‘Bridgerton’ Season 2 First Look: Netflix Sensation Is Back for More Bright Shiny Scandal
Not that time matters anymore, but it feels like it’s been a lot longer than nine months since “Bridgerton” caught fire and made the holidays steamy. Now, with plenty of changes in casting and story from the eight-episode season that took hold of Netflix viewer’s imagination, this weekend’s fan event brought our first glimpse of what the show has in store for Season 2.
For starters, this first footage introduces some new key cast members who’ll be central to these new episodes’ high society shenanigans. With breakout star Regé-Jean Page not returning, the show is adding to its core cast of Bridgertons and associates with a handful of fresh faces. Among them is Simone Ashley, who arrives as Kate Sharma, one of the potential partners for the eligible Anthony Bridgerton (Jonathan Bailey).
Speaking to IndieWire over the summer (while the latest episodes were in the heart of production, filming in London), series creator and showrunner Chris Van Dusen pointed to the pair’s romance as a main reason to tune into the upcoming season. “Anthony and his new love interest Kate Sharma are such a force to be reckoned with: magnetic, you cannot take your eyes off them when they’re together,” Van Dusen said.
Anthony’s late father Edmund may not be around for another child’s whirlwind romance, but the show will still find a way to introduce him in Season 2 after only being spoken about previously. Played by Rupert Evans, he’ll round out the Bridgerton family, joining Bailey, Ruth Gemmell, Florence Hunt, Claudia Jessie, Luke Newton, Luke Thompson, Will Tilston, and Phoebe Dynevor, who along with Page made up the first season’s main couple.
While the show has had an elastic relationship to the Julia Quinn novels it draws from, fans interested in a rough idea of how this season might turn out can look to “The Viscount Who Loved Me,” the second book in a series that’s now spurred a number of spinoffs, prequels, and general related works.
For plenty of extravagant dresses, mischievous glances, and finely manicured hedges, watch the full first look below. “Bridgerton” Season 2 is expected to arrive on Netflix in 2022.
