Bridgerton Review: What Made It the Biggest Netflix Series Ever?
Since its debut on Netflix, "Bridgerton" has become the platform's biggest series with millions of viewers around the world.
According to Entertainment Weekly, within the first 28 days since "Bridgerton" premiered on Netflix, Season 1 of the series has been watched by 82 million accounts worldwide.
The original projection of the Shondaland series has initially been 19 million accounts for the first four weeks. It beat the previous record-holder "The Witcher," which was watched by 76 million accounts when it first debuted in December 2019.
A Netflix blog post revealed that the Regency-era show made it to the Top 10 in every country except Japan. it even hit the top spot in 83 countries, including the US, UK, South Africa, France and India.
But why are millions of people binging "Bridgerton?"
What's Bridgerton?
The series is an adaptation of the "Bridgerton" books, a popular novel series written by Julia Quinn. Each book focuses on a different "Bridgerton" family sibling and their quest for true love.
It is set in 1913 in Regency London, similar to Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice."
"Bridgerton" Season 1 followed Daphne (played by Phoebe Dynevor) and her lover, Simon, the Duke of Hastings (played by Regé-Jean Page) and their families' raunchy tale.
No Deep Messages
In the time of a pandemic, what viewers want right now is just an escape without looking too deep into its messages or reading between the lines.
It's not deep, but not all series and movies would need to be deep just so it can be entertaining to watch.
The series is historical but bright and straightforward to follow, which is why most "Bridgerton" reviews are positive.
Heterosexual Fantasy
Some of its exciting scenes include intimate acrobatic positions, whispered gossips, fights, and backstabbing. It's all very shallow.
But one of the key reasons "Bridgerton" has been a massive hit was because it wants to maintain some of the women's fantasy.
The show never really deviated from opposing culture, finding a match for love instead of the typical arranged marriage, having instantly perfect and flawlessly extraordinary intimacy and stepping up as the head of a household while maintaining good looks and sensual desirability and living happily ever after.
Pride and Prejudice Meets Gossip Girl
Who doesn't love "Gossip Girl?" People love to watch shows that expose dirty laundry and waiting for scandals to unfold.
Feeling Complete
One of the best things why "Bridgerton" became one of the most-watched series of 2021 is that one season already feels complete.
All storylines were wrapped up because viewers found out who Lady Whistledown is, as well as all of the mysteries surrounding her.
Though it may feel like this series has handed viewers a gift, they will still look forward to the second season now focusing on Daphne Bridgerton's younger sister, the smart and "Elizabeth Bennet" Eloise Bridgerton, finally embarking on courting season.
