It is not a documentary or even focused on history. It is based on Julia Quinn's novels set in the competitive world of Regency era London's ton during the season, when debutantes are presented at court. “Bridgerton” is not Rhimes’s first dalliance with a multiracial cast in a British period drama. Bridgerton news update - two new characters have reportedly been cast in major roles for the second season of Netflix's hugely popular Regency-era drama. Jamaicans aren't the same as Nigerians who aren't the same as Somalis. Honestly, I'd be happier if they made Elizabeth I or Queen Victoria black, because at least then people would be clear it's a matter of artistic license. At that point, you are verging on 'we are all black because we evolved in Africa' territory. White people get so upset when you've had it your own way for hundreds of years. It's black washing history, this goes both ways, got my way? And that’s just the behind-the-scenes! So yea, my mom was watching this show and I caught a few glimpses on it, and I noticed that there are a lot of black people … Just to throw this in as well. I don't think OP is saying that? Renewed for Season 2! The expected cast of season 2 include: Jonathan Bailey It's a bit like making an apocalypse film where the Earth suddenly does into a new ice Age and saying 'we were inspired by the scientific debate around climate change' instead of 'we wanted to make a dumb disaster movie' - the meta is itself a problem. Lazy is stuff like characters not wearing gloves at balls in Jane Austen adaptations (examples like Pride and Prejudice or Emma.) It can be an alternate history just stop explaining it. I did not liked the Queen being black at first,but after watching the show It did not even mattered. A great example is the Cleopatra ethnicity. Simon was perfect as Hastings. This whole genra of historical fictions is called Alternative Universe(AU). Who were these Black families before Charlotte got involved? Bridgerton is pretty deliberate about a lot of what it is doing. In 1813, the Prince Regent had more sway, and anyways, his mother could barely speak English. Why are so many of the aristocratic characters in this show black? Exactly - popular culture moves the goal posts, so people end up believing things that they wouldn't have even considered otherwise. They seem to support the diversity, and just don't like the producers feeling like they need to find some genuine historical explanation for a black Queen Charlotte. Bridgerton has been praised as a racially diverse show set in the Regency era, because having Black people in a big budget production period show—or film—about England before the … Hamilton is awesome because it’s unashamedly race-blind and expects the audience to go with that. If they build out the cast to offer friends, love interests, extended family members, good suitors and bad ones, and continue to only cast happy Black people on the periphery, they will not have succeeded. Are they going to stop colonizing? I love the inclusivity and You just can't mess with Bridgerton's success. And it could do better. I counted one time and I think through one line she had 1 pair of great-great-grandparents, where normal people have 16. Most actors from season 1 will be reprising their roles in season 2. Anytime someone prefaces something with “I don’t mean for this to sound racist but....” something problematic is going to follow. Bridgerton tries to put a fresh perspective on historical romance, but it forgets to be interesting. Again, the casting choice in the show doesn't bother me, I just would have preferred they not purposefully enflame a ridiculous theory. 'Bridgerton': How accurate is Netflix's Shondaland drama and the depiction of Black people in 19th-century London? So there is no evidence that Madragana was Black. I mean, personally, I would have preferred colour-blind casting (maybe with the exception of families, to prevent people from getting confused), just in the sense of, 'we aren't going to try to explain this' - I wouldn't mind if they set out with a diverse cast in mind. Absolutely. Note: This Bridgerton article contains no book or series plot spoilers. Discussion of the show Bridgerton on Netflix. I only know because I'm Indian and I was excited to see it because it never happens. There’s only about four POCs characters with speaking lines. Premiered Dec 25, 2020. We challenged the cast of Bridgerton to play a jolly good game of ‘Guess the Regency Slang’ with us in this interview. 12 votes, 26 comments. I’m adoring it all without their ‘explanation’. I love seeing a diverse cast, but ultimately Bridgerton isn’t as diverse as it thinks it is. This story has important details about the "Bridgerton" books that may also spoil the Netflix series. Premiered Dec 25 Dukes aren't young and handsome and these ladies lived around animals....they saw breeding. The presence of black characters who are not slaves or servants bothers you? We can only watch and Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. ‍♂️‍♂️‍♂️. Press J to jump to the feed. Some may wonder whether 'Bridgerton' is accurate in its depiction of Black people in London, let alone It doesn’t pretend to be an accurate depiction of the past. Most people watching this show probably didn't even read the producers' explanation. Also, were they from anywhere in particular? Cast Indian actors and East Asian actors and Latinx actors. When in actuality - she was Macedonian and Greek. So what if black actors play fictional