Need a break from homeschooling your kids? Tired of hearing the terms social distancing and pandemic and want to replace them with terms like rake and callers? Or to put it bluntly, do you just need a break from reality? If your answer was yes, or even no, look no further than the new match made in romance literature meets screen matrimony, Bridgerton.
The series has just broken Netflix’s record for most watched series for the streaming service with more than 82 million views, has been renewed for a second season, and has quickly helmed its trousers up as a now integral part of pop culture. If you love a good period drama, coming of age stories, and mystery you might want to poor yourself a cup of tea and step into the world of The Ton. And, The Duke.
The series, which can be streamed on Netflix, brings to the screen the literary works of romance novelist Julia Quinn based on the eight Bridgerton siblings and their quest for love. The first season focuses on Daphne Bridgerton (portrayed by Phoebe Dynevor) and The Duke of Hastings, Simon (portrayed by Regé-Jean Page); the latter whom we’ve all been burning for since he hopped off the horse and made us jealous of a spoon. Daphne and The Duke form a ruse that will seemingly benefit them both and the rest is … well history. Then there are the 7 other Bridgerton siblings from oldest to youngest: Anthony, Benedict, Colin (my favorite), Eloise, Francesca, Hyacinth, and Gregory and their sweet and rather supportive mother. Speaking of supportive mothers, Lady Danbury, Simon’s adoptive mother figure in the series, gave me queen vibes and the affirmations I didn’t know I needed, all done indirectly and brilliantly.
Another “Bridgerton” family is the Featheringtons. Now, this family seems to give me shady ‘I don’t know about you’ vibes because I feel as though not that much is known about them, and we were left with a cliff hanger in the season finale regarding the likes. In the Featherington family, we have Penelope, who is in regency theory the Thelma to Eloise Bridgerton’s Louise. They are “friends” and Eloise tells Penelope everything. And let’s not forget Queen Charlotte, who gave us hair real-ness in e v e r y scene and who was a slight fan of tea and tea. The character is, in name, loosely based on the real Queen Charlotte who historians believe to be of African descent like depicted in the show.
*fun fact* Queen Charlotte is a great grandmother of current British monarch, Queen Elizabeth.
Nevertheless, Bridgerton is a wonder in other aspects from its diverse regency era cast, ingenious use of classical renditions of modern songs like Taylor Swift’s 2015 hit “Wildest Dreams” with the mixture of a romantic period drama meets Gossip Girl paired with the aesthetic of the 2006 film Marie Antoinette with its lavish costume and set design, topped off with the onscreen chemistry from the entire cast.
Bridgerton has definitely taken its seat at the table of pop culture and has inadvertently taken us away from the seat of pandemic … at least for roughly 8 hours.
