We’re getting a (deeply confusing) Pride & Prejudice dating show.
It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single streaming service in possession of a moderate budget, must be in want of a dating show.
As you may be able to discern from my amazing opener, I have actually read Pride and Prejudice, unlike anyone at Peacock, which just announced its new Regency-era Bachelorette series, Pride and Prejudice: An Experiment in Romance. According to the streaming service’s announcement (“An Announcement Regarding a Heroine of Peacock”), “Hopeful suitors are invited to a land fit for a princess, with the prospect that one will win the admiration of our fair maiden.”
While I’m sure Mrs. Bennet would be extremely flattered at the implication that any of her daughters was a princess, this is an extremely weird interpretation of both the plot and the language of Pride and Prejudice! Fair maiden is not the old-timey catch-all they seem to think it is. For one thing, the word “maiden” appears in the novel one time, and it modifies “name.”
According to Variety, the show will take place in an approximation of Regency-era England (which, judging by the historical accuracy of the announcement, will have big Ren Faire energy).
From carriage rides and boat rides on the lake to archery and handwritten letters to communicate, they will be immersed in a time-traveling quest for love. In the end, the heroine and her suitors will discover if the ultimate romantic experience will find them true love.
Will the suitors have to compete over who can land the sickest burn on the charms of the heroine? Are they casting for meddling family members? Does anyone involved know that Jane Austen didn’t write Bridgerton? Unclear! But, given how ardently I admire and love reality dating shows (see? You don’t even have to read it! Just google “Pride and Prejudice quotes”), I will definitely be watching.
