Bridgerton season 2 sets a Netflix record for the premiere of an English-language show. Based on Julia Quinn's series of novels, Bridgerton is set in the highly-competitive world of the ton in Regency-era London in which debutantes are presented at court for the upcoming social season. The first season focused on the ruse-turned-fiery romance between Daphne Bridgerton (Phoebe Dynevor) and Simon Basset (Regé-Jean Page). Unfortunately, the fan-favorite Duke of Hastings did not return for the sophomore season.
Adapting the second book in Quinn's series, The Viscount Who Loved Me, season 2 instead focuses on another member of the titular family finding love, Daphne's older brother, Anthony Bridgerton (Jonathan Bailey). Edwina Sharma (Charithra Chandran) soon catches the Viscount's eye and he begins to pursue a love match with the diamond of the season despite the disapproval of her older sister, Kate (Simone Ashley). Bridgerton season 1 aired in December 2020 and set the record for Netflix's most-watched show in its first 28 days with 625 million hours viewed. Now, it appears audiences are equally enthralled with season 2's intense love triangle between Anthony and the Sharma sisters.
According to a report from Forbes, Bridgerton season 2 has set a new record for Netflix. From its debut on Friday, March 25 to Sunday, March 27, the period drama's second season racked up a total of 193 million viewing hours. This is a new record for the most successful opening weekend of an English-language series on Netflix to date.
The Korean-language series Squid Game, which dropped in September 2021, currently holds the record for Netflix's most-watched show in its first 28 days with 1.6 billion hours viewed. With Bridgerton season 2 off to a strong start on the platform, it will first look to outdo the success of the first season. If it is able to accomplish that, Bridgerton could set its sights on overtaking the Korean thriller as Netflix's most popular series overall, though that will be a steep hill to climb.
These viewing numbers help support something Netflix was likely already aware of: Bridgerton is a massive hit for the streaming service and they should continue treating it as one of their flagship series. Pursuing spinoffs is an important part of that plan, which they are already doing with a prequel series focused on a young Queen Charlotte. Other than that, considering the wealth of source material provided by Quinn's novels, the mainline series could run for as many as six more seasons.
Source: Forbes