‘Bridgerton’ Season 1 Cost an Estimated $7 Million Per Episode
Every frame of Bridgerton exudes luxury. The scale of each shot, even for the most mundane scenes, is almost always breathtaking. The hit Netflix series presents one of the most convincing fictional presentations of immense wealth ever seen on television.
So, how did they pull it off? Is there some secret to creating such opulence on a shoestring TV budget? Or are Bridgerton sets and costumes really exactly what they look like on camera?
‘Bridgerton’ is one of the most expensive current shows
The first season of Bridgerton was expensive. With $7 million per episode, the first season of Bridgerton is one of the most expensive shows of its time.
Vox reports that the hefty budget runs right up to the limits set aside for the popular costume drama. The show is filmed in a fairly straightforward TV fashion, with shot-reverse-shot dialogue scenes making up most of the proceedings. The cast, all immensely talented, weren’t making Hollywood A-list salaries in season one. So where does the money go?
‘Bridgerton’ breaks the bank to portray immense wealth
One of the top drivers of costs on Bridgerton are the incredible costumes. Over 7,500 costumes had to be sourced for the first season alone, according to Vogue. Many were created from whole cloth just for production. There isn’t some Hollywood secret that makes this much cheaper than it would be in any other context.
The style of the show goes for a heightened, bodice-ripper romance novel style take on the characters. Bridgerton aims more for a sexy love story vibe than hard-edged, accurate historical fiction. That means unique costumes meant to appeal to the modern eye, so real vintage items aren’t in the cards.
If you want your cast to look like wealthy aristocrats, it comes at a cost. The same goes for those incredible sets. Much of the show is shot on location throughout England, Town & Country reports. Some sets are built on soundstages, but many are real estates and historical landmarks.
The modern musical touches in ‘Bridgerton’ come with a hefty price tag
One of Bridgerton‘s most clever elements is its use of pop hits. The show rarely plays the original tracks, of course. Instead, a scene at a ball, or a tense argument in a pub, might be scored by era-appropriate renditions of modern hits.
Billie Eilish, Ariana Grande, and Shawn Mendes do not come cheap. Even if there are some savings in doing covers — almost always with a violin involved — it’s another expensive habit for the show. It’s also core to its identity, separating it from the usual Regency drama adaptations.
According to Screenrant, the blend of a traditional soundtrack with pop music is meant to evoke a feeling of fantasy. Verisimilitude is often at the forefront of period dramas. But Bridgerton makes a point of flouting tradition, even as it adapts deeply traditional subject matter.
This is not a show that takes place in our world, as similar as it is. Instead of scolding the British aristocracy, it presents a knowingly revisionist version of that world. It’s diverse, it’s far more colorful, and everybody’s a bit prettier than they really were. And then a Taylor Swift needle drop hits, driving home just how much was invested in realizing the vision of Bridgerton.
