Nancy Mitford’s semi-autobiographical novels, including the classic The Pursuit of Love, may be responsible for giving her family a reputation for charmingly eccentric British aristocracy, but the Mitford name was headline fodder long before the first tome debuted.
Throughout much of the 1930s and '40s, the Mitford siblings—six sisters and one (less famous) brother—were a source of international fascination. Their scandalous exploits—one sister jilted her husband, the Guinness heir, and their children to run away with British Union of Fascists founder Oswald Mosely, another became known as Hitler's "muse," a third declared herself a communist while fighting fascism in Spain—made them tabloid darlings, a highly-politicized pre-television version of the reality TV families of today.
Given that Nancy's fictionalized version of her family has been adapted to the small screen multiples times (most recently in 2021's Lily James and Dominic West-starring version of Pursuit) it seemed only a matter of time before the Mitfords themselves became the subject of a series, and that time has finally come.
In June, BritBox announced that a new series centered on the Mitford sisters had official entered production. Titled Outrageous, the series is being written by Sarah Williams, based on Mary S. Lovell’s biography The Mitford Girls, and promises to "bring the full, uncensored story of the Mitford sisters to the screen for the first time."
Here's what we know about the series so far.
Bridgerton's Bessie Carter will play Nancy
Carter, who may be best known to fans as Prudence Featherington (and also happens to be the daughter of The Crown's Imelda Staunton and Downton Abbey's Jim Carter) will play the author whose stories helped rehabilitate her family's status as social pariahs. She will be joined by Joanna Vanderham as Diana Mitford, Shannon Watson as Unity Mitford, Zoe Brough as Jessica Mitford, Orla Hill as Deborah Mitford, and Isobel Jesper Jones as Pamela Mitford.
Other cast will include Toby Regbo as the lone Mitford brother, Tom, Anna Chancellor as the Mitford's mother, and James Purefoy as their father, as well as Joshua Sasse as Oswald Mosley, Jamie Blackley as Peter Rodd, James Musgrave as Hamish Erskine, Calam Lynch as Bryan Guinness, and Will Attenborough as Joss.
It's expected to debut in 2025.
While no exact dates have been announced yet, the series will reportedly air in North America via BritBox International some time next year.
We will continue to update this story as new information becomes available.
Lauren Hubbard is a freelance writer and Town & Country contributor who covers beauty, shopping, entertainment, travel, home decor, wine, and cocktails.
