‘Bridgerton’ Season 2: Why Regé-Jean Page Is Unlikely to Return, According to Shonda Rhimes
Fans hoping for a cameo appearance from the Duke of Hastings in Bridgerton Season 2 shouldn’t hold their breath. Producer Shonda Rhimes says the chances of seeing breakout star Regé-Jean Page in future episodes of the Netflix period drama aren’t good.
Regé-Jean Page won’t appear in ‘Bridgerton’ Season 2
In April 2021, Netflix broke the hearts of many Bridgerton fans when it announced that Page would not be reprising his role as Simon Bassett in season 2. Rather than continuing the story of Simon and his wife Daphne (Phoebe Dynevor), the show’s sophomore outing will instead focus on the romance between Anthony Bridgerton (Jonathan Bailey) and Kate Sharma (Simone Ashley).
Page said he’d always known his time on Bridgerton would be limited.
“It’s a one-season arc. It’s going to have a beginning, middle, end – give us a year,” Page told Variety when speaking of how the role was pitched to him. “[I thought] ‘That’s interesting,’ because then it felt like a limited series. I get to come in, I get to contribute my bit and then the Bridgerton family rolls on.”
Shonda Rhimes weighs in on why the Duke of Hastings actor is unlikely to return
Page has made it clear his time as a member of the Bridgerton family is over. But some fans have been hoping that he might make a brief appearance in season 2. His character is mostly absent from the Viscount Who Love Me, the Julia Quinn book on which season 2 will be based. But Simon and Daphne are featured in a fan-favorite scene involving a heated game of pall mall (a game similar to croquet). That’s led some to think there’s a chance he might be featured in at least one episode.
However, when Variety recently asked Rhimes if there was any chance Page might make a surprise appearance in future seasons of Bridgerton, she said it was unlikely.
“I don’t think so,” the Grey’s Anatomy producer said. “And here’s why. He’s an enormous star now. As I like to say, the idea that we would write Regé to stand around in the background doesn’t make any sense at all to me. What would he do? is what I like to say.”
‘Bridgerton’ Season 2 premieres in 2022
Bridgerton fans might have seen the last of the Duke of Hastings, but they definitely haven’t seen the last of the Bridgertons. Season 2 will release on Netflix sometime in 2022, the streamer has confirmed. And the period drama has already been renewed for seasons 3 and 4. Rhimes is also working on a prequel series focusing on Queen Charlotte (played by Golda Rosheuvel).
“I’m very obsessed with Queen Charlotte, and I always call her the Beyoncé of the show,” she told Variety. “I’m constantly saying out loud, ‘God, I love her wigs’ — somehow hoping that somebody will send me one of her wigs so that I can walk around wearing it.”
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