met the other Austen sister, don’t you?