Miss Austen: Airdate, Cast Details, First Look Photos and More


The combination of Jane Austen and MASTERPIECE is always a reason for celebration! Find out about the new period drama Miss Austen coming to MASTERPIECE on PBS, get details on the cast, the intriguing plot, the airdate, plus newly released photos.
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What Miss Austen is About: A Reimagined Literary Mystery
There are few things more fascinating or enduring than a real-life mystery. Miss Austen takes one of the most prominent literary mysteries in history – Cassandra Austen notoriously burning her famous sister Jane’s letters – and reimagines it as a fascinating, witty and heart-breaking story of sisterly love, while creating in Cassandra a character as captivating as any Austen heroine.
In Miss Austen, the drama begins in 1830, many years after Jane has died. Cassandra rushes to visit Isabella, the niece of her long-dead fiancé, who is about to lose her home following her father’s death. Cassandra is ostensibly there to help Isabella, but her real motive is to find a hidden bundle of private letters which, in the wrong hands, she fears could destroy Jane’s reputation.
On discovering them, Cassandra is overwhelmed as she is transported back to her youth. In flashback, we meet Young Cassy and Jane as they navigate the romantic infatuations, family feuds and dashed hopes which shaped their lives, and laid the foundations for Jane’s unforgettable stories. Cassandra’s re-evaluation of her past eventually leads her to find a way to guide Isabella towards the path of true happiness.
Miss Austen, based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Gill Hornby, is adapted by British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) award-winning writer Andrea Gibb (Elizabeth is Missing, Mayflies).
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The Stellar Cast of Miss Austen
An exceptional cast has been assembled to tell the riveting story of Miss Austen. Keeley Hawes (Bodyguard, The Durrells in Corfu) stars as Cassandra Austen and Rose Leslie (Game of Thrones) as Isabella Fowle. Synnøve Karlsen (Last Night in Soho), Patsy Ferran (Living), Max Irons (The Wife), Alfred Enoch (How to Get Away with Murder), Calam Lynch (Bridgerton) and Phyllis Logan (Downton Abbey) are all also part of the star-studded cast.
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Miss Austen Airdate
Miss Austen aired in four episodes on MASTERPIECE on PBS in May 2025. The timing is nothing less than thrilling as 2025 also marks 250 years since Jane Austen was born.
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More on Miss Austen
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See new images of the cast of Miss Austen:


Jane Austen (Patsy Ferran), Eliza Fowle (Madeleine Walker), Cassy Austen (Synnøve Karlsen), Young Mary (Liv Hill)


Cassandra Austen (Keeley Hawes)


Tom Fowle (Calam Lynch)


Henry Hobday (Max Irons)


Cassy Austen (Synnøve Karlsen), Mrs. Austen (Phyllis Logan), Jane Austen (Patsy Ferran)


Cassy Austen (Synnøve Karlsen), Jane Austen (Patsy Ferran)


Isabella Fowle (Rose Leslie)


Mr. Lidderdale (Alfred Enoch)