Wardrobe Mishaps & More: 6 Things To Know About 'Bridgerton' Season 2
Wardrobe malfunctions and a diva on set
By Michelle Lee SM -
Bridgerton, with all its scandalous Regency-era drama, lavish costumes, and aristocratic social events, is back, having just dropped on Netflix on March 25. The spotlight this time is on Viscount Anthony Bridgerton (Jonathan Bailey), who starts pursuing a marriage of convenience. Instead, he strikes up a romance with one of the newcomers in town, Kate Sharma (Simone Ashley).
At a recent press conference, the cast of Bridgerton as well as director Chris Van Dusen share nuggets and behind-the-scenes details. If you have yet to get started on the hit Netflix series, here's the scoop on what goes down.
Fans expecting lots of steamy scenes that the first season dropped might be a little disappointed. For director Chris Van Dusen, it was never about the quantity, but the narrative of the story.
He says, "Our approach to intimacy on the show really is the same as season one. That we use these intimate scenes to tell a story and to push a story forward. We’ve never done a sex scene for the sake of doing a sex scene, and I don’t think we ever will. It all serves a larger purpose and it’s a different story."
But he emphasises that viewers are in for a wild ride still. "It’s emotional and romantic and sexy and scandalous, and I think we’re back for an even greater escape into 19th century Regency London."
Jonathan Bailey, who plays Anthony Bridgerton adds, "I think Kate and Anthony feel explicit in the way that they feel naked in front of each other. And I think that’s also a very interesting, cerebral way of exploring that sort of innate sexuality."
Two new key characters on the set of season two are Simone Ashley, who plays Anthony's headstrong new love interest Kate Sharma, and her younger half-sister Edwina, played by Charithra Chandran.
"I think that the Sharmas are really an interesting family because I like to think that they’re reflect the audience’s perspective in that they’re not accustomed to the ton. They’re not familiar with its dealings and they have their ideas. So, yeah, they’re like sort of the audience’s advocates. And I think, particularly with Kate and Edwina, you see a lot of their sibling relationship. And it's a very unique sibling dynamic."
And not to give away any spoilers, but there'll also be a love triangle happening between the half-sisters and Anthony Bridgerton.
The ton's Regency fashion is fabulous, but as you'd expect, the outfits weren't exactly the most comfortable for the cast. Polly Walker, who took on the role of Portia Featherington, revealed, "Well, I can’t say that mine was comfortable, I have a massive closet going on. I also had like little white tights that wouldn’t stay up, so I might have looked very elegant, but my tights were like a two-year-old, you know, with the gusset down by my ankles. So, um yeah, it was all for a good cause."
Meanwhile, Golda Rosheuvel, who plays Queen Charlotte had to watch her diet and work out regularly just to fit into her costumes. "My costumes and amazing and I love them. I am double-corseted. I train three times a week. I eat healthily. I drink lots of water because you have to have the stamina to wear those costumes so that the recovery days are less difficult because I haven’t died yet. My insides are still intact, but one has to be very careful. Match fit. Yeah, got to be match fit."
While the ladies had to endure corsets and restrictive clothing, Jonathan Bailey was in somewhat of a tight situation himself. "Obviously as men, we’re not going to complain about restrictive clothing. But the fencing outfits were quite tight in various places and we were wearing plimsols on quite a dewy morning on the grass and going in for my final lunge with Benedict."
"My crotch ripped. And it was all on camera, and that's when suddenly realise you’re being filmed by four to three cameras. I just sort of screamed. This is just so embarrassing."
According to the cast, Kate Sharma's beloved corgi had quite the character.
"I loved Newton. He listened to me and I like that he was strong-willed and literally did whatever he wanted," says Simone Ashley. "Whether it was action or cut, he didn't care. He would just turn up whenever — he was a diva dog. And my fondest memory of him is when we were filming at Aubrey Hall and at the front of the building, there's pebbled ground. And he would just eat the pebbles and he would just look down and he’d be like chomping on stones."
Charithra Chandran chimed in, "And he passed out that day because he was too full!"
And in case you're worried about the pooch, Ashley assures that "he's very well taken care of."
(Spoiler alert)
One of the episodes opens with a string cover of the massively popular Bollywood song "Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham" — a first for the series and an unexpected one.
Simone Ashley, who is born to Indian parents, shares, "I think it’s so much fun and has brought a sense of joy, in representing many different cultures and for this one specifically, South Asian cultures. My intention anyway - I can’t speak for everyone - is to just bring the fun and joy of it. Representation and diversity on screen is a very complex conversation that we have all the time and it’s an important one. But for me personally, I just want to bring the fun to it now, the normality and the joy. And to bring that through music in such an amazing scene, which we had so much fun filming - it brings a smile to my face.
Charithra Chandran agrees. She says, "That movie and that song is like a Bollywood staple. As soon as the song came on, I was like, hold on, and then rewound it and immediately paused and texted Chris. This literally brought tears to my eyes because it’s like the collision of both of my worlds."
"When you’re growing up as immigrants' children, sometimes it’s so hard to figure out your identity and sometimes don’t know where you belong. And this was one of those defining moments where you go, 'Ok, I get it now. I can be both and I can do both'. And especially that song, it’s such a family song. It's got great meaning behind it that I think the scene also represents. So, yeah, really, really special and I’m so grateful."