Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors

Dev (A Bollywood Affair) debuts a sweeping series starring the Raje family, immigrants descended from Indian royalty who are making a dazzling mark on American society, with this romance based very loosely on Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Dr. Trisha Raje is a brilliant neurosurgeon with little time for love or family. Multiracial British chef DJ Caine has cared for his younger sister all their lives and has assumed the burden of her exorbitant medical bills from fighting a progressive brain tumor. When DJ is hired by Trisha’s socialite mother to cater an important event, the two butt heads; DJ finds Trisha attractive but thinks she has terrible manners. Upon realizing DJ’s beloved sister is also Trisha’s beloved patient—who’s currently refusing treatment—the dueling duo is forced to collude to find a life-saving solution. Over time, their antipathy gradually shifts to love, but the return of Raje family foe Julia Wickham risks disrupting their growing romance. Dev adroitly addresses matters of racism, classism, rape culture, and immigrant experiences in this entertaining contemporary story. Austen fans will find that little of the original remains; where Austen’s focus was on women, Dev harps on the importance of being validated by men. Taken on its own, though, this is a complex and riveting work. Agent: Claudia Cross, Folio Literary Mgmt. (May)