Bridgerton


Bridgerton is an American alternative history regency romance television series created by Chris Van Dusen for Netflix. Based on the book series of the same name by Julia Quinn, it is Shondaland's first scripted show for Netflix. It follows the close-knit siblings of the noble and influential Bridgerton family as they navigate the highly competitive social season, where young marriageable nobility and gentry are introduced into society. The series is set during the early 19th century in an alternative London Regency era, in which George III established racial equality and granted aristocratic titles to people of color due to the African heritage of his wife, Queen Charlotte.
The first season debuted on December 25, 2020. The second season premiered on March 25, 2022. The third season was released in two parts, which premiered on May 16 and June 13, 2024, respectively. The fourth season will be again released in two parts, premiering on January 29 and February 26, 2026, respectively. The series has been renewed for a fifth season. Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story, a spin-off series focused on Queen Charlotte, was released in May 2023.
Bridgerton has been positively received for its direction, actors' performances, production and set design, winning five Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards, a Make-Up Artists And Hair Stylists Guild Awards, and nominations at the Primetime Emmy Awards, Screen Actors Guild Awards, Satellite Awards and NAACP Image Awards. The music score by Kris Bowers earned a Grammy Award nomination for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media.

Premise

Set against the backdrop of the Regency era, the eight close-knit siblings of the noble and powerful Bridgerton family – Anthony, Benedict, Colin, Daphne, Eloise, Francesca, Gregory, and Hyacinth – navigate London high society in search of love, surrounded by friends and rivals alike.

Cast and characters

Main

  • Adjoa Andoh as Lady Agatha Danbury, the sharp-tongued, insightful doyenne of the ton
  • Julie Andrews as the voice of Lady Whistledown, the author of a scandalous society newsletter
  • Lorraine Ashbourne as Mrs. Varley, the Featheringtons' housekeeper
  • Jonathan Bailey as Lord Anthony Bridgerton, 9th Viscount Bridgerton, the eldest Bridgerton son and head of the family. Husband of Kathani "Kate", Viscountess Bridgerton. Currently expecting their first child.
  • Ruby Barker as Marina, Lady Crane, a Featherington cousin from a rural gentry family
  • Sabrina Bartlett as Siena Rosso, an opera singer and Anthony's former lover
  • Harriet Cains as Philippa Finch, the middle Featherington daughter. The wife of Albion Finch and the mother of Philomena Finch
  • Bessie Carter as Prudence Dankworth, the eldest Featherington daughter. The wife of Harry Dankworth and the mother of their unnamed daughter
  • Nicola Coughlan as Penelope Bridgerton, the youngest Featherington daughter. Wife of Colin Bridgerton and the mother of Elliot Bridgerton, the current Baron Featherington.
  • Phoebe Dynevor as Daphne Basset, Duchess of Hastings, the fourth Bridgerton child and eldest daughter. Wife of Simon Basset, the Duke of Hastings and the mother of August "Augie" Basset
  • Ruth Gemmell as Lady Violet Bridgerton, Dowager Viscountess Bridgerton, mother of the Bridgerton children
  • Florence Hunt as Hyacinth Bridgerton, the eighth and youngest Bridgerton child
  • Martins Imhangbe as Will Mondrich, a gentleman's club owner, retired boxer, and confidant of the Duke of Hastings
  • Claudia Jessie as Eloise Bridgerton, the fifth Bridgerton child and second daughter
  • Ben Miller as Lord Archibald Featherington, Baron Featherington, the patriarch of the Featherington family
  • Luke Newton as Colin Bridgerton, the third Bridgerton son. Husband of Penelope Bridgerton and the father of Elliot Bridgerton, the current Baron Featherington.
  • Regé-Jean Page as Simon Basset, Duke of Hastings, one of London's most eligible bachelors who marries Daphne Bridgerton, and the father of August "Augie" Basset
  • Golda Rosheuvel as Queen Charlotte, Queen of the United Kingdom and wife of King George III
  • Luke Thompson as Benedict Bridgerton, the second Bridgerton son
  • Will Tilston as Gregory Bridgerton, the seventh Bridgerton child and youngest son
  • Polly Walker as Lady Portia Featherington, Dowager Baroness Featherington, the matriarch of the Featherington family
  • Simone Ashley as Kathani "Kate", Viscountess Bridgerton, wife of Anthony. Currently expecting their first child.
  • Charithra Chandran as Edwina Sharma, Kate's younger half-sister
  • Shelley Conn as Lady Mary Sharma, Kate's stepmother and Edwina's mother
  • Calam Lynch as Theo Sharpe, an apprentice at the printing shop used by Lady Whistledown who befriends Eloise
  • Rupert Young as Jack, Baron Featherington, the new head of the Featherington family
  • Victor Alli as John Stirling, Earl of Kilmartin. Husband of Francesca Stirling
  • Joanna Bobin as Lady Araminta Cowper, Cressida's mother
  • Dominic Coleman as Lord Cowper, Cressida's father
  • Ruby Stokes and Hannah Dodd as Francesca Stirling, Countess of Kilmartin, the sixth Bridgerton child and third daughter. Wife of John Stirling, Earl of Kilmartin
  • Daniel Francis as Marcus Anderson, Lady Danbury's brother
  • Jessica Madsen as Cressida Cowper, an ill-mannered debutante competing with Daphne and Penelope
  • Hannah New as Lady Tilley Arnold, a widow who has a fling with Benedict
  • Masali Baduza as Michaela Stirling, John's cousin
  • Yerin Ha as Sophie Baek, Benedict's love interest
  • Katie Leung as Lady Araminta Gun, Countess of Penwood. Rosamund and Posy's mother and Sophie's stepmother
  • Emma Naomi as Alice Mondrich, Will Mondrich's wife
  • Hugh Sachs as Brimsley, the Queen's gossip-mongering secretary and Queen's man

