There’s always a bit of a comedown after such an eventful season, so we know that our beloved Bridgerverse family need some time to decompress. But before we send the cast of the third season of Shondaland’s hit Netflix series Bridgerton off to a much-deserved beach/spa/golf course, we took a few minutes to ask them some crucial (read: very silly) questions.
You heard it here first, folks: Nicola Coughlan and Luke Newton, and two dozen other cast members, and top creatives like, ahem, executive producers Shonda Rhimes and Betsy Beers and showrunner Jess Brownell give us the lowdown on what their family and friends have been dishing in group chat, and what memes have caught their attention.
Has anything been said about your character that you’ve either really agreed with or would like to vehemently deny?
Daniel Francis/Lord Marcus Anderson: I’ve heard that he’s got player vibes, and I’m like, “Damn, that was not what I was going for!” I was hurt. I mean, don’t see that halo and the wings? But I guess I can see how his confidence and playfulness come out as such. He’s a big character, so it’s easy to think he’s just coming in to swoop things up.
Harriet Cains/Philipa Featherington: That she’s an icon. Vehemently agree with that! I’m actually really pleasantly surprised with the reaction to my character this season. It’s great that she has come off so well!
Emma Naomi/Alice Mondrich: I hear she’s serving — like when Alice comes really ready to meet the ton, everyone is saying that she’s serving. And I agree!
Hannah New/Lady Tilley Arnold: Everything I’ve heard about how people are receiving Tilley is that this is a woman who’s coming in to shake up the ton. And I’m like, “Yeah, she is!” She’s there, and she commands attention, and I’m really glad that people are sitting up and seeing who she is. It’s nice to see a character that kind of doesn’t have to play by all of the ton rules.
Ruth Gemmell/Lady Violet Bridgerton: So, I am always drinking tea at every given opportunity. And there’s a moment in the books where it became evident that tea drinking is how Violet works things out too. And I absolutely agree with that sentiment.
Hannah Dodd/Francesca Bridgerton: I love how people have picked up on different aspects of characters that they relate to. They represent something close to them, so it’s been really nice when you actually speak to people, and they’re like, “I’m so glad I can see myself in the show now.” That means a lot to them. And also how Francesca and John’s love story has represented a new type of love story.
Luke Newton/Colin Bridgerton: Well, when I first heard people in Australia say that they got “ick” from Colin and his chat-up lines, I was surprised! And then after reflection, I kind of understood a little bit. But also, in part two, we get to see a different side to him, a more romantic and attractive side.
Luke Newton and Nicola Coughlan.
Nicola Coughlan/Penelope Featherington: I think she never comes from a place of meanness. I think she’s misguided, but I think she thinks she’s doing the right thing … but she’s not cruel. And people are like, “Why did she do it? She’s cruel!” I’m like, “No, no, no, she’s just made some bad decisions.”
Luke Thompson/Benedict Bridgerton: One thing I agree with people saying is how he’s sort of trapped in his own freedom, and that his desire to be free and to not have any sort of roots anywhere is also his trap, which I thought was a really great way of putting it.
Claudia Jessie/Eloise Bridgerton: I think sometimes there’s maybe a thought that Eloise is just annoying, and I find that a bit cheap to whittle down a girl who wants autonomy and wants to question things as annoying. I’m like, “It’s gotta be a bit better than she’s ‘just annoying.’”
Adjoa Andoh/Lady Agatha Danbury: I hear a lot from fans who say they would like her to have a romantic relationship, with which I vehemently agree. I think that would be fantastically interesting. What do you do if you’re an independent woman who’s carved out your own place in the world? You are secure; you make your own decisions. What do you do if you open that heart space to let someone else in? What does that do to your sense of self, your independence? How do you navigate that? Does it enrich you? Does it detract from you? Does it do a little of both? It would be fantastically interesting to see that play out. I have so many girlfriends of all ages who are determinedly going their own solo way, making their own life, having a career, doing all that sort of stuff, and if they want to accommodate somebody in a love way, how do they do that?
Do you have a favorite meme of your character or the show in general?
Harriet Cains: I saw on TikTok that there’s a girl that’s done Philipa’s hair and makeup, and she’s dancing to that song [she sings], “I’ve been a nasty girl.” That one is my favorite.
Jessica Madsen/Cressida Cowper: My favorite ones are about Cressida’s shoulders, like the crocs on her shoulders, and the grapes on her hair. There’s this woman who actually puts things on her shoulders, like lampshades!
Sam Phillips/Lord Alfred Debling: I haven’t seen any, but I’ve got Pitbull on repeat at the moment, and I’m really hoping there are some Pitbull-inspired ones.
Hannah New: I think the show has so many good memes, and I’m not sure if I’ve seen it yet, but definitely as soon as I looked at my character in the mirror, I was like, “Oh, my God, she’s Bridgerton Bardot!” She has this amazing quiff, and she looks so beautiful. And I have an amazing team that have turned me into this incredible woman. That’s what I love about my job, that I get to transform and embody these people who are really fabulous.
