Netflix caught its fans by storm with a new period piece called Bridgerton. And while the story is rife with historical inaccuracies it has also proven addictive. The good thing about things like that is that you enjoy the binge, the bad thing is it leaves you in need of your next fix. There may be a solution.
While waiting for the second season of “Bridgerton”, fans can ease their Regency Period drama cravings with MASTERPIECE’s lavish adaptation of Jane Austen’s final work “Sanditon.” With steamy leads, gorgeous costumes, and scandals of their own, “Sanditon” stars Rose Williams (“Curfew”) as Austen’s lively but levelheaded heroine, Charlotte Heywood; Theo James (“Divergent,” “Downton Abbey”) as the humorous, charming (and slightly wild!) Sidney Parker; Anne Reid (“Years and Years”) as the forthright grande dame of Sanditon, Lady Denham; Kris Marshall (“Love Actually”) as Sanditon’s compulsively enterprising promoter, Tom Parker; and Crystal Clarke (“Roadkill”) as the mysterious West Indian heiress, Miss Lambe.
Set during the Regency Period, Tom Parker is obsessed with turning the sleepy seaside village of Sanditon into a fashionable health resort, and he enlists the financial backing of the local, curmudgeonly wealthy widow, Lady Denham. Through a mishap while traveling through the countryside, Tom and his wife, Mary make the acquaintance of the Heywoods, a local farming family. While describing his plans for Sanditon, their eldest daughter Charlotte is intrigued and excited and Tom invites her for an extended stay at the seaside town.
Upon her initial arrival, the sensible and naïve Charlotte observes hypochondria, avarice and attempted seduction run amok. Lady Denham is playing matchmaker for her destitute nephew, Sir Edward, who is determined to seduce Lady Denham’s ward, Clara and become the primary heir to his aunt’s estate. The arrival of wealthy, mixed-race heiress Miss Lambe, under the guardianship of Tom’s upright brother Sidney, due to a promise he made to Lambe’s father on his deathbed, adds an interesting complication.
Who would have known that Downton Abbey would be the beginning of a new trend at looking backwards for new drama. But with the trend growing it audiences should have more and more choices as networks and productions companies build on the trend.