aristocrats? Ok.. i can't wait for Black Panter to cast a white actor. lol I never said anything you're implying, black people are just not part of the English aristocracy that's all. Furthermore, any opportunity to show BIPOC in positions of authority or power is more important to me than whether or not the loose inspiration for a storyline is valid. Declare this as an Alt-History (alternative universe history) and be done wth it. Bridgerton has set an unprecedented tone that TV casting should be colourblind (to a certain extent), and will no doubt inspire future productions to adopt the same approach. Each book in this eight book historical romance series features a member of the Bridgerton family. My problem is that the producers and actors are presenting this as historically plausible when it just isn't, and in the process furthering bizarre Afrocentrist historical crackpot theories that the entirety of European nobility until relatively recently was Black. Madragana, herself, probably wasn't of Sub-Saharan African descent. It is (very) loosely based on our history but it is from a different universe where such characters could have existed. If it was a show like The Crown then I’d see the criticism but it’s not. You don't need to explain everything. We exist, get over it. I always liked that about her and it was one of the few traits that made her somewhat unique compared to other wallflower tropes. Does he just really like tea and country gardens? This is a fake series that’s being attacked by racists for its diverse cast and now the show runners have to “explain” their casting decisions. She would never have been the social matriarch the show makes her out to be. We use cookies on our websites for a number of purposes, including analytics and performance, functionality and advertising. I love seeing a diverse cast, but ultimately Bridgerton isn’t as diverse as it thinks it is. Other cast members include Golda Rosheuvel as Queen Charlotte and Adjoa Andoh as the Dowager Lady Danbury, with Jonathan Bailey, Luke Newton and … Bridgerton is pretty deliberate about a lot of what it is doing. Gal Gadot is being accused of whitewashing because we accepted theories that Cleo may have been black. Because it's fiction. Not every wide eyed debutante gets a Duke. Bridgerton is more than just a show – it’s the whole world for its fans. "That would imply that … Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. yeah ik it's not a doc, but it just shows they put zero effort in making it even slightly historically accurate, A good comparison is A Knight's Tale--it's not aiming for documentary-style period-piece stuff, and honestly a lot of 'historical' TV and movies miss the mark with regards to accuracy in several respects, already. Why hate on it? A few years ago Shondaland produced another historical romance mystery show called Still Star Crossed, it was a sequel to Romeo and Juliet based on a YA book, which imo handled the colour blind casting way better. First, the purported 'Black' ancestor of Charlotte of Mechlenburg-Strelitz was called Madragana, born around 1230 and mistress to Alfonso III of Portugal. This is a FICTIONAL Queen Charlotte. They are implying that there is a legitimate debate when there isn't. The historical reasoning to me is rather weak. "Bridgerton" star Nicola Coughlan celebrated the show's huge debut and hit back at people who criticized its diverse cast. Nicola Coughlan, who portrays Penelope Featherington on “Bridgerton,” recently shut down critics who had something to say about the show’s diverse casting in a period piece. It's actually really interesting anthropologically - peerless ruling dynasties tend to either opt for harems or for incest. The series features a mixed cast of white and Black actors in prominent roles. It's forced diversity and a blatant lie. unless I know that in-universe they aren't going to try to explain it. Renewed for Season 2! Press J to jump to the feed. You'd be losing your mind if a show had a white MLK. I agree. Others are narrow minded but here you are calling out WHITE people getting upset? So glad to see an Indian on screen that wasn't a cab driver or nerdy programmer. "Bridgerton" Season 2 has not been confirmed yet by Netflix, but the cast has already been hinting at what could happen in another season of the Shonda Rhimes period drama. But even if she was, if there are 500 years between Madragana and Charlotte, and you assume a generation every 25 years, that would make Charlotte 1,048,576th Black, or in other terms, 0.000095%. On the main point though, the showrunners could easily be saying 'we were inspired by a myth/debunked theory about Queen Charlotte' instead of 'there is historical debate around whether Queen Charlotte was Black'. Daphne is much less sympathetic as a fallen Diamond of the First Water once recognized by the queen than she was as “the girl next door” in the book. Apparently it matters to u as well so this comment of yours is contradictive in nature so why don't you get over it. The historical reasoning to me is rather weak. what makes you think I'm white? I don't get it. The Ptolemy's make the Habsburgs, and even the Targarygens from Game of Thrones, look wholesome. Okay Charlotte lifted them all up but now this society is somehow just... not racist at all? Netflix’s new period drama Bridgerton gives us a Queen Charlotte who is petulant, imperious, funny, bossy, gossipy, well-dressed, bewigged, fond of Pomeranians – oh, and she’s Black… Premiered Dec 