In 2020 the diverse casting in Bridgerton was framed as a commitment to diverse representation in spaces people of colour are not normally seen - specifically Period Romances. Bridgerton subverted the established norms for Regency romances on TV by casting people of colour in leading romantic roles which in the past had been reserved for white actors. This was heralded and Bridgerton was widely praised for this casting, however, over the last few years the perception of Bridgerton, and Netflix's, commitment to diversity in the show has shifted. There is a growing perception that the diversity and representation in Bridgerton is less a commitment and more performative, illustrated by the disparity in how they present the season 3 leads (both white) versus the previous two pairings - more specifically the season 2 pairing. This disparity has again been highlighted by official social media accounts for Shondaland, Netflix and the Bridgerton production all celebrating the first anniversary of the release of season 3 with photos and videos when they did not acknowledge the first anniversary of season 2. Most noticeably was the NetflixUK social media accounts which posted twice for the first anniversary of season 3 as well as fan weeks and days, but have consistently ignored celebrations for season 2 or the season 2 couple including the recent third anniversary of season 2 which was acknowledged by a small number of official accounts with a very short video. It is not lost on many fans that the season 3 couple are the only fully white pairing, in comparison to the previous leads, and some wonder if this plays into the disparate treatment, and more specifically the reason the NetflixUK social media team consistently post in celebration of season 3 and the season 3 leads.
This is not saying the official accounts cannot celebrate the first anniversary for season 3, but rather it is saying that the failure to celebrate other leads and other seasons has led to an obvious disparity in the visibility of previous couples versus the season 3 couple. What the official accounts don't do says as much as what they do, and in this instance what they didn't do was give the pairings that included a non-white character equal attention to that of the pairing where both characters are white. This is not a one off situation either, it is part of a pattern of favourable treatment towards the season 3 leads over others in the show in terms of promotion, celebration and storytelling.
As mentioned above, NetflixUK posted twice to celebrate the first anniversary of season 3, coming after they posted twice this year for 'Polin Day', a fan driven recognition of the day that Penelope and Colin meet in the book. It is important to note that acknowledging Polin Day is not part of the marketing strategy for Bridgerton, but rather something that the NetflixUK social media team have made the decision to do, whilst they ignore fan driven weeks or days for other couples in the Bridgerton Universe. Polin are the only couple that NetflixUK have posted about fan driven dates/weeks for, including when it was not their season, and they are also they only couple that NetflixUK accounts posted prolifically for their first anniversary. So what is the difference between Polin and the other couples? Polin are a fully white couple, and whether they intend to or not NetflixUK have sent a clear message with their focus on Polin in this way. NetflixUK are saying that in their opinion Polin are the only couple that are worth celebrating and worth recognising regardless of who the season leads are. But NetflixUK are not the only official account to be sending this message, they are just the most obvious about it.
There are some that will no doubt argue the previous season anniversaries have been recognised, but as this is focussing on how the official accounts celebrated the first anniversary, let's look at how the previous season's first anniversaries were recognised. For season 1 the first anniversary, 25 December 2021, was used to announce the release date for season 2. Perhaps it could be considered fitting to use the first anniversary for season 1 to celebrate the continuing Bridgerton story. But when we consider the season 1 first anniversary in comparison to the first anniversary for season 3, it seems to be a very minimal effort. The season 2 first anniversary is a completely different story altogether, it wasn't used to celebrate the continuance of the show, nor was it used to celebrate the second season, in fact there were no posts from any official account for it. One crew member did post a celebration, but very quickly removed the post as if he was asked to take it down, thereby removing all trace of a celebration of the season 2 first anniversary. From the perspective of a fan, or viewer, the optics are not looking good for Netflix or any of the official accounts.
The season 3 anniversary post comes as a Netflix Tudum article about season 4 was updated and reposted. The article originally had Kate listed as Kate Sharma in the returning cast, whilst both Francesca and Penelope were listed as Stirling and Bridgerton respectively. This is despite Francesca and Penelope having married in the show a season after Kate. The article sent the message that, for Netflix, the white female characters are more important, and more deserving of respect, than the woman of colour characters, something that fans picked up on and were vocal about. It is interesting to note that after I sent Netflix an email asking for comment on some of the points I have included in this post, including the optics around that article, Netflix has updated the article to list Kate as Kate Bridgerton, we will never know what drove Netflix to update the article eventually, was it the online backlash or was it something else?
For a production that uses diversity and representation as a marketing strategy, and point of difference, it is fair to question if their representation and diversity is performative rather than substantive. The consistent failure of Netflix, Shondaland and the Bridgerton production to celebrate the previous couples that include a person of colour, whilst consistently celebrating Polin, tells fans - specifically non white fans - that their representation is less important and less worthy of continual celebration and recognition.
I realise that some will view a couple of social media posts, or a character's name in an article, as something small and nothing to get upset about, and they will do all they can to minimise the issue, but this shows a lack of understanding of the issues being raised. What the official accounts write and what they post, is important because it reflects what the marketing teams at Netflix and Shondaland have chosen to highlight, and how they have chosen to reflect the Bridgerton brand, not as diverse but rather as centred around a white pairing. This is not a new issue, this is just the latest example of Netflix showing favouritism towards Polin, but each time they post they are telling viewers that the non white characters are not important, not worthy of ongoing celebration.
Despite Bridgerton initially subverting the view of period dramas with diverse casting and presenting people of colour in leading romantic roles, the actions of Netflix, Shondaland and the show’s official social media accounts lead to questions on their commitment to diversity and representation. The stark contrast in how the official accounts have celebrated the all-white season 3 couple compared to the mixed-race couples of previous seasons speaks volumes, not just by what they posted, but also through what they did not post. These disparities, whether intentional or not, send a clear message that undermines their proclaimed commitment to diversity and representation, suggesting that perhaps the diversity we see in Bridgerton is more performative than substantive. If Netflix, Shondaland and the Bridgerton production are sincerely committed to the ideal of diversity and representation on the show and truly value inclusion, they must show it in both words and actions, they must be more equitable in how they promote and celebrate each season's couples.
Netflix were approached for comment, but have not provided any as yet.
