We have had full faith in the series and its potential since before season one even aired and early renewal news as such is always proof of the fact that people want happy endings. The announcement came at the crack of dawn for those of us here on the West Coast and let me tell you—it was a fine thing to be rewarded with on an otherwise random Tuesday.
Bridgerton’s success is beautiful for a number of reasons and at the top of the list is because romance centered stories understand the importance of happiness. Romance is no longer a taboo and should have never been. Stop hiding the novels buried deep within your handbags. Stop shying away from admitting just how good they are because seldom do Netflix series get renewals as big as this. Seldom does a series in somewhat of a niche genre gain this much traction right away and it happened because it’s incredible. It happened because contrary to elitist Hollywood mentality, a story doesn’t have to be dark and ambiguous to be good. It can be happy, it can be full of complex characters exploring their traumas who are rewarded in the end by finding love and companionship.
And contrary to misogynistic perspective, romance novels aren’t just glorified sex scenes. They often follow riveting characters with complexities finding unity and vulnerability with others. They cater to both males and females creating a sense of equality within the relationship, and yes, even in regency. When they’re good, they’re great, and the Bridgerton book series are everything allowing all readers to have their own favorites. That’s what makes this series so special–the fact that readers all have favorites and they each matter.
After the sad news broke out that Regé-Jean Page would not be reprising his role as Duke of Hastings, Simon Basset a lot of uproar on the internet questioned the series’ anthology form and we’re here to say that while we’re going to miss Simon (especially in Pall Mall), there are some fantastic stories this series still has left to tell and the renewal promises that much.
And ultimately, let’s make something clear–Page is the reason Simon is so deeply adored because as we’ve not shied away from admitting, The Duke and I as a novel is one of our lowest in rank. Simon and Daphne are everything beautiful and special because of the life Page and Dynevor breathed into the established characters. We’ll miss Simon greatly, but Page’s future is bright and extraordinary, so we don’t doubt that we’ll be covering a lot of his future projects here as well.
Earlier this month we were finally given more casting on characters we adore from The Viscount Who Loved Me. And the Bridgerton news that keeps coming, keeps delivering in thrilling ways. You all know The Viscount Who Loved Me is a favorite for Lady Geeks Podcast hosts, but did you know that Romancing Mister Bridgerton is both their second? Yup, that’s right—we’ll be sitting here counting down the days to see Penelope Featherington and Colin Bridgerton fall in love.
We’ve also got immense love for the darling Sophie Beckett who fans have yet to met and for whom we don’t have casting quite yet, but she’s extraordinary and we’re eager to meet the Regency Cinderella. In the meantime, catch up with Benedict Bridgerton with our character deep dive.
This is why Bridgerton is successful because people want to see characters they care about find happiness and a love that’s not going to be a sacrificed for the plot. Bridgerton isn’t going anywhere, and neither should romance novel adaptations. Bring on everything. We need all of them.
You know what this also means, right? More scene breakdowns, more character deep dives, and yes, all the relationship deep dives, too.