Period romance series Bridgerton was a huge hit for Netflix, and despite the COVID-19 delays, season two is coming soon. New photos have been released for the upcoming season, which show returning and new characters from the ever-expanding Bridgerton universe.
The series is based on the romance novel series written by Julia Quinn, which is nineteen books long, about the Bridgerton family and marrying into rich families. Adapted on Netflix under the Shondaland brand, the show trended for months and illustrated that diverse casting in period dramas and romance could do phenomenally well. (Despite issues with Quinn’s original series not being diverse.)
In season one, we followed the eldest daughter, Daphne Bridgerton (Phoebe Dynevor), as she fell in love with the delicious Simon, Duke of Hastings (Regé-Jean Page). Page announced he would not be returning for the second season, and that broke the hearts of many, but the new images show that Daphne will appear in the second season. Ad this time she has normal bangs!
There has been no news about Simon being replaced, but considering his and Daphne’s story is largely done, they can always just say he’s out doing whatever Dukes do—hunt, talk to the King … brood. Whatever.
Season two will be about Daphne’s oldest brother, Anthony Bridgerton (Jonathan Bailey), finding a proper wife and butting heads with Kate Sharma (Simone Ashley).
Last season, I was disappointed at the lack of both darker-skinned women of color among the cast and the fact that Asian women seemed non-existent in the production. Both those issues have been rectified, with the Sharma family being race-bent into a Southeast Asian family, and Simone Ashley, who is Tamil Sri Lankan, being a richly brown Asian woman.
Another bright spot is that unlike with the first novel and season, which had the issue of sexual assault between the main couple as a factor, I can tell folks, having read the book this season is based on, that aspect should be absent—although there is still a bit of nonsense in the gardens to enjoy.
Anthony was not a very likable character in the previous season, with the show choosing to lean into the worst aspects of a patriarchal fraternity with him, but hopefully, by giving him a strong match with Kate, he can warm the audience up to him. I did end up finding the second book a lot more engaging than the first, so fingers crossed that will lead to a more engaging central love story next season.
K & A. :heart::bee: #Kate #Anthony #March25 #Bridgerton #S2 pic.twitter.com/esWwt6NhY2
— Chris Van Dusen (@chrisvandusen) January 19, 2022
Bridgerton season 2 will return to Netflix on March 25.
(via Polygon, image: Liam Daniel/Netflix)
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