Genre: Romance, historical, drama
In 2020, Shonda Rhimes took the world by storm with the release of the first season of the Bridgerton series, which is set against the backdrop of the Regency era.
The show has now spawned a spin-off, Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story, which has all the opulence, romance, and drama that has made the original a global phenomenon.
Debuted earlier this month, Queen Charlotte’s storyline flits back and forth between the past and the present, focusing on the arranged marriage of Queen Charlotte and King George and then moving forward decades later to the death of the royal heir.
The first episode introduces us to a young Queen Charlotte as she marries King George, a man she meets only a few moments before the ceremony.
As leads, India Amarteifio and Corey MyIchreest are a testament to the production teams’ keen eye for casting.
Not only do the younger leads physically resemble their older counterparts but the chemistry between Amarteifo and Mylchreest is palpable.
Their onscreen interaction is a beautiful and believable rendering of the highs and lows of romantic love.
This spin-off is more mature than the original two Bridgerton seasons and deals with more complex issues with greater sensitivity. The show delicately explores marriage, mental health, and grief and how they were handled in 18th-century England.
We also see a side story of the king and queen’s royal footmen grappling with their responsibilities towards the royals and the complexity of the relationship between subjects and monarchs.
Many details of the previous show are explored through the plot arcs of Lady Danbury and Violet Bridgerton.
While the series is based on real people, it states clearly that it is fiction inspired by fact.
Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story is available to watch on Netflix
