‘Queen Charlotte’: Shonda Rhimes Explained the Main Goal of the ‘Bridgerton’ Spinoff
Netflix’s Bridgerton prequel Queen Charlotte will debut on the streaming platform this spring. The new 18th-century set series will follow Queen Charlotte (India Amarteifio), who arrives in England for her arranged marriage to King George (Corey Mylchreest) which will begin to shift the ton as it was before her arrival.
When it came to getting the series off the ground, Shonda Rhimes had one major goal she wanted to accomplish with the new show.
‘Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story’ will debut May 4 on Netflix
While fans await Bridgerton Season 3, they are eager to learn that the prequel series Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story will debut in just a few weeks. The official logline for the new show reads,
Centered on Queen Charlotte’s rise to prominence and power, this Bridgerton-verse prequel tells the story of how the young Queen’s marriage to King George sparked both a great love story and a societal shift, creating the world of the Ton inherited by the characters in Bridgerton.
The cast includes India Amarteifio, Arsema Thomas, and Connie Jenkins-Greig, who has been cast as young Queen Charlotte, Lady Danbury, and Violet (eventually Lady Bridgerton). Golda Rosheuvel, Adjoa Andoh, and Ruth Gemmell will also be reprising their roles as the older versions of the characters.
Shonda Rhimes explained the main goal of the ‘Bridgerton’ spinoff
In the Bridgerton book by Julia Quinn, Queen Charlotte is barely mentioned. Though she’s become a prominent character in the series, no one expected to see a spinoff series based solely around her. Rhimes and Quinn have even teamed up to write a new book. The showrunner/writer/executive producer has even shared the main goal of the spinoff series.
During the Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story zoom trailer premiere event, Rhimes shared that her main goal was to explore the Bridgerton Universe’s origins while sharing the young women’s struggles and romantic stories who inhabit this universe.
‘Queen Charlotte’ may not have a happy ending
Fans of Bridgerton know that Queen Charlotte in the future loves to be in the middle of gossip. She also spends her days reading Lady Whistledown, snuffing tobacco, and gazing upon her zebras. This is all because her beloved husband, King George, is suffering from dementia which pains her a great deal. The king stays hidden away in the castle, so fans rarely see interactions between the pair.
Queen Charlotte will offer up their love story, although it will be bittersweet. “Marriages can be complex, and the endings can be complex, and you can understand that in very real ways,” Rhimes told Tudum. “I loved delving into the romance between charlotte and King George; I thought that was really fascinating and I really wanted to be able to show people what that kind of love is like, even though they already know how it ends up. I thought that was a challenge and thought that’d be exciting.”
Fans are eager to see what Rhims has cooked up.
