DAPHNE SIMON BRIDGERTON SERIES

I wanted to make the period piece that I always wanted to see and one I hadn't seen before. I wanted to put my own fresh spin on the genre. But as much as I love a good period piece, they’re considered a little traditional and conservative. Specifically, there's a 1995 BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, with a white-shirted Colin Firth coming out of the lake… I think that image is seared into my brain. When you took on this project, what appealed to you about breaking into that very specific genre, with its very specific conventions?ĬVD: I've always been a fan of the period genre.

Sorry 'Westworld,' 'Bridgerton' Has Better CoversĮSQ: Mainstream adaptations of popular historical romance novels are few and far between.

The Anatomy of a Period Drama Dance Scene.

Regé-Jean Page: A Leading Man For the Next Decade.

It's a little surreal, and I'm overwhelmed with the response, but the response has been so positive and so exciting. How does the enormity of that feel to you?Ĭhris Van Dusen: It feels amazing. Van Dusen spoke with Esquire about striking the right balance of historical accuracy, challenging conservative attitudes, and bringing the show’s steamy sex scenes to life.Įsquire: Bridgerton has been such a massive hit, ranking among the top five most-watched Netflix debuts. The finished product is exactly that: a lovingly adapted fantasy of romance and glamour, but also a keen dissection of genre tropes about gender, race, and class. As the creator and showrunner of Bridgerton, Van Dusen spent years developing the story from Julia Quinn’s beloved historical romance novels, seeking to create an adaptation that would read as both faithful and modern. Van Dusen is still reeling from the enormity of it all, but in the wake of the show’s outstanding launch, he’s had a lot of time to think about what went into the making of this stratospheric hit.

Even for Van Dusen, a Shondaland veteran accustomed to the enormous followings that have coalesced around shows like Scandal, Grey’s Anatomy, and Private Practice, Bridgerton’s hit debut was surreal.

DAPHNE SIMON BRIDGERTON SERIES

What he didn’t anticipate was how the series would skyrocket into the pantheon of Netflix’s top five debuts of all time, with 63 million households projected to stream it within less than a month of the series premiere. When Chris Van Dusen launched Bridgerton on Christmas Day, he hoped that this sexy, escapist period romance would find an eager audience.

Daphne simon bridgerton