According to Netflix, the debut of Bridgerton has been a resounding success. The new Shonda Rhimes series is expected to be viewed by more than 63 million homes in its first month on the streaming service, which would make it the fifth-largest Netflix original series launch of all time. The show has also reached the number one spot on Netflix’s top 10 rankings in 76 countries.

Netflix says that December 2020 and the week of December 25 to 31 have been their biggest on record for both the month and the holiday week as measured in total view hours and the average view hours per subscriber. Unlike traditional networks, however, the number of viewers Netflix reports is based on the number of subscribers who have watched at least two minutes of programming.

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Bridgerton, which holds a 92% critical approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, is the first series to be produced under Rhimes’ nine-figure Netflix deal. Inspired by Julia Quinn’s Bridgerton family novel series, the show follows Daphne Bridgerton (Phoebe Dynevor), the eldest daughter of the illustrious Bridgerton family, and Simon Basset (Regé-Jean Page) as they attempt to distract their marriage-minded London community without courting scandal.

Although Netflix hasn’t confirmed a second season, it has been reported that the show was expected to begin filming its next installment in Uxbridge, England in July of 2020. However, due to the coronavirus pandemic, production was reportedly delayed until March 2021.

In addition, showrunner Chris Van Dusen told Collider.com, "I think we've done some work in season 1 to set up other characters. We really dig into Anthony's love story. We're really exploring Benedict as well, and Collin, and Eloise's relationship. I think it's a deep well of story for us to explore."

If Bridgerton follows the book series’ sequence, the next tale told would be that of Daphne’s brother Anthony (Jonathan Bailey), who becomes Viscount Bridgerton when his dad dies from a bee sting. In the novel, bees play an important part of the story as Anthony's love interest, Kate Sheffield, is stung by one later on in the book.

Source: IndieWire

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