10 Things You Need To Know Before You Binge Bridgerton Season 2

The first season of Bridgerton, an 8 episode horny-historical from Shonda Rhimes based Julia Quinn’s novels, became the most-watched series on Netflix at the time of its premiere, and remains the second most-watched series on the platform, second only to The Squid Game. Within the first 28 days of airing, the show was viewed by 82 million households. 

The second season is coming out this week, on March 25. (Bridgerton has already been renewed for Season 3 and 4.) To prepare for another round of the butt-baring Regency-era drama, here are 10 things you need to know. 

1. The show follows the Bridgerton siblings – Anthony (Jonathan Bailey), Benedict (Jonathan Bailey), Colin (Luke Newton), Daphne (Phoebe Dynevor), Eloise (Claudia Jessie), Francesca (Ruby Stokes), Gregory (Will Tilston), and Hyacinth (Florence Hunt) – navigating London society. The first season followed the courtship and marriage of Daphne and Simon Basset (Regé-Jean Page), the Duke of Hastings.

2. While Regé-Jean Page won’t be returning for the second season, Daphne will return, to help her brother Anthony “navigate the upcoming social season”.

3. This season follows the courtship of Anthony Bridgerton. Broken up with the opera singer Siena (Sabrina Bartlett), he is now vying for Kate Sharma. Sex Education actress Simone Ashley will play Kate Sharma. Charithra Chandran plates her sister Edwina.

4. Simone Ashley’s character’s name was initially Kate Sheffield. Later, it was changed to Kate Sharma taking into account Ashley’s Indian heritage. Author Julia Quinn described this move as a “wonderful way to make the show more inclusive”. 

5. The novelty of Bridgerton is that it is set in an alternate historical world — a racially integrated London where people of color are even granted titles by the sovereign. Creator Chris Van Dusen has noted that he was inspired by the historical debate in the 1940s over claims of an African ancestry of Queen Charlotte. But the show is not color-blind, Van Dusen clarified, because “that would imply that color and race were never considered, when color and race are part of the show.”

6. Known for the racey, passionate sex, it has been reported that Netflix has decided to curb the number of sex scenes in the upcoming second series of Bridgerton, based on early reviews pouring in.

7. Benedict Bridgerton’s art and homosexuality was established in a quick side-plot in season 1, which was criticized for the lacking space, One article’s headline read, “Netflix’s Bridgerton has a gay sex problem. There isn’t enough of it!” Maybe there is some course correction this season?

8. There is also the Featherington family. In the first season, they took in cousin Marina Thompson (Ruby Barker), who is unmarried and pregnant. Lady Featherington tried to quickly find Marina a husband to hush up the pregnancy

9. Penelope (Nicola Coughlan) is Lady Whistledown, whose gossipy newsletters have everyone strung around her finger, the Regency-era gossip girl. When Marina pursues Colin Brdgeirton, whom Penelope is besotted with, she exposes Marina’s pregnancy in a newsletter. Marina, humiliated, eventually marries Sir Phillip Crane.

10. The new season will deal with how the characters find out and react to Penelope being Lady Whistledown. 

The second season of Bridgerton streams on Netflix from 25 March, 2022.