‘Bridgerton’ Star Jonathan Bailey Promises an Absolute ‘Mad’ and ‘Brilliant’ Season 2

After premiering this past Christmas on Netflix, it’s no secret that Bridgerton has fast become one of the streaming giant’s biggest and best series. Smashing viewership records with a whopping 82 million streams, the Shonda Rhimes period drama is officially gearing up for its sophomore season and according to one of the show’s lead stars, fans can expect a “ton of Easter eggs” for a “mad, and brilliant” new chapter. With one of the show’s romantic lead characters, Anthony Bridgerton, set to “dominate the social season,” actor Jonathan Bailey is teasing what fans can expect when it returns later this year.

“Well, I feel like the campy, plush spectacle of the Bridgerton world is only going to get more pronounced in the best way possible,” Bailey told British Vogue. “It’s mad, and it’s brilliant. There are also going to be a lot of brilliant characters introduced in this series — and it’s not just Anthony that we’re going to delve into.” The 32-year-old actor went on to explain how the universe set up by Rhimes and co-producer, Chris Van Dusen will “expand and keep pushing boundaries” that are quietly subversive. “There’s just going to be more of what everyone loves, I think.”

Further sharing how he believes Season 2 will give fans a “much broader sense of who Anthony is,” he admits his character is someone who feels he’s been failed by the society in which he lives. “There’s a real humanity to him, too, that will hopefully come out in the next series,” he said following the renewal of the series. “It’s funny because even though Bridgerton is obviously a period drama, Anthony’s story is quite modern in the sense that he’s reached a point where he genuinely believes that love will never happen for him. That’s where he is at the end of the first series, and that’s such a common feeling right now.”

In addition to teasing “loads of little Easter eggs for all of the characters” that fans of the books can eagerly look forward to, he also teased a rather cryptic clue, hinting viewers should “watch out for the bees.” According to Oprah magazine, the bee is a significant nod to Anthony’s future on the series as fans discover a monumental event in his young life that impacted his outlook and personality today.

Adapted from the beloved books by Julia Quinn, the first season of Bridgerton follows a group of esteemed families in British high society through the lens of a mysterious gossip columnist, Lady Whistledown — voiced by the great, Julie Andrews. The series was one of the network’s highly-anticipated projects from Rhimes, who signed an eight-show deal with Netflix in 2017. Bridgerton is now streaming on Netflix.