Bridgerton: Netflix reveals sexy drama is their most viewed series ever

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

Netflix subscribers sure do love the streamer's new Regency-era bodice-ripper Bridgerton. How do we know audiences are heated for the show's soft-core shenanigans as well as Lady Whistledown's latest dish of hot gossip? Well, it's been announced that not only has Bridgerton exceeded Netflix’s original viewership projections, it destroyed them like my heart when Regé-Jean Page's Simon Basset lied to Phoebe Dynevor's Daphne Bridgerton about why he won't bring a child into the world.

The numbers have arrived by carriage, and Season 1 of Bridgerton was watched by a record 82 million households around the world (either in part or in its entirety). That's a lot of people going to bed with thoughts of "self-exploration" and half-cocked duels in their heads. For those of you counting at home, that's an astounding 19 million more homes higher than the four-week projection Netflix flouted 10 days into the show's premiere. What's the best part about this news, you ask? Bridgerton has already been renewed for a second season, so you can expect even more fancy dinner parties, high-society trash talk, and adjustments to life during a time when there's little to do but get hammered and bone.

Upon hearing the news, Netflix celebrated with a "thank you" video to fans that shows just how far-reaching the Bridgerton fandome truly is:

Bridgerton, created by Shonaland veteran Chris Van Dusen based on the first book in Julia Quinn’s novel series, The Duke and I, revolved around a deceptive relationship between the eldest Bridgerton daughter, Daphne, and the Duke of Hastings Simon Bassett, a high-society bad boy with severe (though justified) daddy issues. The season follows their on-again-off-again courtship as both characters are hoping to escape a destiny that's already been decided for them. Obviously, they end up together, and things get steamy. My advice? Bring a monogrammed handkerchief.

“I think the show really provides an incredible escape for audiences at a time where that’s exactly what’s needed,” Van Dusen said last week when the series Season 2 renewal was announced. ”Bridgerton is this lavish, vibrant, steamy Regency love story; it is about romance, love, and joy; I think all of those things are really universal themes people are responding to.”

Season 2, which is scheduled to begin production in the spring in the U.K., will chronicle the pursuit of a suitable marriage for the eldest Bridgerton sibling, Anthony, played by Jonathan Bailey, as told in the second Bridgerton novel, The Viscount Who Loved Me. Get ready, Bridgerton fans, because I have a feeling this series is just heating up.