# Sense and Sensibility (2008)

> Two sisters, one guarded and one impulsive, navigate love and money in 18th century English society.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/12945

## Facts

- Seasons: 1
- Episodes: 3
- Episode runtime: 52 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: drama, romance
- Created by: Andrew Davies
- Network: BBC One
- Cast: Hattie Morahan, Charity Wakefield, Dan Stevens, David Morrissey, Lucy Boynton, Janet McTeer, Linda Bassett, Claire Skinner
- TMDB rating: 8.0/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0847150/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: measured
- Intensity: moderate
- Complexity: accessible
- Violence: mild
- Tone: wistful, witty, romantic, sensual, restrained, elegant

## What critics say

Audiences broadly praised the acting and Andrew Davies's tight, faithful screenplay, though the adaptation's bolder sexual content was a notable departure from earlier Austen adaptations.

## Synopsis

Sense and Sensibility (2008) is a British three-part period drama miniseries created by Andrew Davies for BBC One, adapting Jane Austen's 1811 novel. Hattie Morahan plays the disciplined, restrained Elinor Dashwood, whose composure is tested by her impulsive younger sister Marianne, played by Charity Wakefield. Dan Stevens appears as Edward Ferrars and David Morrissey as Colonel Brandon, two suitors whose intentions and reticence complicate the sisters' romantic hopes. Janet McTeer plays their mother, Mrs. Dashwood, whose family is left in reduced circumstances after the death of their father. The engine of the story is the constant pressure of money, reputation and social expectation on matters of the heart: every courtship is a negotiation shaped by inheritance, gossip and the rules of polite society. Each of the three episodes moves through balls, country houses and drawing rooms in an English setting of the late 18th century, a stretch of Devon and London that feels both intimate and tightly observed. The tone is wistful and sharply witty, with a romantic undercurrent that Davies makes more sensual than earlier screen versions. Fans of Pride and Prejudice, Little Women and Downton Abbey will find the same blend of manners, longing and family loyalty here.

## Shows like Sense and Sensibility

- [Emma (2009)](https://ember.film/tv/16818)
- [Parade's End (2012)](https://ember.film/tv/36399)
- [Normal People (2020)](https://ember.film/tv/76246)
- [Wives and Daughters (1999)](https://ember.film/tv/9016)
- [Jane Eyre (1983)](https://ember.film/tv/12383)
- [Lady Chatterley (1993)](https://ember.film/tv/33780)
- [Lost in Austen (2008)](https://ember.film/tv/14103)
- [Jane Eyre (2006)](https://ember.film/tv/12909)
- [Pride and Prejudice (1995)](https://ember.film/tv/1373)
- [Little Women (2017)](https://ember.film/tv/63081)

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