Having enjoyed Michelle and Rita’s fancast with Poldark, Bridgerton, and Sanditon, Seasons One and Two, it has been a true joy to travel with them through the bittersweet six episodes of Sanditon’s final season! Not only do they impart humor and a sense of familiar camaraderie with old friends to their listening audience in recounting each episode with its cast of diverse, intriguing characters, but they enrich their summaries of each episode and each character’s storyline with historical, gender-affirming, class-conscious, and racially-sensitive commentary. I have anticipated listening to their weekly recaps since Sanditon’s final season premiered on March 19th in the US on Masterpiece. With their weekly fancast, combined with their next day bonus “Postcards from Sanditon” ~ in which they thoughtfully read out the insightful emails from their fans to complement Rita and Michelle’s previous day’s narrative ~ each podcast provides a laugh-out-loud appreciated respite from jarring news in the States and a window into the human condition which we all can appreciate, whether it’s 1820s England or 2023 America. I will happily check back to monitor their “InTheBooks” network for their future endeavors in creating a new fancast for summarizing another new season of a period drama for Regency England. But until then, with the conclusion of the Sanditon fancast, it’s like saying goodbye to dear friends. They will be missed!
