Netflix premieres a new series on December 25 , The Bridgertons , a season series set in the London Regency season that may become the best gift you receive on Christmas Day. I am not going to tell you that you are facing the star series of 2020 of the streaming platform, but I can assure you that its viewing is light, that its plots are deeply entertaining and that, if you give it a chance – about everything beyond its first episode – chances are high that the series will catch you in its clutches and won’t let go until you’ve eaten all eight episodes that make up the first season like popcorn. I, at least, would not ask for more of the last week of the year: romances, family problems, twists, intrigues, the most ‘hot’ moments and an XXL mystery at its center . Salseo, in short. And all this in full Christmas parties and with more time than usual to meet these eight main brothers and other members of London’s high society of the time.
At this point in the year and with the premiere just around the corner, you’ve probably heard of The Bridgertons twice : First, because (1) it is the first fruit of the agreement for the production of various titles signed by Netflix and by Shondaland , the producer of the acclaimed American screenwriter Shonda Rhimes, which includes blockbuster series like Grey’s Anatomy , How to defend a murderer or Scandal . On the other hand, secondly, (2) The Bridgertons is based on a long-standing literary saga . By American author Julia Quinn, known as the “Bridgerton Series” is a collection of eight romantic novels that quickly acquired the status of ‘bestseller’ in the first decade of the 2000s, so we suppose that more than one and more than two had been rubbing their hands since long time.
Described by some as a mix between Gossip Girl and the works of Jane Austen, the comparative, unlike in other occasions in which titles are described in this way, the truth is that it has its point. Set in the Regency period, comparisons with the work of the famous British author are unavoidable given its co-existence with this moment in history and the reflection of the time that is represented by important titles of her work, such as Pride and Prejudice or Sense and Sensibility. . However, if you are wondering what the hell the youthful CW series paints in all this, you have to know that the reason has a first and last name: Lady Whistledown. In other words, the Gossip Queen of the time Of unknown identity and great mystery of the series, nobody knows who Lady Whistedown is, but she absolutely knows who all of them are. Knowing even the smallest dirty rag of London’s high society, the mysterious writer dedicates herself to printing leaflets with which she sets off the gossip of people who, while fearful of becoming the target of her darts, are also deeply hooked to your posts.
Thus, even with the Bridgerton family – the widowed mother and her eight sons and daughters – as the central nucleus of The Bridgertons , all of them have to share the limelight with this mysterious figure to whom, for more points, our always beloved Julie Andrews lends .
Chris Van Dusen signed by -guionista of Scandal – as ‘showrunner’, the Bridgertons trasnpira Shonda Rhimes on all four sides. A cast full of names with a cast of very very choral plots, a couple and their romance as a common thread but few, or nonexistent, doses of stupidity. As in Julia Quinn’s first novel, the series’ first season focuses on the fledgling love story between the Bridgerton family’s eldest daughter, Daphne ( Phoebe Dynevor ) and Simon Basset ( Rege Jean Page), Duke of Hastings after the death of his father. As she just debuted in the social season and seeks to find a husband, he seems determined to blow up any event or circumstance that allows him to get carried away by his emotions. On a journey full of twists and turns and with individual interests above all else, the couple reach an agreement that seems perfect, but that true love quickly turns upside down.
Daphne and Simon’s story is spiced up not by one, not two, but by a whole collection of different plots and characters that quickly enter the viewer’s radar , earn their interest, and even become their favorites. Just in the same way that we were interested in accompanying Cristina Yang ( Sandra Oh ) or Callie and Arizona as much or more than the always protagonists Meredith and Derek in Grey’s Anatomy. And, be careful , because there is also good shipping.
We must also recognize The Bridgertons that those stories that are multiplied by as many characters as they are part of the cast are far from being treated with superficiality. On the contrary, their problems, very marked by the time – see the role of women, mainly – are often deeply disheartening and complex and, as such, manage to bring them even closer to the viewer.
