Bridgerton season 2
The second season of the American historical romance series Bridgerton premiered on March 25, 2022 consisting of eight episodes. It is based on the second volume of the Bridgerton novel series The Viscount Who Loved Me, focusing on the eldest Bridgerton sibling Anthony, played by Jonathan Bailey. The season received positive reviews from critics with particular praise for the performance of Bailey and chemistry of the lead characters.
Premise
During London's impending social season, Anthony Bridgerton believes it's time to carry out his responsibility as Viscount and find a wife for himself. He has set his eyes on the beautiful Edwina Sharma, a recent arrival to the city and seemingly the diamond of the season. His attempts to pursue Edwina are frustratingly thwarted by her stunning and independent older sister Kate.Cast and characters
- Jonathan Bailey as Lord Anthony Bridgerton, 9th Viscount Bridgerton, the eldest Bridgerton sibling and head of the family.
- Simone Ashley as Kathani "Kate" Sharma
- Charithra Chandran as Edwina Sharma, Kate's younger half-sister
Episodes
Production
Development
Before the first season aired, the show was already in pre-production for a second season which was officially announced in January 2021. It is focused on Anthony and based on the book The Viscount Who Loved Me. On April 13, 2021, creator Van Dusen revealed on Twitter that the series had additionally been renewed for a third and fourth season.Casting
On January 21, 2021, it was announced that Jonathan Bailey would be reprising his role as Anthony and would be the center of the show's sophomore season. The following month, Simone Ashley had been cast as Kate. On April 5, 2021, Charithra Chandran joined the cast as Edwina; Rupert Young joined to play a new character; Shelley Conn was cast as Kate's stepmother and Edwina's mother, Mary; and Calam Lynch was cast as Theo Sharpe. On May 28, 2021, Rupert Evans joined the cast as Edmund Bridgerton, the late patriarch of the Bridgerton family.Filming
Production on the second season began in March 2021. In May 2021, it was reported that the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead refused permission to build a film set for the second season in Sunninghill Park near Windsor, despite royal approval. On July 15, 2021, production on the second season was paused for 24 hours when a crew member tested positive for COVID-19, but resumed the following day. However, on July 17, production was halted indefinitely following a second positive test. Production resumed in August 2021. Production for the second season wrapped on November 20, 2021.New filming locations for season 2 included Wrotham Park ; West Wycombe Park ; Wrest Park, Ivinghoe Beacon, and Ashridge ; the Royal County of Berkshire Polo Club ; Old Royal Naval College; Windsor Great Park ; Goldsmiths' Hall ; and Wilton's Music Hall. The real St James's Church is in the series. The art display at Petworth House was used for the museum scene, with Royal Artillery Barracks used as the exterior. The finale ball was filmed at Basildon Park.
Music
For the season, covers included Nirvana's "Stay Away" and Robyn's "Dancing On My Own" by Vitamin String Quartet, Madonna's "Material Girl," "Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham" from the soundtrack of the film of the same name and Calvin Harris' "How Deep Is Your Love" by Bowers. Also included are Alanis Morissette's "You Oughta Know" and Pink's "What About Us" by Duomo, Harry Styles' "Sign of the Times" by Steve Horner, Rihanna's "Diamonds" by Hannah V and Joe Rodwell and Miley Cyrus' "Wrecking Ball" by Midnight String Quartet. To promote the show, Morisette appeared in a video performing "You Oughta Know" with Duomo. When discussing the music of season two, music supervisor Justin Kramps explained that "even for these songs that are just huge songs that everyone knows, still breathes new life and brings them to a new audience, and in a different way. Pop is where we start, because it fits the style of the show, and it's often using these super-recognizable songs that just add a lot of joy, which is what pop does in general."Reception
Critical response
The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported an approval rating of 78% based on 95 reviews, with an average rating of 7.1/10. The website's critics consensus states, "The risqué thrill may have faded, but Bridgerton remains a compulsive episode-turner in this delightful sophomore season." Metacritic gave the series a weighted average score of 70 out of 100 based on 32 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".Kristen Baldwin of Entertainment Weekly gave the series an A− writing, "With a second season that's more clever, moving, and emotionally complex than the first, this period drama... proves that it's not just a titillating trifle." The Hollywood Reporter Angie Hahn echoed the sentiment describing the season as "older and wiser" than its predecessor's "rampant horniness" with an effective central romance that prioritized "a meeting of minds, played out over quick-witted arguments outside ballrooms and vicious competition during a friendly family game of pall-mall." Peter Travers of ABC praised the season writing, "Kudos to season two for digging deeper into the emotional lives of its characters and continuing the colorblind casting that creates a utopia in which diversity is so ingrained it's hardly worth a mention."
