Based on Julia Quinn’s original book series, Bridgerton is a nineteenth century period piece filled with drama, heartbreak, and mystery. Follow young Daphne Bridgerton as she comes into the royal season of lavish balls, single men, and a hopeful wedding by the end.

Bridgerton takes place in London, England during the 1800’s, featuring upper class families as young girls are introduced to society as “of age” to wed and have children. From the first episode, viewers get to watch the Bridgerton family escort the eldest daughter of the family, Daphne, to her first formal viewing of the season, in which the successful girls will be proposed to by a male suitor. Daphne is gifted with beauty, money, and an influential name – making her the prime woman for wealthy male suitors to go after this season.

Aside from Daphne, many other compelling storylines are incorporated in the show featuring characters like the Bridgerton family’s eldest son Anthony, another featuring Marina Thompson, a country girl visiting London to stay with her distant family the Featherington’s who – like the Bridgerton’s – are a wealthy family living in the city, and many more. The ongoing mystery throughout the entire first season of the show is in regards to a gossip column that is being passed around the city, leaving residents in awe with the last inside scoop on all the drama within the city of London. The most interesting part is, the writer is anonymous. 

This anonymous writer, going by the name of Lady Whistledown, reminds many viewers of The CW’s show Gossip Girl, as the gossip columns by Lady Whistledown resemble Gossip Girl blasts by the unnamed blogger. Executive producer Shonda Rhimes, who is well renowned for her work on popular shows like Grey’s Anatomy and Scandal, did a great job of incorporating modern day scandals and dramatics and making it time-relevant to the nineteenth century.

Touching on social issues like gender inequality, viewers get to watch and feel for the young girls who dream of going to school and working, rather than dressing up and finding a husband. Many characters in the show are showcased through character development and I found myself rooting for and emotionally attached to so many characters by the end. 

Those who enjoy books, movies, and shows from the 1800’s will definitely want to check this out, as producers, writers, and directors did an amazing job of setting the scene. Most of the cast was comprised of English actors and actresses, so no need to fake an accent. The fashion throughout the show was spot on, as hundreds of ball gowns and luxury suits were featured. Additionally, each family had their own style of attire which cleverly mirrored the personalities and reputations of each family. Along with those couple things the music, language, backgrounds, and more were carefully chosen to give viewers a chance to lose their sense of reality and truly indulge in this beautiful setting of high class London.