After a heart-wrenching season one finale, Sanditon is set to return to screens later this year. Jane Austen’s final, unfinished novel was adapted for the small screen by BAFTA-winning writer Andrew Davies, who has previously cut his teeth on cinematic versions of Austen’s other novels, Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility, as well as William Makepeace Thackery’s Vanity Fair.
As with Austen’s other books, the action is set during the Regency period, and follows Charlotte Heywood’s romantic entanglements after she moves to the seaside town of Sanditon. While there she encounters Mr Parker and Lady Denham, who are working together on rejuvenating the town, as well as a love interest, Sidney Parker. Austen died before she finished the work, with her intended ending remaining a mystery, so Davies and his team have had to get creative with what they think happens to Heywood et al.
The second season of the show will pick up the action nine months after the season one finale, with Charlotte returning to the town and attracting the attention of two new men - Alexander Colbourne, ‘a mysterious resident with a complex family history’ and war hero Colonel Francis Lennox. It will also see the introduction of Charlotte’s spirited younger sister, Alison, who picks up a suitor in the form of the handsome Captain William Carter. Meanwhile, Georgiana Lambe, the striking debutante, spends her last summer before turning 21 getting up to mischief.
The show has much in common with fellow Regency extravaganza, Bridgerton, with both featuring multicultural casts, not to mention a level of raunchiness not usually seen in period dramas.
Belinda Campbell, executive producer and joint Managing Director of Red Planet Pictures, said, ‘It’s a joy to be returning to the sunshiny shores of Sanditon in the company of such an incredible cast - including some very exciting new faces. Writer/Executive Producer Justin Young has plenty of fabulous adventures in store for all our characters. I can’t wait to see them come to life on screen.’