Here is some truly excellent news for some very specific people: Curtis Sittenfeld’s Pride and Prejudice adaptation Eligible is getting a pilot.
Deadline reports that Sherry Cooper Landsman, Jennifer Levin and I. Marlene King are developing the pilot—even more thrilling when you consider their credentials. Landsman and Levin created the 2006 CW series Beauty and the Beast, which was actually a weird romance cum crime procedural and not a faithful televised retelling of the fairy tale. King is the creator and showrunner of Pretty Little Liars, the most demented and schlocky teen soap opera that has ever existed.
The source material for this modern retelling of Jane Austen’s perennially-remade classic is Sittenfeld’s 2016 novel, which hews relatively close to the source material, with some essential updates that will translate quite nicely to a zippy, sharp television pilot: Kitty and Lydia are still aimless loafs and the Bennet family is still broke. The best and most astute twist in Sittenfeld’s retelling is that Darcy’s friend Chip Bingley starred on a reality show that sounds an awful lot like The Bachelor. In the book, it’s called Eligible, hence the title, the themes, etc.
Will the world ever reach a point of saturation with Austen remakes? Will we ever tire of reinventing the wheel? The themes in Austen’s work are universal and people love romance. We certainly don’t need anymore zombie remakes, but this version feels fresh. There’s no word yet on when or if Eligible will make it to prime time, though I feel that it’s pretty much a sure bet.
