America Burns for ‘Bridgerton’

Netflix has had its fair share of hits over the years, but Bridgerton has knocked them all out of the water. This new period drama is Gossip Girl meets Downton Abbey at its finest. Although it has been out for less than two months, Bridgerton has already made the record for the highest number of household views at 82 million. Because of its success, Bridgerton has already been renewed for a second season much to the excitement of its fans.

The show is set in 1813 during the Regency Period in London and follows the lives of influential nobility as they navigate the debutante season. The show primarily follows the Bridgerton family, with whom it is named after, and its eldest daughter Daphne as she tries to find love in the money obsessed society. Daphne, played by Phoebe Dynevor, forms an alliance with Simon the Duke of Hastings, played by Regé-Jean Page, in order to make her more desirable and so he will be left alone by all of the other society girls. Eventually, we see that these kinds of plans never work and the two fall in love with each other. The show then captures the twists and turns that nobility endure during the debutante season and how they each react to it.

Bridgerton is narrated by a mysterious Lady Whistledown, voiced by the incomparable Julie Andrews, who seems to know everyone’s secrets and dirty laundry, much like Gossip Girl always did. A big part of the series is trying to decipher who could be Lady Whistledown. The narration brings an omniscient element to the storyline which makes the characters act wary because their secrets could be the next to be revealed.

One of the main reasons why the show is a hit is because of the time in which it is set. People love to see older time periods brought to life on the screen. Everyone wants to imagine themselves in the shoes of the characters, gallivanting across the castle gardens in ball gowns. Hence why titles such as “Pride and Prejudice” and “Atonement” are so popular, or people love Kiera Knightly, which is also plausible. The fascination that society has with the Elizabethan, Regency and Victorian time periods lends to the fame of the show.

Another reason for the show’s fame is because of the love story that encompasses it. The enemies to lovers plot and the slow burn of the characters falling in love makes for an interesting storyline. Daphne and Simon create a relationship that many covet after. The chemistry that the two actors convey in their scenes together leaves viewers wishing that they were in the character’s shoes.

Though, the show could have gone without as many intimate scenes as it had. Many of the intimate scenes in the show made for an uncomfortable watching experience and cheapened the relationship that Daphne and Simon had. Nevertheless, society is a sucker for that kind of thing if 50 Shades of Grey is any indication.

In the end, Netflix hit the ball out of the park with Bridgerton. The second season can’t come fast enough for fans of the show. Here’s to waiting for another interesting revelation from Lady Whistledown.