Season 1
Emma is a British television drama mini-series adapted by Sandy Welch from Jane Austen's novel of the same name which follows the story of the "handsome, clever and rich" Emma Woodhouse who believes she is a skilled matchmaker but repeatedly misses opportunities to seal her own happiness.
The mini-series aired in the UK on BBC One from 4-25 October, 2009. There are four hour-long episodes in the series.
Emma premiered in South Africa on DStv's BBC Entertainment channel on Sunday 21 November 2010, at 20h45. New episodes broadcast weekly.
Repeats
Mondays: 01h40, 10h05, 14h10
Synopsis
A love story about a young woman so focused on arranging the love lives of others that she can't see what's in front of her own eyes.
Beautiful, clever, and rich, with some of the best blessings of existence, 21-year-old Emma Woodhouse has very little to worry about. So she indulges in her one great passion – playing matchmaker to her friends and family.
It's a skill she has already put to good use. And when her governess Miss Taylor marries the widower Mr Weston, Emma congratulates herself on another great success...no matter that as Mr Knightley, family friend and surrogate older brother to Emma, drily observes, in reality she had nothing to do with these relationships.
She simply watched the romance blossom. So when the young, pretty, naive and socially inferior Harriet arrives in Emma's social circle, the matchmaker is delighted that she can practise her skills again.
She persuades Harriet to reject an advantageous marriage proposal to a local farmer in favour of dashing Mr Elton.
But Emma is playing with fire. Knightley is furious with Emma for raising Harriet's hopes for a match she could not possibly achieve. And Emma soon discovers that Mr Elton is far more socially ambitious and mercenary than she had ever realised.
Fresh and funny, this perceptive adaptation, featuring a stellar cast, brings Jane Austen's comic masterpiece to life.