Everything We Know So Far About 'Bridgerton' Season 2
When the first season of Bridgerton premiered on Christmas Day 2020 it was a true gift unto the world. The Shonda Rhimes produced series, based on a bestselling Regency romance book series by Julia Quinn, was full of wit, joy, romance and sex. Lots of sex. The world devoured it in drives, officially making the series the second most watched Netflix show of all time, after Squid Game, with more than 80 million households tuning it.
No wonder, then, that a second season of the show was hastily commissioned and put into production, currently taking place in the UK. What can we expect from season two of the highly popular show?
'Bridgerton' Season 2: Everything We Know So Far
What is season 2 about?
The first season of Bridgerton followed the Duke of Hastings (Rege-Jean Page) and Daphne Bridgerton (Phoebe Dynevor), eldest daughter of the esteemed Bridgerton family and a debutante of the season, as she tried to make a love marriage. All wasn’t rosy for the Duke and Daphne in the early days of their courtship. In fake, they spent most of season one pretending to be in love, so that Daphne could try and attract more suitors.
But as anyone who has seen a lot of romantic comedies will tell you, a fake relationship is a surefire way to end up in real love, and ultimately the smouldering Duke and Daphne were wed. A few more stumbles upon the way, and they ended the first season happily ever after. Oh, and there was also an anonymous pamphlet writer called Lady Whistledown reporting on society goings on all season long, who was unmasked as one of the core main characters at the end of the season.
The second season will follow the lead of the book series and shift focus from Daphne to another Bridgerton sibling, this time eldest brother Viscount Anthony (Jonathan Bailey). As the head of the family and heir to the fortune, it’s high time that Anthony find himself a wife. Only Anthony has promised himself never to fall in love, so as not to feel grief in his life again, an emotion that ruined him when his father died.
He sets his sights on the beautiful Edwina Sharma, who he believes will pose no threat as a love marriage, but her sister Kate (Sex Education’s Simone Ashley) tries to protect her. And – say it with us, folks – it looks like what begins as angst may blossom into love between these two.
Who is Simone Ashley?
Simone Ashley joins the second season of Bridgerton as its new heroine, or the new Daphne, basically. If you’re a fan of Sex Education – and aren’t we all? – you might recognise her from that Netflix show, where she plays the popular girl Olivia.
Ashley will play Kate in the second season of Bridgerton. In the original book series, Kate is a white woman and her name is Kate Sheffield. But in this new season of the show, Kate has been cast as a South Asian woman and her name changed to Kate Sharma. Her sister Edwina Sharma will be played by Charithra Chandran. We can’t wait to see these sisters playing off each other, as they do in the novels, and we love the diversity that Bridgerton brings to its vision of period dramas.
In terms of the character, Kate is bright, headstrong and full of conviction. She doesn’t take any crap from anyone, especially stuck up, spoiled viscounts like Anthony Bridgerton. There’s a reason why she’s one of the most beloved characters in the entire book series: she’s funny and frank and, also, her and Anthony’s relationship is really, really sexy.
There’s one scene in particular, which basically kicks off their courtship, that is just… wild and absolutely hilarious. No spoilers for anyone who hasn’t read the books, but it involves bees. And given how much bee imagery is included in the first season, we really do think that the show will include the scene in its second season. It’s going to break the internet, trust us.
Who else is in the cast of season two of Bridgerton?
Almost all of your favorites are returning. Nicola Coughlan will be back as Penelope Featherington, and her storyline will involve her close relationship with Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton). Benedict Bridgerton (Luke Thompson) and Eloise Bridgerton (Claudia Jessie) will also return, as will main character from season one Daphne (Dynevor). Supporting cast including Golda Rosheuvel, Adjoa Andoh, Ruth Gemmell and Polly Walker are also back.
Not back, sadly, is Rege-Jean Page, however. The Duke will not be returning, even for a cameo, in the second season. He’s unfortunately very busy with his movie career, which includes a turn in Netflix’s blockbuster epic The Gray Man and a Dungeons and Dragons reboot. We wish him well, but can’t deny that we wish he was making even a super brief appearance in season two.
Is there a trailer for season two of Bridgerton?
Not yet, but there is a first look clip. It shows some sparks flying between Anthony and Kate as they rendez vous in a garden. The plot of the second Bridgerton book has big Pride and Prejudice energy: initially, Anthony and Kate despise each other, and it takes them a long time to build any semblance of a friendship. You can watch that early Lizzie and Darcy vibe in this clip below.
When will season two of Bridgerton air on Netflix?
There isn’t a confirmed date yet, but we’re hoping it will be soon. We’ll keep you posted when we hear more.
And will there be more Bridgerton after season two?
There certainly will be. Only a few months ago, Netflix announced that the series will return for both a third and a fourth season. In the books, these follow Benedict’s love story – which is a very, ahem, close adaptation of a Cinderella story, to put it kindly – and the fourth book centres on Colin Bridgerton, but it appears that some of his romance story will be folded into this second season, which gives us hope that the fourth season might focus on the fifth book, which has Eloise at its centre. The more Bridgerton, the merrier!
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