Created by Chris Van Dusen and produced by Shonda Rhimes, Netflix’s Bridgerton is coming back for a second season after becoming one of the streamer’s most popular and highest-grossing original shows ever made. Ever since its 2020 release, the show has caused a huge uproar with its Regency-core aesthetics, flowing ball gowns, lavish parties, regal parlours and sets, steamy romance sequences and other elements that uphold and document the grandeur of the lives of the upper echelons of aristocratic London where the people bask in the opulence and madness of their status and wealth.
This Emmy-nominated show is set to debut its second season on Netflix on March 25th, 2022. Based on Julia Quinn’s Bridgerton novel series, the second season will focus on Anthony Bridgerton’s fiery romance with Kate Sharma.
Netflix has also announced the cast members for the second season. The reprising cast includes Jonathan Bailey, Nicola Coughlan, Adjoa Andoh, Phoebe Dynevor, Lorraine Ashbourne, Bessie Carter, Harriet Cains, Ruth Gemmell, Martins Imhangbe, Florence Hunt, Luke Newton, Claudia Jessie, Luke Thompson, Golda Rosheuvel, Polly Walker, Will Tilston and Julie Andrews.
They will be joined by a new cast comprising Simone Ashley, Charothra Chandran, Shelley Conn, Rupert Young and Calam Lynch.
Before the release of the second season, here is everything we know about the Bridgerton siblings:
Everything we know about the ‘Bridgerton’ siblings before Season 2
Anthony Bridgerton – Jonathan Bailey
The eldest Bridgerton sibling and infamous womaniser, Anthony made his statement sideburns iconic in the first series. Although the creators based the first season on Daphne’s love story, based on Quinn’s novel, The Duke and I, the second season will focus on Anthony’s exploits as he tries to find a woman to settle down with, following the events of Quinn’s The Viscount Who Loved Me.
Anthony inherited the position of the family patriarch after his father’s unexpected demise. The first season saw him in an illicit relationship with Siena Rosso, a local opera singer. Despite being in love with her, their socio-political differences prevented them from being together. The second season will feature Simone Ashley as Kate Sharma who serves as Anthony’s spirited and feisty love interest and is said to challenge the viscount in every sense.
Benedict Bridgerton – Luke Thompson
The quiet and more mature Bridgerton sibling, the second eldest brother, Benedict is a brilliant artist who wants to make a fully-fledged career based on his passion. Level-headed and calm, it will not be until the third season of the series that fans will get to see Benedict’s love story.
Quinn’s third novel, An Offer From a Gentleman, will see him marrying Sophia Beckett, despite his romantic involvement with Genevive Delacroix in season one. What causes their breakup and Benedict’s eventual union with Beckett will be something that the creators and showrunners will definitely intimately explore.
Colin Bridgerton – Luke Newton
The third sibling, Colin finds himself engaged to Marina Thompson in the first season of the show. However, with the elusive Lady Whistledown announcing Marina’s secret pregnancy status, their engagement falls through. Colin is pretty friendly with Penelope yet does not return the latter’s feelings.
While fans were pretty heartbroken to know how the fun-loving young man does not see her in the same way, Quinn’s fourth novel, Romancing Mister Bridgerton is based on Colin and Penelope’s eventual marital union serves as solace for them.
Daphne Bridgerton – Phoebe Dynevor
The eldest Bridgerton daughter, Daphne marries the Duke of Hastings, Simon Bassett in the first season of the show. Throughout the season, the creators trace the various upheavals in their relationship as they bicker over the possibilities of having a child. At the end of season one, however, despite various arguments and anxiety outbreaks, the couple welcomed a son.
With plenty of steamy sex scenes and a few controversial moments, season one brings an end to Daphne’s story, giving her the happy ending she wanted. Although the second season will shift focus to the story of another sibling, namely Anthony, Daphne will still play a prominent role in their character arcs and individual narratives.
Eloise Bridgerton – Claudia Jessie
The fifth sibling and the second daughter in the family, Eloise is somewhat different from the rest of her siblings with a rebellious streak. She is neither interested in marriage nor in the social customs of aristocratic London and would instead pen her thoughts in her journal. Eloise is terrified of childbirth, having experienced her mother’s predicament during Hyacinth’s birth.
In Quinn’s fifth novel, To Sir Phillip With Love, Eloise finds love. While the first season of Bridgerton is set in 1813, it is not until 1823 that Eloise finds herself embarking on a romantic trajectory. In the series, however, Eloise thinks herself to be a spinster who would never find love and is seen having some fun with her other mischievous best friend, Penelope Featherington.
Francesca Bridgerton – Ruby Stokes
The sixth sibling and the third daughter of the Bridgertons, Francesca rarely makes an appearance in the first season of the Netflix show. While London is brimming with various social and courting activities, Francesca is busy learning piano at her Aunt Winnie’s in Bath, following the customs of Regency-era women to spend time with their relatives in the countryside.
It is not until quite later in the series, with the end of the social season, that Francesca makes an appearance to skillfully play the piano to Colin’s songs while the siblings dance. Quinn’s sixth novel, When He Was Wicked, traces Francesca’s romantic journey.
Gregory and Hyacinth Bridgerton – Will Tilston, Florence Hunt
The youngest Bridgerton sibling, Gregory is the seventh sibling, followed by Hyacinth who is the youngest girl in the family. In the first season of the show, Gregory is often seen teasing Hyacinth, who dreams of finding true love, like her eldest sister, Daphne, someday.
Hyacinth is in love with the manners of the social elite in London and the only sibling to have not met their father, unfortunately, who tragically passed away due to a bee sting before her birth. According to Quinn’s novels, her story of romance precedes Gregory’s in the seventh book, titled In His Kiss. Gregory finds love in book eight aka On the Way to the Wedding, wrapping up the individual love sagas of the siblings.
