Content Warning: This article contains mentions of racial stereotypes, misogyny, and spoilers for the current season of the Netflix series, Bridgerton. Reader discretion is advised.
It is often said that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Or if you’re watching TV, beauty is in the eye of the showrunners and casting directors. Growing up watching sitcoms, it was rare for me to see different types of women cast as the main love interest with shows like Sex and the City, Boy Meets World, Friends, and Gilmore Girls. Even kids’ shows like iCarly, Lizzie McGuire, or Victorious typically tended to feature white-presenting, slender, and conventionally attractive actresses as their main protagonists.
And for plus-sized women and women of color, there were slim pickings. Black and Brown characters were often characterized as sassy, abrasive, and very one-note in terms of their own storylines outside of existing to boost the stories of their White counterparts. But in the eyes of producer and director Shonda Rhimes, there is an innate ability to find beauty in every body, and there is no better example of this than in the Netflix romantic drama series, Bridgerton, based on Julia Quinn’s book series.
The series, produced by Shondaland Entertainment, premiered the first half of its fourth season on Jan. 29 after a two-year wait following season three. The show’s writing was highly regarded upon season one’s release, exacerbated by Rhime’s decision to reimagine the regency era story with people of color, with the most notable being Duke Simon Bassett, played by Zimbabwean-English actor Rege-Jean Page, and Queen Charlotte, played by Golda Rosheuvel. An outpouring of love came from fans around the world, regarding how important the inclusion of Black and Brown people in a regency era story is, and how important it is to show elegance among races that are not typically portrayed in such fashion.
The show came to be in a meet-cute fashion for creator Shonda Rhimes. Rhimes reportedly found an abandoned copy of book one, The Duke and I, whilst sick in her hotel room. Whilst presenting at the Edinburgh fellowship event, she recounted: “I don’t even like romance novels… but I read it, and despite being ill, I dragged myself out of bed and down to the nearest book shop to buy them all.” The novels spoke to Rhimes in a way she hadn’t expected, saying: “I didn’t see it as a romance; it was more of a workplace drama. The women don’t have power in other areas of their lives, so the power is in how they marry.”
But the aspect that changed the game for Rhimes was the story’s relatability. “I could see myself in them. If a Black woman in the 21st century can see herself in Regency England, it’s a good story.” The impact of the series premiere was also felt on a social scale, as it came out shortly following the fallout of the royal family’s rift with Prince Harry and his biracial American wife, Meghan Markle, and the racist backlash they received from late 2018 through March 2020, months before the first season was released. For me, getting to see a woman who looks like me in the light of royalty at 17, even in a fictionalized story, brought back a sense of cathartic pride I hadn’t felt since I watched The Princess and The Frog for the first time at 5.
The Bridgerton universe casting continued to break new ground for representing women onscreen in season 2 with the addition of Indian-English actress Simone Ashley to play Kathani “Kate” Sharma (originally Kate Sheffield), the love interest of eldest brother Anthony Bridgerton, played by Jonathan Bailey, and the spin-off Queen Charlotte, which stars India Amartifio as young Queen Charlotte, opposite Rosheveul’s Charlotte.
Season 3 highlighted the harrowing friends-to-lovers arc between Penelope Featherington (the illustrious Nicola Coughlan), who is written and depicted as a plus-sized woman, and third-born Colin Bridgerton. Both seasons catapulted the leading ladies into their well-deserved spotlight and brought forth conversations about what women in romantic genres could look like.
In a 2022 interview with Awards Daily, Simone spoke on her bond with Charithra Chandran (who plays Edwina Sharma) and getting to depict their Tamilian heritage onscreen: “It was one thing having the female romantic lead be a dark-skinned Indian woman in a series, but to have a sister to play with, also from the same parentage, was a first for me…to see someone have the same skin tone as me, from the same region as me was incredibly special and very rare for me.” , Simone spoke on her bond with Charithra Chandran (who plays Edwina Sharma) and getting to depict their Tamilian heritage onscreen: “It was one thing having the female romantic lead be a dark-skinned Indian woman in a series, but to have a sister to play with, also from the same parentage, was a first for me…to see someone have the same skin tone as me, from the same region as me was incredibly special and very rare for me.”
The fourth season, centered around the second-born Bridgerton, Benedict, and his unexpected love story with Sophie Baek (originally named Sophie Beckett) in Quinn’s third novel from the series, An Offer From A Gentleman. Baek’s surname and heritage were decided to align with those of Korean-Australian actress Yerin Ha. As the plot of the third book follows a Cinderella story, the casting of Sophie’s stepsisters and stepmother, Lady Penwood, also matched with Michelle Mao, Isabella Wei, and seasoned actress Alice Leung playing the Li sisters and Lady Penwood. The first half of the season provided us with the soft-spoken, slow burn of Sophie and Benedict’s relationship, all complicated by the infamous Benedict Bridgerton request: “Be my mistress.” But the highlight has been seeing Sophie’s determination, strength, and kindness layered into her lines, qualities only an actress like Ha can bring to life. like Ha can bring to life.
While I did worry about the possibility of writers fetishizing or demonizing Asian women with their portrayal in this season, I’m happy to say that they’ve managed to steer clear of this for the first half of the season, in my opinion. For those who have never embarked, let this be your sign to join the ton. The second half of Bridgerton season four is now streaming on Netflix, and I invite all of my gentle readers to dig in and dish!