Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Bridgerton’ On Netflix, Where Shondaland Collides With Regency London For A Frothy Costume Romance

Even though Bridgerton is Shonda Rhimes’ first series to debut under the Netflix development deal she signed in 2017, it’s more the vision of Shondaland veteran Chris Van Dusen, who created the show and is its showrunner. Based on the series of novels by Julia Quinn, it’s certainly different from the shows in Rhimes’ TV empire, at least as far as the setting is concerned. But is it, really? Read on for more.

BRIDGERTON: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

Opening Shot: Shots of London in the Regency era (1811-1820). The voice of Lady Whistledown (Julie Andrews), the mysterious writer of a society gossip newsletter, says, “Grosvenor Square, 1813. Dearest reader, the time has come to place our bets for the upcoming social season.”

The Gist: It’s the time of year when the young women of Regency London society go on the “marriage market,” where various suitors make their case to be their husbands. A young lady only gets a few chances on the marriage market, else they get labeled as “spinsters,” forever to live a life of lonely singledom. For instance, Lady Portia Featherington (Polly Walker) has all three of her unpolished daughters — Philippa (Harriet Cains), Prudence (Bessie Carter) and Penelope (Nicola Coughlan) — on the market and is particularly aggressive about marrying them off.

Then there are their neighbors, the Bridgertons. A rather large family, led by Lady Violet (Ruth Gemmell) and oldest son Anthony (Jonathan Bailey), they’re all excited to see oldest daughter Daphne (Phoebe Dynevor) enter the marriage market for the first time. Scuttlebutt from Lady Whistledown and others is that Daphne will have her pick of many suitors, especially after Queen Charlotte (Golda Rosheuvel) deemed her “flawless” when Daphne was presented to her.

In the meantime, Simon Basset (Regé-Jean Page) comes back to London and the residence of Lady Danbury (Adjoa Andoh). He’s the newly-installed Duke of Hastings, and he’s come to settle his late father’s affairs. He has no interest in the trappings of dukedom, and he insists he will never get married. Lady Danbury insists he go to the first big ball of the season, though. During that ball, Anthony is adamant that most of the young men there aren’t suitable for her, and she ends up bumping into the duke — literally — while trying to get away from the boorish Nigel Berbrooke (Jamie Beamish). Though they banter like they’re ticked at each other, the sparks are obviously there.

Because of Anthony’s meddling and the arrival of the mysterious Marina Thompson (Ruby Barker) at the Featherington estate, Daphne’s suitors dwindle to a precious few, which is duly noted in Lady Whistledown’s newsletter. Lady Bridgerton and Lady Danbury scheme to put Daphne and Simon together, but a family dinner where Simon is the guest of honor doesn’t end well. Also, Anthony, an old college buddy of Simon’s, knows him too well to think that he’s suitable for his sister. The only suitor that’s still around is the sniveling Lord Berbrooke.

At the next big social event, Anthony gives his approval to Berbrooke, but Daphne will have none of it. As she’s accosted by Berbrooke in a quiet garden away from the party, Simon comes upon her as she effectively defends herself. Since he doesn’t want marriage but is being pressured, and she wants no part of being married to him, they make a deal.

What Shows Will It Remind You Of? Downton Abbey, but with faster talking and more sex. Maybe think of it as Grey’s Anatomy in early 19th Century London.

Our Take: It doesn’t take that close of a watch to realize that, while the setting for Bridgerton may be different than Shonda Rhimes’ previous efforts, the show itself fits quite well into the Shondaland oeuvre.

It’s got a large, diverse cast (despite the very White 19th century London society setting), lots of quippiness and fast-talking (albeit with “classy” posh accents), and an abundance of either sex or overt sexual tension. Fans of Jane Austen’s books and various adaptations may not like it, but Bridgerton makes the era a lot more accessible to people who are more interested in relationships and character development than costume and set design (with which this show also excels).

Aside from the gross-in-retrospect aspect of putting young women in a “marriage market,” is Bridgerton saying anything about the human condition in the 1810s, or even now? It doesn’t seem like it is. There isn’t any “ripped from the headlines” kind of story that could be shoehorned into this setting, even as a metaphor. What Van Dusen is concentrating on is the fact that Daphne resists having her brother or anyone else choose her future for her, and that she and Simon will continue to give off sparks even as they pretend they have no desire for a real relationship with each other.

Really, that’s all we want right now. No deep messages, just an escape. And Bridgerton is absolutely an escape. There are other stories floating in the air in episode 1 — Marina’s pregnancy, a developing “thing” between Penelope and Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton) — and we hope they get some time to grow. What we also hope is that we find out more about the massive Bridgerton family, and some more about the Featherington sisters, before the first season is out.

Sex and Skin: It turns out that Anthony is a bit of a playboy, and we see him having an affair with a commoner, singer Siena Rosso (Sabrina Bartlett). They have a quickie at the beginning of the episode and we see the two of them naked (with the naughty parts covered) in another, post-coital scene.

Parting Shot: As Daphne and Simon seductively dance at the ball, Lady Whistledown’s voice says, “How the young miss secured her newfound suitor is yet to be determined.”

Sleeper Star: This is a tie between Nicola Coughlan as Penelope — you may know her from Derry Girls — and Claudia Jessie as second-oldest Bridgerton daughter Eloise. We like how both are relatively secure with themselves, especially Penelope, who is at a disadvantage in the marriage market because she’s not tall and thin.

Most Pilot-y Line: When Anthony tells Siena that he can’t see her anymore, she says, “What shall I do now?” “You shall leave,” he replies. Wow, that’s cold.

Our Call: STREAM IT. Bridgerton is a costume drama that even people who hate costume dramas can watch, due to its frothy dialogue and simmering sexual tension. Is it deep? Nope. But not every show needs to be deep to be entertaining.

Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, RollingStone.com, VanityFair.com, Fast Company and elsewhere.

Stream Bridgerton On Netflix