Into The Austenverse

 Lisa and David Campbell return to the Austenverse to discuss the 1995 Academy Award–winning Sense and Sensibility, sharing their history with it, why they find it faithful, richly detailed, and timeless, and how its stacked cast elevates the adaptation. They open with Austen-adjacent news about rumoured James Bond contenders with Austenverse ties (Jack Lowden, Callum Turner, Josh O’Connor, plus speculation about Jacob Elordi) and react to the large response to their Alexander Skarsgård-as-Wentworth debate. Using Emma Thompson’s published script and diary, they cover Ang Lee’s directing approach and on-set challenges, Emma Thompson’s career run and writing process, changes made to expand Edward Ferrars, JASNA’s initial objections to Hugh Grant, and the impact—and handling—of Grant’s 1995 scandal, alongside notes from Alan Rickman’s diaries and a discussion of age-related casting choices. 

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Lisa and David Campbell return for a bonus episode of the Austenverse, reacting to listener feedback on their Sense and Sensibility episode and discussing how newer audiences may embrace the latest adaptation despite critiques about style and clarity. They then dive into a spoiler-free discussion of the film Wicker (based on the short story The Wicker Husband), praising its world-building, humor, performances (including Olivia Colman, Ella Bruccoleri, Alexander Skarsgård, and Peter Dinklage), and its deeper themes of loneliness, shame, gossip, and social comparison, while noting its strong language and mature themes. Sense and Sensibility (1995) next!!!

WICKER MUSICAL!

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David and Lisa Campbell return to the Austenverse for a spoiler-packed conversation about the 2026 Sense and Sensibility, directed by Georgia Oakley and written by Diana Reid. They debate whether the film captures the heart of the story, highlight standout performances, whilst talking about humour, casting “star power,” and several bold creative choices that sparked audible audience reactions. They also dig into what feels modern versus period-accurate, and why certain adaptation changes may reshape how viewers understand the characters and relationships.

What did YOU think?

JAMAAL BURKMAR’S TAKE ON THE CHOREOGRAPHY

REGENCY BEARD INFO

MICKIE THE PUNK

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With Lisa away in Madrid casting Moulin Rouge!, DC returns solo and shares the full unedited junket interview with Sense and Sensibility stars Daisy Edgar-Jones and Esmé Creed-Miles in Sydney. He teases an upcoming review of the film, plus reactions to the heavy Florence Pugh East of Eden series and a planned wrap-up when Lisa returns. He also talks about another podcast The Popcorn Bucket and notes a Sense and Sensibility-themed popcorn bucket he’s trying to track down. In the interview, the actors discuss their Austen fandom, embodying Elinor and Marianne, Regency costumes and bonnets, rehearsing distinct dance sequences, the impact of female creators, and why Austen’s character-driven stories remain endlessly adaptable.

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Hosts Lisa Campbell and David Campbell kick off a “Steinbeckverse” detour ahead of their upcoming Sense and Sensibility coverage, prompted by Netflix’s new East of Eden series starring Florence Pugh (releasing October 1). They discuss Steinbeck’s 1952 novel as his magnum opus, its two-family saga (Trasks and Hamiltons), and how the 1955 Elia Kazan film adapts only the book’s final section. After watching the James Dean version, they discuss Dean’s naturalistic, method-influenced performance and strong work from Jo Van Fleet and discuss the filmmaking elements like the overture, loud score, obvious studio backdrops, and abrupt pacing. They unpack key themes (Cain and Abel, inherited “badness,” war profiteering) and touch on Kazan’s controversy over naming names during McCarthyism, linking it to Zoe Kazan leading the new adaptation.

DIZZY AND JIMMY - The book DC references

ORSON WELLES ON ELIA KAZAN

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DC and Lisa celebrate the one-year anniversary of Into the Austenverse and reflect on global listenership and standout guests before welcoming award-winning writer/showrunner/executive producer Liz Doran to discuss Netflix’s My Brilliant Career. Doran shares how she came to the story via the film, pitched Netflix first, and developed a “dirty-hemmed, unbuttoned” Australian period drama with detailed realism, expanded First Nations storylines through First Nations writers and consultants, and a reimagined Harry with Chinese heritage, plus specific symbolic choices like native flowers and black cockatoo feathers. Actors Philippa Northeast (Sybylla) and Kate Mulvany (Augusta) join to discuss casting, building character through collaboration, working with Christopher Chung, filming key scenes like the New Year’s Eve party, and why the series’ themes of agency and ambition resonate worldwide, while hoping it inspires more Australian literary adaptations.

