Published 13:47 IST, January 22nd 2021
Netflix renews 'Bridgerton', the Shonda Rhimes-produced period drama, for Season 2
Netflix has renewed the Shonda Rhimes' produced Bridgerton for Season 2. The next season will be based on 'The Viscount Who Loved Me' by author Julia Quinn.
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There's some exciting news for Lady Whisteldown's fans as Netflix has now renewed the Shonda Rhymes produced Bridgerton for a season 2! The update was announced on the Bridgerton Instagram page, where the series' renewal was announced by Oscar-winning actress Julie Andrews (Mary Poppins), who voiced the series narrator, "Lady Whisteldown". It was also announced that the next season will begin filming in the spring of 2021, with most of the cast members returning, and with new additional cast members also joining. Take a look at the announcement styled in a special edition of Lady Whistledown’s Society Paper here:
More about Bridgerton Season 2
According to Deadline, season 2 will chronicle the pursuit of a suitable marriage for the eldest Bridgerton sibling, Anthony, played by Jonathan Bailey, as depicted in the second book of Julia Quinn’s Bridgerton series, The Viscount Who Loved Me. The series pickup arrives after the drama, based on Julia Quinn's best-selling novels, launched on Christmas Day 2020 to rave reviews.
Netflix noted that the Shondaland production drama was on pace to be seen by 63 million households across its first 28 days of release. While the company, like other platforms, does not release traditional viewership data, it counts two minutes — long enough to illustrate the choice to watch was intentional — as a view count. The series creator Chris Van Dusen also revealed to Deadline that season 2 will be filming in the UK during spring 2021.
According to Rotten Tomatoes, Bridgerton has an impressive 90 percent and 83 percent rating among critics and viewers, respectively. The Bridgerton cast also includes Regé-Jean Page and Phoebe Dynevor and serves as series executive producer Shonda Rhimes first show for Netflix, after the Grey's Anatomy and Scandal creator departed her longtime home at ABC for a five-year, $100 million overall deal with the streamer in 2017. Sources at Deadline also reported that casting for new characters were underway for season 2, especially the female romantic lead opposite Anthony Bridgerton in The Viscount Who Loved Me, Kate Sheffield. As for Bridgerton, showrunner Chris Van Dusen (Scandal) has a long-term plan in place and hopes the drama runs for eight seasons — one for each book in author Julia Quinn's New York Times best-selling series.
More about the 'Bridgerton' plot Season 1
The Bridgerton plot for season 1 is based on the first book in Quinn’s series, The Duke and I, centred on the complicated romance between the eldest Bridgerton daughter, Daphne, played by Phoebe Dynevor, and the Duke of Hastings Simon Bassett — like Anthony also a “reformed rake” the latter who is portrayed by Regé-Jean Page. The first season wrapped in February 2020, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, which has cast doubt over the shooting of Season 2, due to the need of employing "hundreds of extras" and also shooting "sex scenes" would be quite a challenge, as the COVID crisis isn't going anytime sooner in the coming months. According to Entertainment Online, season one's success was largely attributed to the Christmas release date and the fact that it arrived amidst the ongoing COVID-19 surge with everyone "exhausted months after quarantine".
Promo Pic: A still from "Bridgerton" on Netflix
13:47 IST, January 22nd 2021