I finished watching My Brilliant Career on Netflix almost a week ago, and I still can’t stop thinking about it.
Based on the 1901 novel of the same name by Miles Franklin, we’re introduced to the voracious, outspoken, and self-assured eldest daughter, Sybylla (Philippa Northeast) from Possum Gully (what an incredible name), as she’s forced to move into her Grandma’s (Anna Chancellor) house to be conditioned for her entry into high society.
Convinced that she doesn’t want a husband but instead wants to live life to the fullest — and become a published writer in the process — Sybylla is a woman before her time. For us in 2026 who yearn for her confidence and creative freedom, that also means she’s timeless.
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Now that I’m on the other side of its impeccable six episodes, I feel at loose ends. To continue the theme, the obvious choice would be to re-watch Bridgerton for more scandalous period drama vibes… but I think this is too easy an option.
If you’ve also got a Prime Video subscription, however, I have the perfect recommendation for you that you likely haven’t seen — and one My Brilliant Career actress is also in it.
My Lady Jane on Prime Video is the beautifully bonkers double bill you need after My Brilliant Career
We all forgot about My Lady Jane on Prime Video far too quickly… so now is the perfect time to resurrect it, now that My Brilliant Career is out in the world.
Alongside both being period dramas, the two are linked by their bashful, zany retellings of a point in history — Franklin’s own experiences in My Brilliant Career, and the fate of Lady Jane Grey in, well, you can guess.
The latter follows a 16-year-old Jane in an alternate version of Tudor England, where she manages to avoid her real-life nine-day reign and execution by dealing with the region’s magical shape-shifters. She’s also forced into marriage… but that’s less tragic and more comical.
My Lady Jane was cancelled after one season (baffling considering how well it was received), but that still makes it a perfect follow-on from My Brilliant Career. Pithy, bright, witty, and full of hilarious subversion, these two shows are like long-lost sisters being reunited for the first time in decades.
If that’s not enough, actress Anna Chancellor can be seen in both, playing Grandmother Bossier in My Brilliant Career and Lady Frances in My Lady Jane. I could wax lyrical for hours on end about how much of an exceptional talent Chancellor is, and her irreverent, punchy, and slightly bohemian method of storytelling is ideal for both narratives here.
I literally don’t know what you’re waiting for when it comes to either show… in fact, stop reading and start streaming.
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jasmine.valentine@futurenet.com (Jasmine Valentine)
