This Regency romance has simultaneously bewitched period drama fans and lauded a whole new demographic of viewers that the genre has historically failed to reach. According to Netflix, 82 million households have watched Bridgerton in its first 28 days of release – making it Netflix’s biggest show of all time. In conclusion, everyone loves Bridgerton. However, does this mean a certain amount of revision for future period dramas? And is Bridgerton completely rewriting the current status of the genre?
Typically, people view period drama as a bit high-brow and uncool. Period drama is like a whirlpool; you don’t intend to get fully immersed in the story but by the end you’re specifically quoting Mr. Darcy (Colin Firth) in the 1995 Pride and Prejudice adaptation, ‘You have bewitched me in body and soul, and I love, I love, I love you’ to your TV. Maybe it’s just the hopeless romantics, but period drama is addictive because of its escapism.
In Bridgerton, audiences elope to England’s Regency era. The unfolding scandals, drama and romance of the social season is narrated via a gossip pamphlet written by the mysterious Lady Whistledown (voiced by Julie Andrews). Based on the series of historical romance novels by Julia Quinn, the story specifically focuses on the heartwarming and close-knit Bridgerton family whose eight siblings attempt to find love. The first season primarily focuses on the eldest Bridgerton daughter, Daphne Bridgerton (Phoebe Dynevor), who makes her debut into society.
In a sea of sometimes dreary period drama, Bridgerton has become a breath of fresh air speaking to the modern day despite its historical setting. The series is created by Shondaland, the American production company that champions diversity in the industry and is spearheaded by producer powerhouse Shonda Rhimes. Rhimes serves as executive producer on the show, alongside long-time collaborator Chris Van Dusen as showrunner. In the words of Queen Charlotte (Golda Rosheuvel) ‘A pairing like that, well, would certainly be most enchanting indeed’. She’s right, Shondaland plus period drama equals magic.
It is important to note that Bridgerton is purposefully not historically accurate -creators of the show certainly loosened their corsets when it came to their depiction which resulted in Regency fantasy. That being said, their creative decisions are welcomed and do help Bridgerton stand out from other period dramas partly because of its ability to connect with a modern day audience. The show takes on a unique lens and provides a social commentary that transcends time.
Taking the steps to create a period drama that speaks to a modern audience is one fully realised by Bridgerton, especially when it comes to casting. Bridgerton has a diverse cast featuring fantastic actors such as; Adjoa Andoh as the undeniably stannable Lady Danbury, and everyone’s new crush Regé-Jean Page as the sought-after rake Simon Basset.
Van Dusen works with the possible fact debated by historians that Queen Charlotte was England’s first Queen of mixed race. Whilst exploring this possibility, the showrunner began to think of what society would look like and whether she could have elevated other people of colour to dukedoms, lands and titles. In doing so, Bridgerton reimagines what society could have been like. The historical revisionism in Bridgerton is an exciting take on period drama, which has often appeared as all-white, heteronormative and caught up in a tangle of historical accuracy debates.
Race meets an intersection of modern themes from: class, sexuality and gender. Eloise Bridgerton (Claudia Jessie) has a sparky commentary on gender throughout the series, constantly questioning history’s inability to recognise women as equal to men. Scenes showing Daphne walking through a garden at night and feeling unsafe is eerily familiar to the present day. Bridgerton also paints the wholesome portrait of female friendship with Eloise and Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan).
It’s also not everyday you turn to Netflix for a period-drama-fix to be welcomed by a string quartet adaptation of Ariana Grande’s ‘thank u next’ and Billie Eilish’s ‘bad guy’. Somehow these modern easter eggs work in the context of the Tinder-like ball dancing scenes. Unlike other period dramas set within a specific time period, Bridgerton captures the essence of history whilst still speaking to and entertaining a massive modern audience.
It’s hard not to address how raunchy Bridgerton is and how it undeniably suits the scandal-based format. Think Lady Chatterley’s Lover meets Sense & Sensibility. The steaminess contributes to the show’s overall sense of liberation, and has audiences squealing over a fleeting brush of a hand (probably also down to how Covid-19 has robbed everyone of touch). In comparison to the conservatism traditionally associated with period dramas, the sex scenes are definitely more explicit than what you would expect to see in War & Peace or North & South.
Whilst Bridgerton might be the most popular example of revisionist period drama currently, it is not the only one. The Great currently airing on Channel 4 takes on a similar approach albeit through a wildly comedic and genre-bending plot that follows the rise of Catherine the Great (Elle Fanning). The two share similarities with historical inaccuracy, a diverse cast and modern themes – both series are currently rewriting the status of the genre, and setting an example for future period dramas to follow.
It is an exciting time for period drama where creativity is flourishing, history is being challenged and representation is finally prioritised. In a genre understandably caught up in history, it is exhilarating to see innovation. It has been a long time since a romantic period drama gripped audiences like Bridgerton has, and if the series goes anything like the books, there will be many more seasons of swooning to follow. Like Queen Charlotte, we all wish to be entertained and, following a recent Netflix announcement, we will hopefully not have too long to wait in anticipation for the stunning debut of the second season.
Sources:
https://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/film-tv/a35122184/bridgerton-viewers-netflix/
https://variety.com/2021/tv/news/bridgerton-netflix-viewership-1234878404/
https://screenrant.com/bridgerton-viewership-streaming-numbers-figures-netflix/
