So now that you’ve had some time to catch up on Season 2 of Bridgerton and long to have fallen in love during the Regency era just like Kate and Anthony, it’s time to look forward to more from this Shondaland fan favorite. Not only is Bridgerton coming back for two more season (at least), but Shonda Rhimes has something else up her sleeve: a spinoff prequel series all about Queen Charlotte from Bridgerton, and her youth.
Netflix made the announcement on Instagram on March 30, writing, “your royal highness Queen Charlotte is getting her own limited prequel series. this series will dive into the queen’s marriage to King George, the creation of the Ton and more. the talented India Ria Amarteifio will be playing a Young Queen Charlotte.” That’s right — it’s backstory time. And while we have a while to go before you’ll be able to press play on this limited series, these facts about the upcoming show can hopefully hold you over until then.
There’s no trailer for the Bridgerton prequel just yet.
According to Us Magazine, filming began sometime this April and is still in progress, meaning the project is still in its early stages (the script that Rhimes posted on Instagram in March didn’t even have a series title yet). Unfortunately, that means you’ll have to hold on a bit longer until a trailer drops. But watch this space because when that day comes, we’ll add it here.
The release date is still unknown as well.
Remember what they say: Good things come to those who wait. As reported by InStyle, the series doesn’t have a confirmed release date just yet. The original Bridgerton series is also cooking up its own new content, however, with both Season 3 and Season 4 having been confirmed in 2021.
According to Marie Claire, Bridgerton Season 3 is expected to drop in spring or summer 2023, with filming possibly beginning this summer. If the timeline matches up, since the prequel series has already started filming, it could come out before we return to the regular show.
Both familiar and new faces are in the cast, with India Amarteifio as young Queen Charlotte.
Golda Rosheuvel isn’t the only Charlotte in town anymore. The prequel series recently announced their casting of India Amarteifio as young Queen Charlotte. You might recognize her from Sex Education, on which she played Lizzie, and Doctor Who. Rosheuvel will still star, but the series’ plot focuses on Charlotte’s youth, according to Us Magazine.
Other cast members include Arsema Thomas as young Lady Dansbury (portrayed by Andoa Adjoh on Bridgerton, who will also appear in the prequel) and Corey Mylchreest as young King George (played by James Fleet in Bridgerton). Ruth Gemmell will also be present as Violet Bridgerton.
Beyond that, a fair amount of the announced cast seem to be newcomers, including Michelle Fairley, Sam Clemmett, Richard Cunningham, Tunji Kasim, Rob Maloney, Cyril Uri and Hugh Sachs.
The prequel has an unknown number of episodes, but plans to include quite a bit of plot.
As Netflix’s announcement stated, the series will delve into how Queen Charlotte and King George got together and their marriage, as well as setting up some of the context before the start of Bridgerton Season 1. It looks so far like this will only have one season, but the number of episodes is still unclear. Both Season 1 and 2 of Bridgerton have had eight episodes each, so that’s the best guess for right now, but who knows? Queen Charlotte may just be worth more of your time.