As we prepare for the arrival of Bridgerton season three, part two on Netflix on Thursday (13 June), here’s all the queer tea you need to know about the horny period drama produced by Shonda Rhimes and starring Jonathan Bailey.
While season one of the series – based on the bestselling novels by Julia Quinn – focused on the romance between Daphne Bridgerton (Phoebe Dynevor) and Duke of Hastings Simon Basset (Regé-Jean Page), and season two followed Viscount Anthony Bridgerton (Jonathan Bailey) and Kate Sharma (Simone Ashley), season three highlights the scandalous relationship between Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton) and Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan).
You may have noticed that, three seasons in, there still hasn’t been any explicit queer love stories or LGBTQ+ representation on the Ton, despite its spin-off Queen Charlotte doing so.
With hints by the showrunners circulating, here are the queerest facts about Bridgerton so far.
Queer characters Brimsley and Reynolds were introduced in spin-off series Queen Charlotte
Complete with a fully fledged gay love story and “very physical sex scenes”, Bridgerton spin-off Queen Charlotte introduced Young Brimsley (Sam Clemmett), Queen Charlotte’s trusty butler, and Reynolds (Freddie Dennis), his counterpart in the service of King George III.
Speaking about the scenes in an interview with Radio Times, Clemmett said, “There were several times when we had to stop because I was like, ‘OK, what I’ve done there is I’ve hurt Freddie’s back because I’ve thrown him against the desk way too hard’,” Clemmett recalled.
Bridgerton helped Jonathan Bailey become a household name
Though he had starred in Michaela Coel’s Chewing Gum and Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s Crashing before heading to the Ton, it would be fair to say that Bridgerton helped turn queer star Jonathan Bailey into a household name.
The first season, which aired in 2020, catapulted the star to a platform which he’s happily and admirably used to help raise money for LGBTQ+ causes – like raising £30,000 in under 24 hours for charity Just Like Us via the Hackney Half Marathon.
Bridgerton – and spin-off Queen Charlotte –has queer stars galore
Leading the charge, as mentioned above, is Jonathan Bailey, who was the main character of season two.
But joining him are several other iconic queer actors, like Golda Rosheuvel, who plays the titular Queen Charlotte in the Bridgerton spin-off.
There’s also season three newcomer James Phoon, who plays Harry Dankworth, who is gay, and Jessica Madsen, who plays Cressida Cowper, who recently celebrated the start of Pride month by announcing that she was “in love with a woman“.
The Bridgerton production team have hinted at more upcoming queer representation
While Phoon has said that he’s “excited” by possible upcoming queer representation in future seasons of Bridgerton, it seems that the showrunners of the hit share those feelings.
Showrunner Jess Brownell, who has recently joined the drama, revealed that a queer love story is coming our way while speaking to Pride.
“This is a show about love in its many forms and it’s only right for us to foreground queer love and to tell queer stories,” she said.
“I want to see more queer joy on my screens and that was definitely a priority for me when I stepped into the showrunner role.
“How exactly that plays out over this season and the next couple seasons, I can’t say specifically, but I will say I’m excited for fans to see that,” she said.
Coughlan also told the publication: “I think there’s so much space there for queer love stories and I think all love stories deserve to be celebrated. I hope in time we get a leading queer love story in this show.”
Part two of the third season of Bridgerton will be available on Netflix from 13 June.
