Knowing
Sara Klooster, Christina Bieber Lake, and Sarah Thomas discuss season one of Shonda Rhimes’s hit Netflix Regency romance Bridgerton in anticipation of season two’s debut in 2022.
CONTENT WARNING: This TV show contains a significant amount of mature content–the show deals frankly with the good, the bad, and the ugly of courting and marriage: socially, psychologically, and sexually. We will be discussing some of these issues in this episode, so please keep this in mind as you’re choosing when/where to listen. This episode is probably not one that is safe for work environments or young listeners.
First encounters with Regency narratives
- Books? TV miniseries? Full-length feature film adaptations?
- What were our initial impressions of the genre?
Brief background of the Bridgerton TV show and its adaptation from its source material
Reading
The show does a Regency narrative that opens up the genre in ways that appeal to a 21st century audience while also drawing on historical precedent
How does the series navigate some of the standard tropes of the Regency romance/narrative genre, particularly regarding courtship and marriage?
- The Daphne/Hastings marriage and its rocky start
- Suitable/unsuitable marriage prospects
- Old money/new money
How does the series open up/diversify the genre?
- The Duke of Hastings narrative
- The presence of aristocratic POC families
- The casting of Queen Charlotte
- The unplanned pregnancy storyline
How do the production considerations–costumes, sets, etc.–support these efforts?
Passing On
Christina – the writings of Aphra Behn
Sara K. – Regency Love Mobile Game, and The Nobody by Diane Farr
Sarah – “On Sex and Marriage, Bridgerton Stumbles into Catholic Truth”
“Netflix’s Bridgerton is a Feminist Disaster. But It (Almost) Redeems Itself.”
Additional articles mentioned:
Bridgerton‘s Queen Charlotte Was a Real Royal
7,500 Costumes and 5 Months of Prep: What It Took to Create Bridgerton‘s Costumes