Andrew Davies

An epic mini-series finds love and lust in 1951 India

Sprawling across the emotional landscape, “A Suitable Boy” seems to be many things.
It’s mostly Jane Austen-esque, with a late dose of lurid soap opera. It’s indie cinema, expanded to near-epic proportions. It’s the work of two masters, trying something new at ages 63 and 84.
The former is Mira Nair, an indie-movie favorite for decades; the latter is Andrew Davies, who has written many of the best British mini-series. They linked for a tale that reaches the Acorn streaming service (www.acorn.tv) Dec. 7.; starting with two hours, it then has hours on four more Mondays.
Set in 1951 India, this centers on Lata (shown here), a college student whose widowed mother wants to find her a husband instantly; Austen would approve. But beyond that, it takes a few detours, some bad – oaf-ish villains throughout and some soap-style moments in the fifth episode – and some good. Read more…

Austen’s tale is completed … 200 years later

Let’s credit Andrew Davies for consummate patience.
He’s the master adapter, an expert on turning British classics – especially ones by Jane Austen – into TV scripts. But he waited 80-plus years for the ultimate challenge.
That’s “Sanditon” (shown here with Rose Williams and Theo James), which Austen had barely started. “She didn’t really get any further than introducing the characters and the premise. (All of) Jane Austen’s material, I used up in the first half of the first episode,” Davies, 83, told the Television Critics Association in July. Read more…