My Brilliant Career

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2026

Drama
Romance

Summary

Restless, razor-sharp, and refusing to conform, Sybylla is dead set on writing her own story in an era that expects her to find a man and settle down.

IMDB

Review

Gabriel Tate

It has been almost 50 years since the release of My Brilliant Career, Gillian Armstrong’s landmark of Australian New Wave cinema that established Judy Davis and Sam Neill as global stars in waiting. High time, then, for a revisit, and this six-part series draws from our own new wave of costume dramas – the influence of Bridgerton and Dickinson is apparent – to produce an invigorating new take on Miles Franklin’s 1901 novel.

The excellent Philippa Northeast takes the lead as Sybylla, a young woman from rural Australia who is sent to live with her snobbish grandmother (Anna Chancellor, in her element) in the expectation that she will find a husband and save her parents from penury. Independent-minded Sybylla has other ideas, hoping to pursue a life of fun and literature, while cocking a snook at society at every opportunity. But when two suitors (Renegade Nell’s Jake Dunn and Christopher Chung of Slow Horses fame) appear on the scene, will her resolve be shaken?

With such an appealingly modern character at its heart, this is a smart commission – and a pleasure to watch.

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7.1/10