Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story – Picture: Netflix
Bridgerton is getting a spin-off in the form of a Queen Charlotte series that will dive deeper into the character we’ve come to know and love in the main show. Here’s a dive into everything currently known about Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story series, which is scheduled to get into production in January 2022.
The new spin-off will serve as a limited series (meaning that it’s only designed to be a single season-long) to the main Bridgerton series, which has been a smash hit for Netflix. As of September 2021, the series continues to be the most-watched (of the announced statistics) Netflix Original show. The mothership show for this new spin-off has been renewed through to season 4.
As a prequel, the show will rewind the clock and walk us through how Queen Charlotte became the iconic character in the mothership series.
Alongside the initial announcement of the spin-off, Netflix’s Bela Bajaria (head of global TV) said the following on the new spin-off:
“Many viewers had never known the story of Queen Charlotte before Bridgerton brought her to the world, and I’m thrilled this new series will further expand her story and the world of Bridgerton,”
Beyond just Queen Charlotte, more Bridgerton projects are also in development thanks to an expanded deal with Netflix. Beyond the main series and this new spin-off, virtual reality experiences, a video game, and other in-person events have been teased.
Now let’s dig into the details as to what we can expect and, perhaps more importantly, when we could see Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story release on Netflix.
Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story to feature at Netflix’s TUDUM Event
The series will be unveiled officially at Netflix’s TUDUM event, set to take place on September 24th, 2022. It’s also confirmed there’ll be some Bridgerton season 3 news too.
Who’s behind Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story on Netflix?
Shonda Rhimes will serve as the main writer on the show. This is the first time Shonda has been directly involved in the writing as she served only as an executive producer on the main series.
Betsy Beers and Tom Verica serve as producers on the new spin-off. They’ve partnered with Rhimes on several projects in the past, including Bridgerton and non-Netflix projects, including Grey’s Anatomy and How To Get Away with Murder.
Shonda Rhimes – Picture: Getty Images
What to expect from Queen Charlotte Spin-off
Here’s the logline for the new prequel series:
“A limited prequel series based on the origins of Queen Charlotte, that will center on the rise and love life of a young Charlotte. The spinoff will also tell the stories of young Violet Bridgerton and Lady Danbury”
The title of the prequel series hasn’t been fully revealed yet, but all the production sources we’ve seen list that have the series named Queen Charlotte. It’s worth bearing in mind that this could just be a working title. It’s also worth noting HBO Max is listed to release a show called Queen Charlotte too.
Lyn Paolo will serve as costume designer on the limited series spin-off. Her work has scooped two Primetime Emmys in the past and her work can be seen on productions such as Scandal, The West Wing, Little Fires Everywhere, and most recently, in Netflix’s Inventing Anna series (also produced by Shonda Rhimes).
The book series Bridgerton is based on real history, so we can take some cues as to what we can expect. As NuttyHistory excellently compiled in their video below, Queen Charlotte was a character “who was stranger than fiction” in real life.
Notably, they covered in the video below:
- Charlotte married 6 hours after meeting the king after living in Germany as a Princess.
- How Charlotte was one of the first people to recognize the talent of the young Mozart – could we see this discovery in the prequel?
- Her ancestorial history given that it’s been a rather contentious topic since the show’s release. You can find numerous stories asking the question as to whether Queen Charlotte was the first monarch of color in the UK.
There’s also this excellent news report from WCNC, who are based in Charlotte, North Carolina (a state named after the monarch) who dives into the history of the historical figure.
Who will star in Queen Charlotte on Netflix?
Here’s who is set to star in Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story.
- India Ria Amarteifio as Queen Charlotte
- Golda Rosheuvel as Queen Charlotte
- Adjoa Andoh as Lady Agatha Danbury
- Katie Brayben as Vivian Ledger
- Keir Charles as Lord Ledger
- Sam Clemmett as Brimsley
- Richard Cunningham as Lord Bute
- Michelle Fairley as Princess Augusta
- Ruth Gemmell as Lady Violet Bridgerton
- Tunji Kasim as Adolphus
- Rob Maloney as Royal Doctor
- Corey Mylchreest as King George
- Cyril Nri as Lord Danbury
- Hugh Sachs as Brimsley
- Arsema Thomas as Lady Danbury
- Connie Jenkins-Greig as Young Violet Ledger
Golda Rosheuvel played the role of Queen Charlotte in the main series, and the two other characters confirmed for the prequel were played in the mothership series by Ruth Gemmell and Adjoa Andoh.
Where is Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story in production?
Thanks to numerous sources, production on the limited series was originally due to begin in January 2022. ProductionWeekly later reported that production got underway on February 6th and confirms that it’ll be wrapped by May 2022.
It will take place in London, with the production expecting to take advantage of Shepperton Studios who expanded its relationship with Netflix last November. PW also notes that filming is taking place at Ditton Manor in Royal Berkshire. The show has a working title of Jewels.
On March 28th, Tom Verica, the director of the series, posted that filming had started on Instagram saying:
“New chapter. Day 1 filming. Never gets old. #DirectorsPOV Wait til you see what we’ve got in store!”
On August 30th, filming concluded on the series which is exactly as it was originally scheduled:
That’s a wrap. This production, this cast, this crew…just wait. pic.twitter.com/VnkWJFgSz0
— Tom Verica (@tomverica) August 30, 2022
As for a release date, our best guess is that the series won’t be on Netflix until 2023. There’s a slim chance we could see it by Christmas 2022 but in reality, we believe it’ll be early 2023.
Are you looking forward to the new Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story spin-off prequel series for Bridgerton? Let us know in the comments down below.
Note: This article was first published in September 2021 and has been updated to reflect new information.