Alison Herman of The Ringer commented that Season 1 is "sexy without quite being erotic" while "Season 2 is the reverse. There's not a lot of sex, but in the crackling chemistry and relentless self-denial that defines Anthony and Kate's dynamic, there's plenty of eroticism." Emma Clarke of The Independent argued that, "it is precisely the lack of physicality that makes this season so... well, sexy." Scott Bryan of the BBC wrote that the season serves as antidote to the "always static, laboured and slow" period dramas, adding that it comes with "real energy, it feels so modern and even though it feels extravagant, it doesn't feel too highbrow. It is refreshingly accessible."
Kevin Fallon of The Daily Beast elaborating on Bailey's "exquisite lead performance," wrote that "he has an exceptional ability to carry his angst, pain, and guilt with him without bogging down things into a somber drag." The Telegraph Anita Singh wrote that Bailey "brings more soul to the role of Lord Bridgerton than Page ever did with the Duke," with Randy Myers of Mercury News adding that Bailey "has a gift at comedic timing." Proma Khosla of Mashable concluded that with "Bailey and Ashley, Bridgerton Season 2 strikes gold" as they deliver "heaping, smoldering helpings of sexual tension" for "their chemistry is nothing short of explosive."
Audience viewership
The series premiered on March 25, 2022, and debuted number one in 92 countries on the platform. It was also the most viewed show on United States television screens for three weeks per Nielsen Media Research. Season 2 amassed 193 million viewing hours in its opening weekend, the highest opening for any English-language Netflix series at the time. It also broke the record for most viewed English-language series in a single week at that time, with 251.74 million viewing hours from March 28 to April 3. The first season also re-entered Netflix's top ten in second place. By April 19, Bridgertons second season had overtaken its predecessor as the most watched English-language television series on Netflix at the time with 627.11 million hours viewed since its March 25, 2022, launch. This viewing numbers went up to 656.16 million by the 28-day mark.Nielsen Media Research, analyzing the 2.55 billion minutes viewed on United States television screens in the first three days of season 2's availability, characterized Bridgerton audience as "diverse and broad". The firm found one third of viewers to be Hispanic or African American and an even split in popularity across the 18–34, 35–49, and 50–64 age groups at 25% each. The only exception was gender parity, with 76% of the audience reported to be female. It added 3.2 billion minutes viewed in its second week on top of the chart. It topped the chart for a third week with 1.6 billion minutes viewed.
Cultural impact
An official "Queen's Ball" was held in Washington DC, Chicago, Montréal, and Los Angeles, with similar events and experiences taking place in London and Johannesburg. Bloomingdale's put together a Bridgerton-themed pop-up collection and tea bar, displaying real costumes from the series in the U.S. for the first time in its 59th Street windows.After the season featured the main characters playing pall-mall, a lawn game considered to be the precursor to croquet, retailer John Lewis reported a 90% rise in sales for croquet sets. There was also a notable increase in internet searches and purchases of tiaras and corsets after season two's premiere.
Stately homes around England saw an uptick in interest and visitors. Regarding Ranger's House, Chris Small of English Heritage said, "Since the launch of Bridgerton in 2020 we have seen many people who were previously unaware of the site inspired to visit." Walking tours of the filming locations of the series have also been created, including an official one by Netflix. Castle Howard opened an exhibition titled Castle Howard on Screen: From Brideshead to Bridgerton in May 2022.
The 33rd season finale episode of The Simpsons on May 22, 2022, featured Marge and her friends watching a period drama called "Tunnelton" with a Lady Whistledown-sounding narrator, and a character emerging drenched from a lake, like Anthony in the fifth episode of the second season. The creators behind Rogue, the sixth episode of the 2024 season of Doctor Who, took great inspiration from Bridgerton as the episode revolves around intrigue and romance at an English country party in 1813, with the show being directly referenced by main character Ruby Sunday.