'Bridgerton' Creator Teases 'Fun Easter Eggs' in the Season 2 Music — See the Official Song List

PEOPLE can exclusively reveal songs by Rihanna, Alanis Morissette and Miley Cyrus will appear in Bridgerton's second season

By

Dory Jackson

Updated on March 25, 2022 07:00PM EDT

The music featured on Bridgerton is one of the many ingredients that add to the show's success.

Unlike other period dramas, the Netflix hit uses classical covers of contemporary songs. From Taylor Swift's "Wildest Dreams" to Ariana Grande's "Thank U, Next," some of the most recognizable modern tracks have gotten an orchestral makeover for Bridgerton.

"The music on the show was definitely something I found in post-production after the pilot had been shot and edited. And to be honest, there was a lot of trial and error in the beginning," series creator Chris Van Dusen tells PEOPLE exclusively of how the use of pop songs came to be.

"I had been working closely with my editor on the pilot, Jim Flynn, and that was a long process of us just trying different things. There's a cut of the Bridgerton pilot somewhere out there that has all strictly modern music in it from start to finish," he continues. "We started with a whole bunch of relatively lesser-known artists provided by our incredible music supervisor at the time, Alex Patsavas. But in viewing that version of the show and sitting with it just didn't feel right to me so we actually went with the complete opposite direction and we tried using strictly classical music in the show — music from the actual Regency period. I can tell you that there were a lot of people fighting for that version of the show, but to me, it just wasn't really hitting the way that I wanted the show to hit. And I think that was because everything on the show was being told through a really unique, modern lens."

Enter the move toward the use of present-day pop hits, ranging from Billie Eilish to Maroon 5.

"The show is a re-imagining. It's a twist on the period pieces we're all used to seeing," he adds. "So, I knew that same modern lens that I was examining everything else through had to go for the music as well."

Fans can expect to see the same musical treatment in Bridgerton's second season, which will feature orchestral versions of songs like Robyn's "Dancing On My Own," Rihanna's "Diamonds" and Alanis Morissette's "You Oughta Know."

Heading into season 2, Van Dusen says "it was a little bit of a different ballgame" as "artists themselves were actually reaching out to us, wanting covers of their songs to be played on the show."

"Very rarely do I know what song's going to be used in the final cut and there's a lot of trial and error that needs to happen. But there's one exception in season two and that's a Miley Cyrus song that I knew I had to use for a particular moment in the show that I won't spoil at this time," he continues.

"But I wrote one particular scene to the Midnight String Quartet cover of 'Wrecking Ball' because the emotion of that song hits me every time and I found it matched a certain dynamic between two characters so perfectly," he adds. "Usually, we end up replacing whatever song we use during shooting, but not that one. Our choreographer actually choreographed that exact version. Our onscreen musicians actually played to that version on the day. And the result is magical, it's such a memorable defining moment within the show."

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Oftentimes, the music even contains Easter eggs for fans.

"I definitely think the lyrics of the original song are important," says Van Dusen. "There's a cover of 'How Deep Is Your Love,' the Calvin Harris song, at a certain point in the season and the lyrics of that original song are pretty much what I had in my head when I was writing the scene that that song scores. It's playful, but it's pretty sultry too."

Adds Van Dusen, "Saying anything more than that, it would, of course, be a spoiler, so I won't go there. But absolutely, there are fun Easter eggs for fans to learn and find within the song selection this season."

Bridgerton returns to Netflix on March 25. In the meantime, scroll below to see an official list of songs that will appear in the upcoming season: