BBC have developed a reputation for producing a whole range of costume and period dramas. There's the ever enduring 'Pride and Prejudice', 'Great Expectations', 'Jane Eyre' and, more recently, 'North and South'. But we haven't had a really great one in a while.
Now it seems like Netflix are getting in on the genre too as evidenced by the success of the recent 'Bridgerton'. Next the streaming service turns to a Jane Austen novel, with Dakota Johnson leading the cast.
'Persuasion' has been adapted for television and theatre a number of times over the years. The most recent teleplay was in 2007 in which 'The Shape of Water' star Sally Hawkins led the cast.
Carrie Cracknell will direct the Netflix iteration in her feature directorial debut.
She previously directed Jake Gyllenhaal in 'Sea Wall/ A Life' on Broadway, and Gyllenhaal got a Tony nomination for his performance in it.
Ron Bass and Alice Victoria Winslow have adapted the screenplay.
The Netflix production will be a "modern, witty approach to a beloved story while still remaining true to the novel."
Thus we're expecting something in the vein of such modern-day Austen interpretations as 'Clueless' or 'Bride and Prejudice'.
It follows Anne Elliot (presumably the role played by Dakota Johnson), an unconforming woman living with her snobby family on the brink of bankruptcy.
At 27 years old, Anne has never married. Then she reconnects with a man she was once persuaded to reject. She faces a second chance at love but stubbornness and an inability to let go of the past may get the best of her.
'Persuasion' marks the last work Jane Austen completed before her death.
Dakota Johnson most recently starred in 'The High Note'.
Production on 'Persuasion' is expected to begin in May.
