Web Series: Welcome to Sanditon

Pemberley Digital is on a roll. The Lizzie Bennet Diaries are an internet sensation. Fans everywhere love your work. Time to put out another video series!

So, which Austen novel to mind next? Sanditon, of course! You know, the novel Jane Austen never finished. In some ways, it was a good choice. But more on that later.


In the web series, Sanditon is a small beach town that’s chosen by Pemberley Digital to test out their new program—Domino. Darcy (Daniel Vincent Gordh) sends his sister Gigi (Allison Paige) down to oversee the test. There, she meets with the mayor, Tom Parker (Joel Bryan) who is trying to revitalize the town as a health and wellness place. Gigi also meets his assistant, Ed Denham (Kyle Walters), and the owner of the local ice cream parlor, Clara Breton (Lenne Klingaman). She is battling with the mayor, who doesn’t think her shop fits his healthy lifestyle initiative. But she refuses to move.

So Mayor Parker sends Ed down there to…annoy her into changing her mind? I don’t think he really thought out his plan. But Ed and Clara connect over their love of an old sci fi show and nature. They are adorkable and once again, Gigi finds herself a shipper on deck.

But trouble appears on the horizon for Ed and Clara in the form of Letitia “Griff” Griffiths (Vanessa Lee Chester). She owns a fitness center and Mayor Parker is very interested in keeping her in town. So he tells Ed to take Griff to some big party. Clara is not too happy. Meanwhile, Griff’s brother Beau (Vaughn Wilkinson) also opens a fitness center in town. And these two have sibling rivalry perfected to an art form. Things are getting tense in Sanditon.

Ed though finally finds his courage and stands up to the mayor. He quits and makes up with Clara. The Griffiths figure out a way to work in peace. And Gigi finally comes clean with Darcy about not wanting to go to grad school. Since Darcy is the best big brother ever, he’s totally cool about it. Gigi decides to stay in Sanditon and mulls an offer from the Mayor. Especially once she meets his nephew, Sidney (Matt Pascua).
And that’s where those teases left us. They’re evil, I tell you.

Prior to Welcome to Sanditon’s release, Pemberley Digital had a Kickstarter to help make more videos. And those who contributed a certain amount were featured in the series. Most people were not fans of these videos. I’ll admit I didn’t particularly care for them either. They tended to stop the momentum of the storylines in their tracks. I understand it must’ve been a thrill for the fans to be a part of such a project. I do. But I think their contributions could’ve been better crafted. That the writers could’ve provided them a list of things they could’ve touched on and then edited it accordingly so it looks like the townsfolk are commenting on the storylines. Or give them their own storylines to work out. Though to their credit, some did start working such stories out.

(I do also lay some blame on the editing).

But enough negativity. For a summer series, this was a good bridge between The Lizzie Bennet Diaries and Emma Approved. I think they probably could’ve played with it a bit more as the story was never finished. So many opportunities, in my opinion. But as it stands, this was a good entry that deserves a little more love.

Next week: Emma Approved