“Bridgerton” fans, get ready!
An exclusive first look of the second season of the Regency-era romantic drama debuted on Saturday during "Tudum," Netflix’s global fan event. The highly anticipated season, which began filming in the spring, is set to debut on the streaming service in 2022 and will follow the journey of the eldest Bridgerton brother, Lord Anthony Bridgerton.
In the short clip, a tense scene plays out between Anthony and a new character, Kate Sharma, who is portrayed by “Sex Education” star Simone Ashley.
Ahead of the debut of the clip, Ashley was joined by Nicola Coughlan (Penelope Featherington), Charithra Chandran (Edwina Sharma), and Jonathan Bailey (Anthony Bridgerton) to talk about the series’ immense global popularity and what viewers can expect from the upcoming season.
Bailey revealed — sans spoilers — the journey of his character throughout the season, explaining, “He gets to deal with a lot of things that I think he hasn't been given space to deal with.”
Season two will also feature a new family in town, the Sharmas. When asked how to describe them, Ashley said, "Sisterhood. We don't have a dad in our family. We've got Mary, played by Shelley (Conn)."
"They very much feel like outsiders, and the Bridgertons and the Featheringtons are like the core ton, and the Sharmas, they feel like, almost like if the audience who watched season one were kind of put in," Chandran added. "They don't really know what's happening, they have their ideas. So I feel like the Sharmas kind of represent the audience in a way."
Chandran also said getting cast as Edwina was very special for her. "I never really thought it would happen. My mom and I, we love Jane Austen novels and I never ever imagined that someone who looked like me would be in those outfits in a show like that. For it to happen, I just couldn't believe it."
When it comes to Kate and Anthony's storyline, Ashley said that fans can look forward to “a lot of arguing.”
“Volatility,” Bailey said, to which Ashley agreed and added, “They challenge each other.”
Bailey continued, “It’s very passionate.”
“It’s great seeing someone like Kate being able to stand up to Anthony and him not knowing how to deal with that,” Coughlan said.
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After it was announced in January that “Bridgerton” would get a second season, the show’s creator, Chris Van Dusen, shared more about the plans for the second season on TODAY with Hoda & Jenna.
“So, season two, we’re really going to be with the eldest Bridgerton brother next season, Lord Anthony Bridgerton, played by Jonathan Bailey,” he said. “We left him at the end of the first season at a bit of a crossroads, so I’m looking forward to jumping in and discovering how he fares on the marriage market.”
Van Dusen added, “I think it’s going to be as sweeping and moving and as beautiful as viewers of the first season have come to expect from the show.”
Though Regé-Jean Page will not return as the Duke of Hastings next season, Phoebe Dynevor, who portrays Daphne Bridgerton, said that his presence will still be felt throughout season two.
“I think he’ll definitely be referred to a lot. I think we’ll see the baby,” she told TheWrap. “And we’ll just focus more on her relationship with the Bridgerton family.”
CORRECTION (Sept. 27, 2021, 11:13 a.m.): An earlier version of this article misattributed quotes. They were from Charithra Chandran, not Simone Ashley.
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