Bridgerton premiered in 2020, based on the bestselling novels by Julia Quinn following the titular family. It instantly became a hit for Netflix, and the interest in the series continued well into 2024, as the show premiered its third season.
Adapted by Shonda Rhimes, Bridgerton follows an anthology-like format for the series, changing its leading couple every season to put other characters in the spotlight. After falling deeply in love with Daphne and Simon in season 1, the audience followed Anthony’s quest to find a suitable Viscountess and falling in love with Kate in the process. The latest season was the first to bring a major change, adapting Romancing Mister Bridgerton, the fourth book, instead of the third, An Offer From a Gentleman, thus shifting the protagonist from Benedict to Colin.
Even so, the interest in the series was as high as ever, because Colin’s romance with Penelope had been hinted at since season 1, and they finally got their happy ending in season 3. With Benedict confirmed as the lead for the next season, there are four more Bridgerton siblings to go, and their future is closer to becoming a reality.
Bridgerton is officially Netflix’s biggest series
Netflix just released its third data report which clarifies what we already knew about Bridgerton. The franchise has been bringing in strong numbers for the platform, which also includes the critically acclaimed spin-off Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story.
The new engagement report called What We Watched gives a thorough explanation of all of Netflix’s titles that subscribers watched between January to June 2024. Divided between TV and Film, Bridgerton season 3 positioned itself in the second spot in the TV list with 91.9 million views, just after the limited series Fool Me Once. However, that means little, because, as mentioned, the streaming giant stopped the clock at the end of June, just half a month after Bridgerton premiered its second half, which means more people could’ve watched the new season in its entirety after the release of the second half on June 13.
The other two seasons were in 11th and 12th place, with 38.4 million views for season 1, and 34.2 million views for season 2. In total, just this year, Bridgerton brought Netflix 164.5 million views between January and June, the ultimate Netflix winner. Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story added 24.4 million views to the franchise. Netflix notes that when looking at the report following July-December 2023, Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story‘s views doubled, and the first two seasons of Bridgerton increased their views five times.
This could mean nothing but good news for Bridgerton‘s future. Shonda Rhimes, who adapted Bridgerton alongside longtime producing partner Betsy Beers, said in April 2024 that they are committed to adapting all eight Julia Quinn novels if Netflix allows it, which means eight seasons of Bridgerton.
So far, the streaming platform only confirmed Bridgerton season 4, which has already started production, but there are four more siblings to go — Francesca, whose story has already been teased in season 3, Eloise, Hyacinth, and Gregory. Given Bridgerton‘s popularity, a season for all of them seems like a given already, the only problem being that production seems to take longer than expected, as Bridgerton season 4 is expected to premiere sometime in 2026. At least, we’ll get all of them eventually.
Published: Sep 19, 2024 05:45 pm