The Bridgerton Chronicle: 5 things to know about the new Netflix series<

SeriesPrincess dresses, love stories, poorly kept secrets and romantic English gardens… Focus on “The Chronicle of the Bridgertons”, the new series signed by the most prolific producer on the small screen.

By Floriane Reynaud

Netflix knows neither the crisis nor the holidays. On November 2, the streaming platform announced the release of The Bridgerton Chronicle, a new series that is already creating buzz on the web. The event series has been available since December 25, just to end 2020 in style. Vogue deciphers everything we already know about the most anticipated series of the winter.

A series produced by Shondaland

If the web is already so excited about this new series (the trailer has been viewed more than 580,000 times on Youtube and just as much on Twitter), it is because it is one of the new projects of the popess of television. The American production company Shondaland is directed by the eminent Shonda Rhimes, behind colossal successes like Grey's Anatomy, Scandal and How to get away with murder. For her first collaboration with Netflix, the producer goes to the historical series while keeping her signature: romance, female characters put in the foreground and mystery. The Bridgerton Chronicle was filmed in the city of Bath, birthplace of Jane Austen's novels, and is one of eight projects Shonda Rhimes is currently working on.

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Between “Gossip Girl” and “Downton Abbey”

The atmosphere of English castles, the rustle of petticoats and the whispering of secrets… The Chronicle of the Bridgertons takes the viewer into the world of Gossip Girl, without mobile phones. The protagonists are wealthy, attractive and their love stories become entangled and create disorder at court. The mysterious Lady Whistledown - whose identity we do not know - feeds her chronicle with these secrets, upsetting this tightly closed microcosm. This time, we leave the beginning of the XXth century of Downton Abbey to land in the London of the Regency, an era which extends between 1795 and 1837. A period of excess for the British aristocracy, we already expect to a parade of sublime outfits and majestic balls.

A series inspired by novels

Published between 2000 and 2016, the Bridgerton book series was written by American author Julia Quinn and already has eight novels. The story is set between 1813 and 1827 and tells the stories of Viscount Bridgerton's eight children: Anthony, Benedict, Colin, Daphne, Eloise, Francesca, Gregory and Hyacinth. In this first season, we follow Daphne Bridgerton, played by Phoebe Dynevor, the eldest daughter in search of a good match. When her brother rejects his suitors, the London high society tabloid newspaper, run by the mysterious Lady Whistledown, spreads slander on the young woman. Daphne must then juggle between her public image and her attraction to the seductive Duke of Hastings.

An inclusive cast

In order to make cinema more egalitarian, today's productions are taking a 360 degree turn in terms of the themes addressed and the choice of actors. After having favored white actors for a long time, casting directors are now looking at profiles of all origins, no longer fearing anachronism if it does not change the background of the story. If the role of Daphne Bridgerton was entrusted to a white actress, other characters are embodied by people of color. This is particularly the case of the Duke of Hastings, interpreted by Regé-Jean Page, originally from Zimbabwe, or Golda Rosheuvel in the role of Queen Charlotte. Hollywood with Laura Harrier, The Personal History of David Copperfield with Dev Patel, Mary Queen of Scots with Gemma Chan... Bridgerton is a production that is part of the wave of so-called "color-blind" films and series, where skin color is no longer taken into account in the choice of interpreters.

Who is Lady Whistledown?

If it is still impossible to know who is hiding behind the spicy chronicle that is shaking the British aristocracy, we can already tell you who will be the voice. Like Kristen Bell in Gossip Girl and Brenda Strong, Mary Alice in Desperate Housewives, certain characters responsible for narrating the events mark us forever. For Bridgerton, Shonda Rhimes appeals to a monument of cinema. After being Mary Poppins and Maria in The Sound of Music, Julie Andrews is Lady Whistledown, London's most outrageous columnist.

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