25, 2020. So the producer, and a few of the cast, have said on twitter and in interviews that there is debate around a 'theory' that, based on a single ancestor of Queen Charlotte from the 13th century, she was of mixed race (or when they really go for it 'Black)'. Really, I have wholeheartedly thrown myself into everything in the show because I view it as Alt-History. And it could do better. I don't really get why people who hate this kind of stuff do not simply ignore the show. Unless creators have a half-decent explanation for this, it just creates questions that are very hard to answer, which pulls me out of the story. The vast majority of white Americans almost certainly have significantly more Sub-Saharan ancestry than Charlotte did. Same with one of the men Daphne dances with and he has a line as well. Historians dispute even this, saying she was probably a Mozarab (Iberian Christian). I think this show should have done that too, instead of trying to fit an almost complete eradication of racism in Georgian-Regency England into a few lines of dialogue. The Netflix period piece "Bridgerton" offers viewers a glimpse at what early 1800s England could have looked like if Black people were in power. I love this show, but I’m ignoring their in-show explanation for how it became an Alternative Universe because it just isn’t realistic. But in Bridgerton, Queen Charlotte is resplendent in silks and towering wigs, and she is unmistakably Black. The more farfetched thing is the Prince. I’m noting all the historical inaccuracies in passing and not crying over one of them, because this is all a splendid fairy-tale. I'm glad this is moving in a better direction. Lazy is stuff like characters not wearing gloves at balls in Jane Austen adaptations (examples like Pride and Prejudice or Emma.). Does it even matter? At the same time also introducing a significant number of, culturally indistinguishable, black nobility within a generation? Bridgerton isn't, so it's fine. Maybe we shouldnt expect reality from a romance novel. Bridgerton is an American streaming television period drama series created by Chris Van Dusen and produced by Shonda Rhimes. I have a bigger problem with the fact that she’s a character in the show. It’s pretty lame. Discussion of the show Bridgerton on Netflix. I'm really hoping for a person of color for all the people opposite the Bridgerton siblings myself. It's historical revisionism and really really farfetched historical revisionism at that. More posts from the BridgertonNetflix community. Romance, gossip and scandal. Ethnic diversity doesn't just arrive out of nowhere, there is always an interesting and varied migration history that underpins how and why different ethnic groups get to particular places, and then socio-economic forces that shape where different ethnicities end up within societies. Discussion of the show Bridgerton on Netflix. Black … I mean I understand PC culture is a big thing but that's just historically incorrect, I know this isn't a documentary but it does claim to be a historical piece, and that just pulls me out of the story.. it makes no sense, especially the queen lol. The first season of “Bridgerton” featured several Black characters in its ensemble cast, including Regé-Jean Page as the main character Simon Basset and Golda Rosheuvel as Queen Charlotte. Bridgerton Season 2 Cast Bridgerton Season 1 starred big names and all the actors played their part well. I need more explanation!! It’s an exaggerated fairytale that is loosely basing the setting on a historical time and place. Cmon. Newcomer Charithra Chandran is thought to have landed the role of Edwina in the hotly anticipated new series, which will be based on the second book in Julia Quinn's romance series The Viscount Who Loved Me . This thread has been locked by the moderators of r/BridgertonNetflix, More posts from the BridgertonNetflix community. Why would a Prussian Prince cross half a continent to find a match far below his station in Britain, when there would be dozens of more suitable matches closer to home? Don't be such an idiot. Of course correct me if I'm wrong, OP. In an AU, there’s no limit to a what’s possible and what’s not. Netflix's latest show du jour has pulled in millions of viewers, but its cast has left fans unable to decide whether they love it or hate it. One chronicler writing two centuries after her death described her as a 'Moor' - which in context probably would have meant North African (in modern terms, Arab). But not the inaccurate music, hair, or clothes? One of the wives was Indian and she had a couple lines. They never tried to explain why was Rosaline black etc., they just went with the casting and they easily avoid questions like this. This show is based on the Bridgerton book series by Julia Quinn. Each book in this eight book historical romance series features a member of the Bridgerton family. I do agree things like this do become problematic as people tend to believe fiction more than fact. Each book in this eight book historical romance series features a member of the Bridgerton family. If they kept casting other POCs I would be fine with it. You’re taking this issue of “historical accuracy” way too seriously. However this is now an heavily debated issues - when historically it’s not debatable. Many have dubbed Bridgerton the next hit show to "colorblind cast," but showrunner Chris Van Dusen doesn't agree with that terminology. That being said, Rege-Jean and Adjoa are simply perfect in their roles.