If you’re a Pride and Prejudice fan in search of your next obsession, there is a spin-off you might have not watched yet.

The three-part BBC drama is a 2013 adaptation of P.D. James’ 2011 bestseller of the same name, which picks up Austen’s story six years after the novel’s events – with a twist.

In June 1803, Mr and Mrs Darcy are hosting a ball at their home, Pemberley Manor, where chaos ensues with the arrival of Lydia Wickham, who claims her husband George has argued with his travelling companion Captain Denny, leading to the latter’s death.

Death Comes to Pemberley then swaps Austen’s romance for murder, as a tightly whodunnit plot unfolds involving secrets, family ties, and a courtroom trial, and even the aftermath’s impact on Darcy and Elizabeth’s marriage.

The show has been extensively compared to Agatha Christie’s work, but if it were transported into Austen’s literary universe.

The cast is a big part of the appeal: Matthew Rhys and Anna Maxwell Martin play Darcy and Elizabeth, with Matthew Goode as Wickham and a young Jenna Coleman as Lydia.

Other standouts are Eleanor Tomlinson as Georgiana Darcy, James Norton as her suitor Henry Alveston, and Penelope Keith as Lady Catherine de Bourgh.

There’s also a Pride and Prejudice alum in the cast – Tom Ward, who plays Colonel Fitzwilliam, had a minor role in the 1995 adaptation.

The first broadcast of Death Comes to Pemberley pulled in nearly 8 million viewers for its opening episode over Christmas 2013. Critics at the time even raved about its “perfect” Christmas TV material.

Online reviewers have been just as enthusiastic. On IMDb, one reviewer called it “a substantial addition to Pride and Prejudice,” praising how respectfully it treats Austen’s original.

A second one rated it a must-watch and said it’s “definitely worth a rewatch.”

Another reviewer went further, awarding it a full 9/10 and describing it as “a truly thrilling mystery that pays tribute to Miss Austen.”

Most reviews have one thing in common – praising the cast. Some say they love the original films and shows but believe the actors who played Elizabeth and Mr Darcy in this adaptation did the characters justice.

All three episodes of Death Comes to Pemberley are streaming on Channel 4 now.