It’s More Important than Ever to Watch Bridgerton

With the onslaught of anti-Asian hate and hate crimes, having more representation for Asian actors is highly important. Of course, that isn’t going to solve the problem, but it is one piece of a very important puzzle. This leads me to Bridgerton Season 2.

Two South Asian young women have been cast to be large parts of this upcoming season. A gay man is set to be the leading guy. Not to mention the many other characters of color that fill out this world.

The first season was an unabashed phenomenon, and that is wonderful. It ignited the imaginations of the world for many reasons; for me, it gave me an escape in the middle of quarantine. In a dark winter with stay at home orders, political upheaval, and sickness and death all around us, Bridgerton was a glittering world of romance and beauty. It was a place where people of different races and creeds found common ground, danced in beautiful gowns, fell in love…experienced the powerful feelings of humanity together. That world is one into which I was thrilled to be immersed.

Now, as we move into Season 2, there are some changes. The focus will no longer be on the Duke and Duchess, as the show follows the books, which features a different sibling’s love story in each. For various reasons, some of which we’re privy to and others we’re most definitely not, Rege-Jean Page will not be reprising his role as the Duke. Personally, while I’ll miss him, I don’t think this is will ruin the show in the slightest. In fact, I think it gives us all a great chance to show media companies and TV productions what it is we want from Bridgerton, and from our programming in general.

Watching Bridgerton despite the loss of the talented and devastatingly handsome Duke shows that we’re still invested in a show that makes representation a priority. A show that features women and men of varying races, ethnicities, and sexualities. Not that Bridgerton is perfect, but we have a chance to change television for the better. We have a chance, with what we watch, what we say, what we love, to show what matters to us. We have a chance to, in a small way, make the world a better place through what we see on our screens.

So let’s support what Bridgerton is doing. Let’s support actors like Jonathan Bailey and Simone Ashley and all the other incredible people both onscreen and off surrounding Bridgerton.

And besides, I have a sneaking suspicion that Bridgerton Season 2 is going to be truly amazing for many reasons.