[Editor’s Note: The following contains light spoilers for Julia Quinn’s “Bridgerton” series of novels, elements of which might wind up in Season 2 of the show.]
Well, well, well. Netflix, you did it. You took the “The Duke and I,” the first novel in Julia Quinn’s “Bridgerton” series of historical romance novels, and turned it into what you claim is the most-watched episodic television series on the service ever. (82 million households turned in! Which is … a very watery metric, but fine!)
So, how do you follow that up? Well, Quinn’s written seven more novels in the series, yes, one for each Bridgerton child, although the stories aren’t told in alphabetical order, and super producer Shonda Rhimes of “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Scandal” fame has the rights to adapt them. Chronologically, the next up is “The Viscount Who Loved Me.” The first season of “Bridgerton” hewed pretty closely to the outline of the first book, “The Duke and I,” so what can we expect from Season 2? Check out the gallery below and find out:
Look at this smug eldest brother right here? As heavily foreshadowed in Season 1, the second season of “Bridgerton” will focus on the love story of Viscount Anthony Bridgerton, played by Jonathan Bailey. In the Instagram post announcing the second season, the omnipresent Lady Whistledown revealed that “Lord Anthony Bridgerton intends to dominate the social season.” Yes, the second book in the series is “The Viscount Who Loved Me.” It all links together!
Per the official book summary:
“Anthony Bridgerton hasn’t just decided to marry — he’s even chosen a wife! The only obstacle is his intended’s older sister, Kate Sheffield — the most meddlesome woman ever to grace a London ballroom. The spirited schemer is driving Anthony mad with her determination to stop the betrothal, but when he closes his eyes at night, Kate’s the woman haunting his increasingly erotic dreams…
Contrary to popular belief, Kate is quite sure that reformed rakes do not make the best husbands — and Anthony Bridgerton is the most wicked rogue of them all. Kate’s determined to protect her sister — but she fears her own heart is vulnerable. And when Anthony’s lips touch hers, she’s suddenly afraid she might not be able to resist the reprehensible rake herself…”
So, um, mild spoiler alert: Anthony winds up with Kate. And Kate will be played by Simone Ashley, who stars as Olivia in Netflix’s “Sex Education.” The aforementioned younger intended sister will be played by British newcomer Charithra Chandran, who previously appeared in imdbTV’s “Alex Rider.”
So here’s where Season 2 of “Bridgerton” might diverge wildly from the books. (Editor’s update as of April 5, 2021: WRONG. IT WILL BE EXACTLY LIKE THE BOOKS. MAYBE.) In the series of novels, after each couple has their starring moment in a particular book…they just kind of disappear. Like Simon and Daphne might drop by the later books for a spot of tea, or a semi-violent game of croquet, or a midnight raid on someone’s house to save a sibling’s virtue. (Book 5 is wild, trust me.) But that’s it. It’s hard to fathom that “SNL” hero Regé-Jean Page and Phoebe Dynevor are just going to be jettisoned offscreen in this manner. And yet, in early April Netflix announced that Page will not return to the show for the second season, with him noting that it was a “one-season arc.” Just like the books! All that being said, don’t look for everything else in the second book to fall into lockstep. Season 1 didn’t exactly treat the novels as sacred text — the companion to Lady Danbury who winds up marrying into the Bridgerton clan isn’t Simon, for instance. But I’ll save the Hyacinth spoilers for Season 7, I guess.
Spoilers abound below! Scroll if you don’t know!
I mean, they gotta, right? The end of Season 1’s reveal that Penelope Featherington is Lady Whistledown is saved until Book 4 in the series. You can read a hint-drenched interview with actress Nicola Coughlan here. Since the time frame of the reveal was moved up, it seems inevitable that other storylines from Book 4 will also have a place in Season 2? Does that mean Anthony and Kate will share the season with Penelope and her heretofore unrequited love interest Colin Bridgerton? We shall see.
Another person who will be discussed in Season 2: Edmund Bridgerton. Wait, there’s another one? Yes, except he’s dead. (Not a spoiler!) In the action in Season 1, Anthony has taken the reins of the family after the passing of his father, Edmund. In May it was announced that Edmund would be played by Rupert Evans (“The Man in the High Castle”) in what we presume will be in flashback? The viewing audience has to learn how he dies, right? (Hint: Watch carefully in Season 1 and you’ll figure it out.)
The second season (sans the Duke of Hastings a.k.a. Regé-Jean Page) will premiere on Netflix on March 25. Showrunner Chris Van Dusen told Entertainment Weekly that Season 2 proved to be more “challenging” to live up to the “surreal” viral hit of the first season.
“I had a very clear vision for Season 1 and I was given the freedom to follow through on it,” Van Dusen said. “Then the show came out and started to take hold of the world. It was all so surreal. Staying true to my original vision [for Season 2] became much more challenging, but it made me drill down even more.”
Well, art — and, in particular, big budget costume dramas — take time. Keep yourself amused in the meantime with some authorized Bridgerton swag. The Bridgerton Collection at Phenomenal Woman (owned by Meena Harris, niece of Vice President Kamala Harris) features sweatshirts and hoodies with some of the show’s key phrases. If you wish to be entertained, by all means then wear it over your heart.
Anthony Bridgerton (Jonathan Bailey) has two new eligible bachelorettes in his life. Charithra Chandran plays Edwina, who recently arrives from India just in time to catch Anthony’s eye. Yet Edwina’s older sister Kate (Simone Ashley) discovers Anthony’s true intentions of his courtship, and vows to squash his interest in Edwina. But like all good romances, a love triangle is afoot: In meddling with Cupid, Kate and Anthony’s verbal sparring matches only bring them closer together, complicating matters on either side. We love a good twist!
Creator Van Dusen added, “Anthony and his new love interest Kate Sharma are such a force to be reckoned with: magnetic, you cannot take your eyes off them when they’re together.”
About time! Jonathan Bailey a.k.a. Viscount Bridgerton told Entertainment Weekly that Season 2 will put women viewers first.
“There’s so many people who will go, ‘Oh yeah, Bonkerton,'” Bailey said. “But the female gaze is so important because there are many ways people communicate by sex, and what sex means, and what your body means to someone else. It’s important that there’s an inversion of sexuality and how people are exploited in the storytelling of sex.”
Creator Van Dusen exclusively teased “thirsty” moments to IndieWire. “We thought about how to make it relevant today, and how this glamorous lavish escapist world was a running modern commentary on the last 20 years. Everything has changed and nothing has changed for women and men.”
Lady Whistledown would approve. Nicola Coughlan, who plays Penelope-slash-famed columnist Whistledown, explained that gossip was one of the few modes in which women had “agency” in the 19th century. “This was all they were deemed to be good for,” Coughlan said, “so why be ashamed to participate in it?”
As new Season 2 cast member Charithra Chandran echoed, the “negative perception of gossip is a misogynistic feature to prevent women from communicating and sharing knowledge.” All hail Lady Whistledown as our true queen.
