Bridgerton is the first production to come out of a development deal between Netflix and Shonda Rhimes. It is an upcoming adaptation of Julia Quinn’s bestselling romance novels, wherein the eight Bridgerton siblings each search for a lover in London high society.
On paper, they might sound like fairly typical historical romance novels. Quinn’s Bridgerton saga mostly delves into the lives of young men and women as they search for their partner amongst the many eligible bachelors and bachelorettes from London high society’s most lavish families. The most notable thing about Netflix's Bridgerton adaptation is just how much more radical it feels compared to other period dramas. Think Pride and Prejudice, but with more lies and a lot more sex.
The trailer shows that the Bridgerton series intends to show young love in all its most dramatic forms. Along the way we are going to see fights, false relationships, sex and heaps of cutting sarcasm. If there’s one thing for sure, Bridgerton will be anything but an average British costume drama.
Bridgerton features a truly stellar cast that is led by Regé-Jean Page as the Duke of Hastings and Phoebe Dynevor as the eldest Bridgerton daughter, Daphne. The show is also narrated by none other than Julie Andrews as Lady Whistledown, a proto-Gossip Girl figure who reveals every salacious detail of the aristocracy in her highly popular anonymous gossip pamphlet, "Lady Whistledown's Society Papers."
Shonda Rhimes and series creator Chris Van Dusen look to have nailed the aesthetic, capturing the sheer excess of the Regency period in lavish costumes, grand balls and devilish dinner parties of this brief but extravagant period of British history.
If gossip is your cup of tea, Bridgerton is definitely going to be one to watch. All eight episodes of Bridgerton’s first season will air exclusively on Netflix on Christmas Day, so make sure you’re subscribed so you don’t miss your exclusive invitation to what will undoubtedly be one of the most scandalous series to air in 2020.
