Bridgerton, Netflix’s steamy Regency-era romance from Shondaland, quickly became one of their most-watched series globally, and excitement for season two is already at a high pitch. So it’s no wonder such a sensation would inspire a companion podcast. On Bridgerton: The Official Podcast, host Gabrielle Collins wants to be our “official guide behind the scenes of Shondaland.” Along with her guest hosts, Gabrielle plans to get into every sumptuous detail of the show, from the writers’ room to the sets and locations to the costumes to the historical context and more. On this episode, she introduces us to her guest hosts and gives us a little sneak peek into what we have to look forward to.
Jess Brownell wrote for season one and is even now working on season two; she “pulls up a seat for us in the writers’ room,” Gabrielle says, but Jess has to warn us that it’s “a bit sweaty, because we’ve been sitting in there for 10 hours.” She reveals that they drank so much sparkling water that when they were searching for a French name, “Madame Delacroix” was thrown out as a joke – but of course it stuck. Hannah Gregg, the historian on set, is a “walking encyclopedia” who is excited to provide historical context for what’s going in the story, though she promises not to make us take a test at the end. “We need a Bridgerton board game,” Jess jokes, where you have to know Regency history and “end up in the den of iniquity!” And Bridgerton creator and showrunner Chris van Dusen’s personal assistant and researcher, Annabelle Hood, was a part of the entire process from start to finish and “could be Lady Whistledown with all the secrets I know!”
Plus, they’ll get in-depth sit-downs with writer Julia Quinn, whose historical romance novels inspired the show, as well as cast members, costume designers, composers, Chris van Dusen himself, and even Shonda Rhimes – “Basically, escorting you through a ballroom of TV bada**ery,” Gabrielle promises – to find out “how the sauce gets made.” Like how all the windows and fireplaces at one location were built by hand, or that they had to erect a warehouse for the 7,500 costume pieces, or how they figured out the water rig, and a million other Easter eggs that will make your second (or third, or fifth) rewatch even better. “You think you love Bridgerton – until you hear about the show behind the show,” Gabrielle says. So be like the dreamy Duke and let yourself fall in love with Bridgerton: The Official Podcast.
If you want to be sure you're listening to the podcasts everyone else is checking out, iHeartRadio has you covered. Every Monday, iHeartRadio releases a chart showing the most popular podcasts of the week. Stay up to date on what's trending by checking out the chart here. There's even a chart just for radio podcasts here, featuring all your favorite iHeartRadio personalities like Bobby Bones, Elvis Duran, Steve Harvey and dozens of others.
Photo: Getty Images