 ***Warning - there is a spicy discussion about Sybylla’s sex life in the interview with Pip and Kate.***

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Lisa hosts solo while David is at Channel 9, recommending Joanna Nadin’s “After Darcy,” a funny, risqué, joyful Pride and Prejudice modern day sequel and previewing Sunday’s final “Franklinverse” interviews with Liz Doran and stars Kate Mulvany and Philippa Northeast.   In the interview, Nadin explains she shifted from serious women’s fiction to more commercial comedy after publishing changes, drawing on her YA Austen-inspired series, and focusing on the Bennet sisters as older women dealing with kids, divorce, and difficult teens. She describes her process of “hanging out” with characters, casting actors in her head, and building plot needs into modern jobs and details (including Lydia’s reality TV fame and ADHD diagnosis). Nadin discusses her Austen exposure via adaptations, Press Gang’s influence, her career in journalism and UK political speechwriting.

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You can find buy After Darcy here!

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David and Lisa Campbell discuss the final two episodes of the Netflix miniseries My Brilliant Career, opening with a Henry Lawson letter praising Miles Franklin.  They recap the post–New Year’s Eve fallout as Sybylla faces her grandmother reading her journal, tensions around Harry and Blanche, and escalating consequences for Frank and others on Federation Day. The conversation highlights themes of men constrained by patriarchy, women supporting and freeing each other (Nell, Betty, Helen, Gussie), and symbolism such as horses and harnesses, alongside vivid production design contrasts between Caddagat, Possum Gully, and the M’Swats. They praise performances—especially Philippa Northeast and Genevieve O’Reilly—compare Franklin’s ending to rom-com expectations, and note recent critical coverage, then announce upcoming interviews with showrunner Liz Doran and stars Philippa Northeast and Kate Mulvany plus a bonus Austenverse episode on After Darcy.

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In this special bonus episode of Into The Austenverse, Lisa interviews Julia Gray and Imogen Russell Williams about their new book, Kitty and Mary. It was born from their long friendship, shared love of Jane Austen, and a desire to revisit Pride and Prejudice by following the two Bennet sisters left unmarried. They each wrote one sister’s voice in an epistolary format, creating a “conversation” between Kitty, Mary, and themselves, with letters and journals allowing readers to see what the sisters reveal and conceal, including strikethrough moments. Imogen describes researching Mary’s India storyline using British Library ship logs and the impact of months-long letter delays, while Julia researched early publishing (using John Murray as a framework), amateur theatricals, and medicine/childbirth for Kitty’s arc, including her growing relationship with words. They talk about writing for a YA publisher with broad adult appeal, the benefits of accountability in collaboration, and a London Bushwick Book Club night featuring songs responding to the book.

Kitty and Mary is published by Andersen Press and is out NOW!

More about the Bushwick Book Club's night of Kitty and Mary here.

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David and Lisa Campbell recap episodes 3 and 4 of Netflix’s My Brilliant Career, celebrating Alexander England’s Uncle J.J., unpacking Everard’s role in Sybylla’s theatre opportunity and Harry’s shaky finances, and discussing Harry’s farm-mortgage scheme and the pressure to marry Blanche. They touch on Australia’s 1901 federation and women’s property rights, reveal Helen’s husband abandoned her, and praise Liz Doran’s additions, including deeper LGBTQ themes and richly integrated First Nations storylines shaped by Indigenous writers and creatives, highlighting characters like Charlie and Betty. They also debate adaptation “faithfulness,” rave about the heavily Shazamed soundtrack (Thelma Plum, Kate Miller-Heidke, “Scarborough Fair,” possible Kylie?!), explain how Ernie Dingos stopped Lisa smoking.  

Join them back in the Austenverse on Thursday for a special interview with the authors of Kitty and Mary - a wonderful new book exploring further possibilities for two the Bennets!

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