Is the Netflix series, Bridgerton, worth all the hype?

After Netflix’s announcement that it will be releasing season two of its Regency-era drama series, Bridgerton, on January 21, 2021, the series began trending online. Netflix announced that the series, which premiered on Christmas day the previous year, would be renewed for a second season, which resulted in the series becoming a hot topic online. According to an article by Harper’s Bazaar the drama has been “viewed by 82 million households, far exceeding the 63 million that Netflix predicted.”

Bridgerton is set in the Regency-era, which refers to the period in Great Brittain from 1811 to 1820 when King George III due to illness relinquished his reign to his son George IV, a period which Telegram described as “an exotic time in UK history which arguably lasted until Victoria took the throne in 1837.” The show which is produced by Shonda Rhymes has now created Netflix history as it is currently the streaming network’s most watched series of all time. The trending drama has become popular in countries like India, Japan, Brazil and even Jamaica.

Danielle Fyne.

Bridgerton fan Kasia Johnson (LEFT) and Joshua Swaby check out the trailer for the popular Netflix series, Bridgerton, at home in St. Andrew, Jamaica, on February 20, 2021.

Thirty-year-old Jamaican accountant, Laurie-Ann Watson expressed that she had been hearing about Bridgerton at her workplace.“ At work, the whole office was talking about it,” expressed Watson. After watching season one of the series, Ms.Watson concluded that the TV show was actually a very pleasant watch and elaborated that “ I was not disappointed when I watched it, it’s kinda like ‘Gossip Girl’ but in high society.”

Another viewer of the Bridgerton series, Kasia Johnson, a Child and Adolescent Development major at the University of Technology Jamaica (UTech) commended the series for having a good storyline and mentioned that her only fault throughout the entire series was there being “too many unnecessary sex scenes.” Ms.Johnson further commented, “I think it is worth the hype in some aspects, pretty interesting storyline coming from one of my favourite books, so I enjoyed it. I think it was a pretty good screen adaptation.”

Aniva Willson a final year nursing student from UTech, also had her own opinion of the series. Wilson expressed her pleasure with how diverse and impartial the casting was. She excitedly mentioned that she liked that, “the Queen was black!” something that would be quite out of the ordinary for a period drama. She also mentioned that “if you like romance films, like ‘The Note Book’ you will definitely love it.”

The official trailer for the Bridgerton TV series by Netflix.

The series is set in 1813 during London’s Regency era and follows the lives of the five Bridgerton siblings as they navigate life among the ‘ton’ in high society. While the show’s depiction of what life was like back in the Regency era is not quite accurate, the writer’s willingness to go outside of the box really is one of the aspects of the show that many viewers like most. Kasia Johnson commented that “it’s historical fiction so I’m not expecting everything to be accurate and to the T, Ariana Grande Grande wasn’t born yet and they were playing ‘Thank You, Next’ on the string quartet lol.” Bridgerton’s first season has done exceptionally well, especially for a show with a premodern theme. The show has gone above and beyond the expectation of many of its viewers and even creators. Despite Netflix not yet announcing the exact date for Bridgerton’s season two release, the suspense only serves to keep fans interested as they await the return of the extraordinary drama series.