A SHOW WE NEED
A Black queen rules in “Bridgerton,” and it’s proving a great escape.
“Bridgerton” is the fantasy world we need right now.
A world in which racial differences are but a mention, and the blending of Black and white people in high society is completely normal. It’s a world in which we dress up and go to fancy parties where the only drama is who’s getting married this season.
And it’s a world with a Black queen.
Netflix’s hit series, produced by TV powerhouse Shonda Rhimes (“Grey’s Anatomy” and “Scandal”), is a juicy, intoxicating tale about love, family, scandal and sex during Britain’s Regency Era in the 1800s. The show, which is based on a series of romance novels by New York-based author Julia Quinn, debuted on Christmas Day and swiftly has become one of the most bingeable shows of the new year. It’s Netflix’s fifthbiggest premiere, surpassed by “Tiger King” and “Stranger Things.”
But more than with its salacious story line and hunky leading man, Simon, played by Rejé-Jean Page as the Duke of Hastings, “Bridgerton” captivatedme with its multi racial cast, including
Black royals, aristocrats, entrepreneurs and the Afro-wearing
Queen Charlotte.
The show’s popularity comes at a time when one of the worst events in recent U.S. history has just played out on national TV — as rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol, incited by President Donald Trump’s message to “never concede” defeat. Many people on social media decried the riot as shocking while others were hardly surprised.
Privilege is often more obvious to those without it.
The beauty of “Bridgerton” is that privilege is afforded regardless of race, and there seems to be a noticeable respect of people across racial lines. Take the queen, played by Golda Rosheuvel, who wears ornate Afro-centric hairstyles and is often flanked by a royal court of women of varying ethnicities, including one who is Asian.
Though the queen isn’t in Quinn’s series, Rhimes’ show lifts her from history.
The real-life Queen Sophia Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz is believed to have been of African ancestry. Her African heritage was traced back to a Black Portuguese royal family with ties to Africa by historian Mario de Valdes y Cocom in 1999. Some historians believe she was Britain’s first Black queen; her descendants include Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth II (yes, Prince Harry’s grandmother).
Before “Bridgerton,” I, like many, was unaware of Queen Charlotte. Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, whose mother is Black and father is white, was widely hailed as Britain’s first mixed-race royal member when she married Prince Harry.
But before her, there was Queen Charlotte (born in 1744 in Germany and died in 1818), who wed King George III within hours of their meeting in 1761. She was 17 and spoke no English at the time. They were married for nearly 60 years and went on to have 15 children, 13 of whom survived to adulthood.
Valdes and other historians contend that her facial features, based on historical portraits, were visibly African. Though her heritage was never publicly acknowledged, Black people in British colonies honored her because they were convinced she was African based on her looks.
She opposed slavery, was a patron of the arts (who may have commissioned Mozart) and was an amateur botanist who helped expand England’s Kew Gardens.
Valdes, also a researcher at Harvard University, didn’t know about “Bridgerton” until it debuted on Christmas, and he’s grateful to Rhimes.
“I can’t thank Ms. Rhimes enough. Queen Charlotte is historically important. She is the queen who fought for our independence,” he said.
So in a way, “Bridgerton” is serving up Black history.
“Because we have so little reference of successful Black people during the Regency period, this show is very significant,” said LaQuishe “Q” Wright, a social-media strategist who represents a number of A-list celebrities. “I’m not into period pieces, but knowing that it’s a Shonda Rhimes project, it drew me in. For the most part, it felt like a true color-blind cast.”
At the center of the show is Daphne Bridgerton (played by Phoebe Dynevor), a young naive white woman from a wealthy family who is determined to land a husband of status, as was the charge of women back then. If you weren’t married, your life was basically over.
Her suitor emerges as the handsome Simon, a Black man who is a duke but has adamantly declared he will never get married or have children. He has a vendetta against his cruel, abusive father, whose dying wish was to have the family name and wealth continue.
The only mention of race in “Bridgerton” is from the duke’s aunt —the sage Lady Danbury (played by Adjoa Andoh) in the fourth episode: “We were two separate societies divided by color until a king fell in love with one of us,” she tells the duke. “Look at everything it is doing for us, allowing us to become. Love, Your Grace, conquers all.”
“The way the show draws attention to race is nuanced and powerful,” said Sahar R. Hamzah, an assistant professor of media production at the Jack J. Valenti School of Communication at the University of Houston who has studied how novels are adapted for film and television. “When we think of the Regency period, we have this idea of that time and people, and this show challenges those ideas with diversity and even modern music. It’s a fantasy and provides the setting for,
‘What if the queen is Black? What if she is able to use her power to elevate other people?’ It also normalizes diversity on the screen, and that’s always good.”
“Bridgerton” also explores themes of oppression of women, classism and homosexuality. Hamzah said it further breaks the tradition of period dramas that play up the characters’ suppressed sexual desire by allowing them to be sexually uninhibited.
On “CBS This Morning,” Page called the show “fun and unashamed of its joy.” He went on to talk about its diversity: “We have a long history of excluding people from stories … literally painting people out of historical pictures and documents. If we are going to have a great big fun Cinderella fantasy, the more people are invited to participate who see themselves as glamorous and worthy of love in spaces, the better.”
LikeWright, I have never been interested in period dramas such as “Downton Abbey,” “Masterpiece Theatre” or “The Crown.” Their lack of representation of people who look likeme in roles beyond the help ismy rationale.
But Misty Starks, a public relations strategist, is a fan of the genre; “Sense and Sensibility,” based on Jane Austen’s classic novel, is her favorite film. She’s anxiously awaiting Season 2 of “Bridgerton.”
“I love this show. I love that they addressed the race issue without it taking over the show,” she said. “I love that Black women change their hairstyles to show they can be regal. All of the relationships are messy and toxic.
The patriarchy is ridiculous, but it’s all brilliantly done.”
The show even expands the concept of Regency fashion, said Nicholas Champroux, a professor of fashion design and theatrical costume at Houston Community College. He plans to use “Bridgerton” as a focus for class discussion.
“The show is very escapist and aspirational. It’s also fairly historically accurate with the costumes, but the choice of textiles and color add to the fantasy,” he said.
Ultimately, “Bridgerton” is about love and normalizes the feeling for Black characters such as Marina Thompson (played by Ruby Barker), who is faced with limited husband options as an unwed mother but still pining for the love of her life.
“It’s really a romantic drama, and I’m a romantic at heart,” Wright said.
Makes two of us.