Netflix's Bridgerton has all the right ingredients

Ever since it was first announced with stills and the eventual trailer released, Bridgerton seemingly had all the right ingredients. Set to be Netflix’s last big budget production series (at least it certainly looks like it) for the year, a lot is riding on this one. With the right amount of marketing and promotion, like with all their previous big headliners, Netflix have continued to do likewise in this case, with massive street billboards seen in addition to the usual online and social media activity.

Bring that all together and you realise indeed that a lot of effort has been put into the series, it’s one that Netflix hope to wrap up what has been an eventful year on a slightly good note. So far, the results have been favorable with the series being met with anticipation, thanks to all the previews as well as its stylistic nature which make for a great look and feel. Have a look at the trailer (if you haven’t already) and you’ll understand why:

That’s only the first part of it though, the other level adding to the excitement is the fact that the series is overseen by Shonda Rhimes (who really needs no introduction) and Bridgerton is actually the first series to come out of her Shondaland production company and the first collaboration with Netflix. We also shouldn’t fail to mention that it is created by Rhimes’ longtime collaborator, Chris Van Dusen who’s also responsible for smash TV series, namely Scandal (popularly known as The Fixer on our shores), Grey’s Anatomy and Private Practice). With all that said your apatite is probably wetting by now isn’t it?

Thanks to Netflix we got the chance to see it way earlier back in mid November. It made for quite an enjoyable watch and like most other really good series, Bridgerton encouraged quite the binge fest, masterfully achieved in one weekend.

Chemistry is everything with this one and the choice of the two leads (Phoebe Dynevor and Regé-Jean Page) plays a pivotal part with both playing their roles brilliantly. This made it hard to take our eyes off of them with other scenes (without both) not quite reaching the same type of heights. It should be said though that the other scenes do make for an adequate watch despite. The storyline for Bridgerton follows the two aforementioned leads, Daphne Bridgerton (Phoebe Dynevor), the eldest daughter of the powerful Bridgerton family as she makes her debut onto Regency London’s competitive marriage market. Hoping to follow in her parent’s footsteps and find a match sparked by true love, Daphne’s prospects initially seem to be unrivaled.

But as her older brother begins to rule out her potential suitors, the high society scandal sheet written by the mysterious Lady Whistledown casts aspersions on Daphne. Enter the highly desirable and rebellious Duke of Hastings (Regé-Jean Page), committed bachelor and the catch of the season for the debutantes’ mamas. Despite proclaiming that they want nothing the other has to offer, their attraction is undeniable and sparks fly as they find themselves engaged in an increasing battle of wits while navigating society’s expectations for their future.

As described in our preview, the series is indeed a romantic, scandalous, and quick-witted series that is a breath of fresh air. The pacing of it was decent, though we do feel some aspects could have been cut out. Generally we do feel like that with most other series with the 13, 10 and, in this instance, an 8 episode duration seeming a bit unnecessary. It could have easily been a 5 episode series, but that’s just our personal feeling.

The initial trailers also made it seem like it was a spin off another classic series, Gossip Girl but with a slight twist and an old school feel to it… at least that’s how it seemed to us initially. That was neither good or bad thing as we can (unashamedly) admit to being big Gossip Girl fans so if Bridgerton borrowed a couple of aspects from that then we wouldn’t be adverse to it. Having now seen it, we can admit that it’s not a ‘Gossip Girl wanna be’ though it does have shades of it in some parts.

Without giving too much away, we’ll wrap this one up here. The only question that now remains is whether to skip or stream it when it officially lands this Friday. In case you weren’t paying attention, we absolutely loved it and it’s a no brainer that you should indeed stream it. If you don’t have any major plans on Christmas Day (which for some is the case) then this is worth staying indoors for and having a binge fest. Bridgerton is a breath of fresh air and the great thing is there is a season 2 in the works with filming confirmed to take place early next year – we’re more than here for that.

Catch season 1 of Bridgerton on Netflix on Christmas Day, 25th December. Happy holiday watching!

Thank you to the Netflix crew for the sweet preview.

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#Bridgerton #Netflix #Phoebe Dynevor #Regé‑Jean Page #Shonda Rhimes

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Thabiso Moloi

With many, many years of PR, digital & influencer marketing work under his belt, Thabiso has worked on a great number of technology, business and consumer brands. In addition, he has become obsessed with most things under the sun including music, series, sports, movies etc which he now regularly writes about. You can find him on Twitter: @Thabz_14