    Recurring

  • Geraldine Alexander as Mrs. Wilson, the Bridgertons' housekeeper
  • Jason Barnett as Jeffries, the Bassets' butler
  • Kathryn Drysdale as Genevieve Delacroix, a high society modiste
  • Oli Higginson as John, a footman in the Bridgerton household often working for Eloise
  • Simon Ludders as Humboldt, the Bridgertons' butler
  • Molly McGlynn as Rose Nolan, Daphne's loyal maid and confidant
  • Julian Ovenden as Sir Henry Granville, an artist who befriends Benedict
  • Caleb Obediah as Lord Charles Cho, a society gentleman
  • Bert Seymour as Lord Fife, a society gentleman
  • Sam Battersea as Lady Barragan, Winifred Barragan's mother
  • Ella Bruccoleri as Winifred Barragan, a debutant with Francesca
  • Genevieve Chenneour as Clara Livingston, a fellow debutante with Francesca
  • Kitty Devlin as Dolores Stowell, a fellow debutante with Francesca
  • Rosa Hesmondhalgh as Rae, maid and confidant to Penelope Bridgerton
  • Sesly Hope as Emma Kenworthy, a debutante with Francesca
  • Molly Jackson-Shaw as Anne Hartigan, a debutante with Francesca
  • Lorn Macdonald as Albion Finch, Philippa Featherington's husband
  • Sam Phillips as Lord Alfred Debling, a suitor who courts Penelope
  • James Phoon as Harry Dankworth, Prudence Featherington's husband
  • Vineeta Rishi as Lady Malhotra, Sita Malhotra's mother
  • Banita Sandhu as Sita Malhotra, a fellow debutante with Francesca
  • Anna Wilson-Jones as Lady Livingston, Clara Livingston's mother
  • Sophie Woolley as Lady Stowell, Dolores Stowell's mother
  • Michelle Mao as Rosamund Li, Araminta's older daughter and one of Sophie's stepsisters
  • Isabella Wei as Posy Li, Araminta's younger daughter and one of Sophie's stepsisters

    Guest

  • Jamie Beamish as Nigel, Baron Berbrooke, Daphne's suitor
  • Caroline Quentin as Lady Berbrooke, Nigel's mother
  • Freddie Stroma as Prince Frederick of Prussia, the Queen's grandnephew
  • Amy Beth Hayes as Lady Trowbridge, the hedonistic widow of an earl
  • James Fleet as King George III, the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
  • Céline Buckens as Kitty Langham, a general's wife
  • Chris Fulton as Sir Philip Crane, Marina's husband, a baronet
  • Daphne Di Cinto as Sarah Basset, Duchess of Hastings, Simon's mother
  • Richard Pepple as the Duke of Hastings, Simon's father
  • Pippa Haywood as Mrs. Colson, the housekeeper at the Hastings' country estate
  • Anthony Head as Lord Sheffield, Lady Mary's father and Edwina's grandfather
  • Shobu Kapoor as Lady Sheffield, Lady Mary's mother and Edwina's grandmother
  • Rupert Evans as Edmund, 8th Viscount Bridgerton, father of the Bridgerton children
  • Zak Ford-Williams as Lord Remington, Lady Whistledown's greatest fan

    Episodes

Season 1 (2020)

The first season is based on The Duke and I.

Season 2 (2022)

The second season is based on The Viscount Who Loved Me.

Season 3 (2024)

The third season is based on Romancing Mister Bridgerton.

Season 4 (2026)

The fourth season is based on An Offer from a Gentleman.

Production

Development

On July 20, 2018, Netflix announced that Shonda Rhimes, through her production company Shondaland, would produce the screen adaptation of the bestselling novels of the Bridgerton series by Julia Quinn, while Chris Van Dusen would serve as showrunner. Quinn explained on The Tamron Hall Show that when she heard from her agent that Rhimes was interested in adapting her novels, she "almost fell off of stool," and quickly agreed to the offer. Season 1 of the show adapted The Duke and I, the first book of Quinn's series. Van Dusen said in a Shondaland article: "I think are considered a bit traditional and conservative. With Bridgerton, I wanted to take everything I loved about a period show and turn it into something fresh, topical, and relatable."
Before the first season aired, the show was already in pre-production for a second season which was officially announced in January 2021. It is focused on Anthony and based on the book The Viscount Who Loved Me. On April 13, 2021, creator Van Dusen revealed on Twitter that the series had additionally been renewed for a third and fourth season.
Unlike the first two seasons, which followed the order of the book series, the third season focuses on Colin and Penelope, based on Quinn's fourth novel Romancing Mister Bridgerton, rather than Benedict. Jess Brownell replaced Van Dusen as writer and showrunner for the third and fourth seasons. In July 2024, it was confirmed that Benedict Bridgerton would be the lead for Season 4. In May 2025, Netflix officially announced a dual season renewal of seasons 5 and 6.