“I think we managed to take everything people fell in love with about this first season [and] put it into Season 2. It’s just more. So it’s more steam, more scandal, more sex, more sexy moments and it’s an amazing season,” Van Dusen said at a virtual Bridgerton Season 2 press conference just a few days before the series’ hugely anticipated return. “It’s a wild, wild ride and I think we’re back with an even bigger escape to 19th century Regency London this time around.” While the first season of Bridgerton, which premiered in December 2020, centered around Daphne and Simon, Season 2 shifts the focus to the eldest of the Bridgerton siblings, Lord Anthony Bridgerton (played by Jonathan Bailey), as he sets out to find a wife. When asked by Parade.com what the biggest difference was in telling Season 2’s love story compared to Simon and Daphne’s romance in the first, Van Dusen said, “The biggest difference [is] the characters that we’re focusing on… It’s a new story and that was really part of the draw for me to sign up for a series like this as far as the ability to tell these close-ended love stories season after season without having to come up with all these fake obstacles to keep our main couple apart. We can actually get them to their happily ever after and it can be a satisfying conclusion every season.” Perhaps most tantalizing of all? Van Dusen didn’t conclusively confirm that Lord Anthony gets his true love in the end this time around. Instead, he said, “He finds it or maybe he does not find it with Kate Sharma [played by Simone Ashley].” Julia Quinn’s novel The Viscount Who Loved Me served as the inspiration for the new season. Van Dusen noted that for him it’s important to stay true to “the essence” of the author’s Bridgerton novel series. “I think with any adaptation, there’s always going to be differences from the source material. And you know, what was important for me was to really stay true to the essence of these books and I wanted to capture the spirit of this family that loves each other,” Van Dusen said at the press conference. “There’s so much love apparent within this family. I wanted to capture the banter between the siblings, the brotherhoods and the sisterhoods that you see. I think those are the most important things to get right and I think we were able to do that on the seasons.” All episodes of Bridgerton Season 2 premiere Friday, March 25, on Netflix. Next, Bridgerton-Inspired Vacation Spots Where You’ll Feel Like a Member of the Regency Era
