Emma (1996 TV film)

Emma is a 1996 drama television film based on the 1815 novel by Jane Austen, directed by Diarmuid Lawrence and written by Andrew Davies. This film stars Kate Beckinsale as the title character, and also features Samantha Morton as Harriet Smith and Mark Strong as Mr. Knightley.

Davies had made the successful 1995 television serial Pride and Prejudice for the BBC when he proposed to adapt Emma for the corporation. The BBC had already made an agreement with another screenwriter, leading Davies to approach ITV instead.

Emma is a co-production of the United Kingdom and the United States. It aired in the United Kingdom on ITV on 24 November 1996, and in the United States on A&E on 16 February 1997. It received generally positive reviews from critics, many of whom believed it to be superior to the 1996 theatrical film. Most focused on Beckinsale's performance as a positive highlight. It garnered an estimated 12 million viewers in the United Kingdom.

It first aired the same year as Miramax's theatrical film adaptation of Emma starring Gwyneth Paltrow.