The CW Is Making A Modern 'Pride And Prejudice' Set In San Francisco

Though set in a bygone period, Jane Austen's novels about young women navigating the expectations of family, society, and romance have proven to be timeless in both their lessons and appeal. Novels like Pride and Prejudice have been remade multiple times — whether as a long-winded miniseries for the BBC, or with Matthew MacFadyen as the archetypal, aloof lover Mr. Darcy, returning to the 1800s English countryside has been a favorite pastime for lovers of books, film, and TV alike. Now, the CW plans to adapt some of Austen's novels with a particularly modern spin.

Per Deadline, the plan is to make a one-hour anthology series called Modern Austen, which reimagines six of Austen's works as “six modern stories, offering a kaleidoscopic look at love and family in our time of inequality and disconnection.” Each season will focus on one novel, the first being, of course, Pride and Prejudice, but set in modern day San Francisco. Will Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth meet at a Silicon Valley network event, wearing matching Patagonia fleeces and discussing their bitcoin options? Time will tell. Given how well Austen's material has translated into other contemporary stories, the series (from writer Eleanor Burgess and producer Stephanie Allain) holds a lot of promise.