Bridgerton: Trailer, certificate and where to watch
Racy Regency romp that reinvented the period drama genre
Year: 2020
Certificate: 15
Based on the books by Julia Quinn, Bridgerton opens during the swirl of the London social season in 1813, going from ball to ball as the capital's eligible young men and women circle each other in a high-stakes game of matchmaking. At the centre of this are Daphne Bridgerton and the Duke of Hastings (Phoebe Dynevor and Rege-Jean Page), and watching over it all is unseen gossip queen Lady Whistledown (voiced by the great Julie Andrews), whose biting narration accompanies every romantic twist.
It's worth watching if you like the spectacle of the dresses and balls of period dramas, but aren't overly beholden to the genre's traditions, because this raunchy show is determined to push them - and push them it certainly does during the explicit sex scenes, which were a shock to audiences whose raciest experience in the genre up to that point had been the sight of Colin Firth in a damp shirt.
It's produced by US TV powerhouse Shonda Rhimes (Scandal), and can feel more like Gossip Girl than Pride And Prejudice. The first series reinvented the period drama genre in general, not just ramping up the sex but also the excessiveness of the clothes, the houses and the romance. No wonder it became Netflix's biggest hit ever, with 82 million households tuning in the first few weeks alone.
Series four is coming on 29 January and 26 February. (Three series)
