'Bridgerton' Season 2 Struck With Major Setback

Bridgerton Season 2 has reportedly halted production yet again for another positive COVID-19 test on set. On Saturday, Deadline revealed that the highly anticipated Netflix original series was on hold indefinitely, with producers seeking guidance on when it would be safe to resume work. This is the second positive coronavirus case on the Bridgerton set in the span of one week.

Bridgerton Season 2 is filming in the U.K., where the Delta variant of COVID-19 is now causing some surges in the pandemic. Netflix declined to comment on reports of this new positive case, and it is not yet clear whether it was a cast member, crew member or someone else on set who tested positive. The individual is now in isolation and the rest are taking precautions, but the fact that the work hiatus is "indefinite" has some speculating that it must have been a central cast member who tested positive.

This new health scare comes just days after the last one. On Thursday, Bridgerton reportedly ceased work for 24 hours after a crew member tested positive for COVID-19. After a round of tests and precautions, filming resumed on Friday but obviously stopped again very quickly.

The entertainment industry has struggled to maintain any momentum amid the global pandemic, which has disrupted both the production and release ends of the business. Industry insiders say Netflix has generally been one of the more proactive studios in terms of testing and on-set precautions. That makes these incidents on the Bridgerton set all the more ominous.

It also highlights the danger of these new COVID-19 variants. Almost 52,000 people tested positive for the virus in England on Friday, and 49 people passed away. Public health experts are warning that the Delta variant — and other mutations of the novel coronavirus — may be more communicable than the versions that swept the globe last year.

In spite of these spikes in numbers, the U.K. government is soldiering on with its plan to reopen public spaces on Monday. All legal restrictions on social gatherings will be lifted, though businesses will still have the right to set their own rules. That means the Bridgerton set may stay closed, impose a mask mandate or any other measures which Netflix chooses to take.

Bridgerton Season 1 is streaming now on Netflix for any who missed the sensational series last year. There is no release date in place for Season 2 just yet.