Bridgerton Season 2 Has Cast A New Female Lead
Bridgerton Season 2 is going to be a major event for Netflix following the incredible first season. And now they've cast a major role
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Bridgerton Season 2 is already gearing up to be a major event for Netflix viewers considering the popularity of the first go-around. And though it released less than two months ago, there are already casting decisions coming for the continuation of the story. And that’s important because so much of Bridgeton is about just who will end up with whom. For the second season, Simone Ashely has been cast as Kate who will now act as the newest non-Bridgerton family member to have a relationship with someone in the titular family.
Simone Ashley is joining the cast for Bridgerton Season 2 in what will easily be her highest-profile role yet. She’s had parts in a couple of other British productions including a role as Olivia on Netflix’s Sex Education and ITV’s The Sister miniseries. There were some other minor roles here and there but this will easily be her biggest spot yet. It should make for a compelling move to the limelight for the actress considering she’s not essentially co-starring with the title character as the love interest.
The new casting decision for Bridgerton Season 2 with Simone Ashley follows that of the novels. The show is a period piece, set in 19th century Britain and is based on the book series of the same name. Each book focuses on one of the eight Bridgerton children and their search for love and a suitable marriage partner. The second season will have Antony (Jonahtan Bailey) as the focus. He is the eldest son and also titled Viscount Bridgerton. The second novel is titled The Viscount Who Loved Me. Both Ashley and Bailey have some history as well with both working on Broadchurch together. Bailey was a featured cast member and Ashley appeared on two episodes.
What sets the show apart from the novels is that the former breaks down ideas around race especially during this time, opting for a racially integrated society that was most definitely not the case when looking back at the history of the time. This has made for excellent casting decisions and given the show somewhat of a modern look even though the backdrop is anything but the present day. With the casting of Simone Ashely, they are keeping with that theme for Bridgerton Season 2 as well.
Bridgerton Season 2 already has so much hype with the expectations being through the roof because the first run was a monumental hit for Netflix. The period piece garnered a massive amount of streams for the platform. Netflix reported that it was watched by about 82 million of their 200 million subscribers who tuned for at least part of the first season. That’s a massive number and eclipsed the previously reported record held by The Witcher. From this perspective, it was without question that Bridgeton Season 2 would be happening.
Bridgerton was produced by Shonda Rhimes and her production company Shondaland. Just having her at the helm already put the show ahead of the game considering the sheer amount of success she’s had over her career in bringing hit shows to the small screen. She’s just had a knack and talent for knowing what will appeal to mass audiences even in a day and age where that’s becoming increasingly rare for television shows.
This was her first show for Netflix, but the list of her previous hits is lengthy and there’s reason to expect Bridgerton Season 2 has such upside considering what she’s done with ongoing stories in the past. Consider shows like Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practice, Scandal, and How to Get Away with Murder and their considerable staying power over the years. All of her shows weren’t hits, but the batting average is insanely high and the peaks are higher than just about any other television producer.
While Bridgerton Season 2 was confirmed by Netflix in late January, less than a month after its initial release, we are only still getting details on how it will shake out. But casting such a major role in Kate is a great start and with that in place filming could end up starting sooner than later. If you happen to be one of the very few Netflix subscribers who failed to watch the first season, correct that now. You’ll be all caught up before the second one gets underway.