Golda Rosheuvel/Queen Charlotte: The “Sorrows, sorrows, prayers, prayers” one was quite good. I think it’s because we knew that that was kind of going to be a thing. When I first read that line, I was like, “Shonda, what you doing, babe? You know this is going to go global!” And even Tom and I discussed that scene as well. We knew this was something that was gonna go, and it’s gone!
Jess Brownell, showrunner: I kind of love Colin as Mr. Worldwide with Pitbull and the bald head. I’m pretty obsessed with that. I chose the Pitbull song, and so seeing the way that it’s taken over has been really amazing.
Nicola Coughlan: I just saw one that I really like, where she is, like, 17 and bullying everyone in London, writing as Whistledown. I found that one quite funny. And there was this one about Colin and Violet where she says, “You’ve always been my most selfless child.” And I was like, “He’s literally been on a gap year every year!”
Simone Ashley/Kate Sharma: There’s this one of Luke Newton, and he’s at the desk, and it says, “I’m looking for a man in finance, trust fund, 6’ 5”, blue eyes.” And when that song went viral, I messaged Nicola, and I was like, “They have to make a Bridgerton one!” I didn’t think of Luke, but when I saw it, I was like, “That’s perfect.”
Luke Thompson: I don’t see a lot of the memes, but someone sent me one where I’m high as a kite at the dinner table, and that was quite funny.
Tom Verica, director: The duke licking the spoon. I’m going old school!
What’s going on in your friend or family group chat right now? What is everyone saying about you, your character, this season, etc.?
Sam Phillips: There’s been a lot of pictures of stills of the show with me in awkward moments where I’m doing really funny facial expressions. So, that’s kind of a running gag between friends and family at the moment. Just lots of stills of me looking awkward. My family is clearly quite cruel.
Hannah New: Most people are like, “Is that actually you?” It is me! It takes a whole army of people to turn my pillow-wrinkled face at 4 in the morning into Lady Tilley. I live on a farm in the west of Ireland, so when I’m not in ballgowns, I’m in wellies.
Jess Brownell: Well, I’m on a group chat with my mom and my brother and my grandmother. And my grandmother is the original Bridgerton fan. She read the books decades ago, as you know. And Grandma is just like, “I can’t believe you made me wait [for part two]. I’m 91 years old. Let’s get it together!”
Hannah Dodd: I love when I get the live updates from everyone. They’re like, “I’m on episode two!” And my stepsister is like, “I’m not sure about this guy. He ignored you on the street.” But the end of the episode makes everything make sense, but you can’t say anything until they get there. It’s so hard!
Shonda Rhimes, executive producer: I have a group of friends in the town where I live who are all very excited. But people were very upset at the four-episode [split]. There is so much love for the show, which is amazing. But I definitely got angry calls after they only saw four and they wanted to know what happened in five.
Betsy Beers, executive producer: It doesn’t just take family and friends. Anybody who vaguely knows you have anything to do with this show wants to talk. Like, I know a barista who I get coffee from weekly, and he’s becoming very friendly. He dutifully checked it out, and has a lot of really great feelings, and wants to know what happens. I think the world sort of expands, and the amazing thing about this is I don’t think I fully understood how far the reach of this was until even this last round. Because when you think about it, so much of our time has been Covid and not really talking to people about what they’re seeing, except obviously online. But just the in-person aggressive approaches in terms of what’s happening next has been refreshing.
Luke Newton: We don’t talk about the carriage scene, and we won’t be talking about the scene in episode five either.
Nicola Coughlan: My mum’s talking about Luke. She’s completely in love. I went back home to Ireland, and she was watching videos of me hugging her, and then she saw one of him hugging her and was like, “Oh, that’s the one.” I’m like, “He’s the one for you? Not your daughter that you gave birth to?!” She was holding his hand. It was very cute.
Tom Verica: Not a specific group chat, but I come from a very large family back in Philadelphia, so they do not hold back with all their questions on Facebook and social media. They don’t do it privately. But then on the side, I’ll get somebody who goes, “Seriously, can you tell me about this or that?” So yeah, it gets a little crazy.
Has there been a family member or friend who has reacted in a way that surprised you?
Jessica Madsen: I think my dog’s taken notice. She can identify it’s me.
Joanna Bobin/Lady Cowper: My daughter has been allowed to see very small parts of it. And the most beautiful thing is how she doesn’t give a toss about me and is obsessed with Jess [Madsen]. She’s always like, “Oh, Jess’ dress is so beautiful, Mummy!” And she’s very not interested in me. She’s 7. It’s very sweet.
Emma Naomi: One thing that’s come out a lot is that Alice, as a mother, is always like, “Don’t touch anything.” And I never really picked up on how many people resonate with that.
Claudia Jessie: I’m always amazed when my stepdad says he loves it. He’s this big Croatian mountain of a man, and he just loves it.
Luke Thompson: When we went to New York, the main people who came up to us were the security guards. They were obsessed with it. The British version is where you get the guy saying, “Oh, my wife watches it. I don’t.” And it’s so nice to have people you wouldn’t expect to tell you how much they love the show or your character.
Valentina Valentini is a London-based entertainment, travel, and food writer and is also a senior contributor to Shondaland. Elsewhere, she has written for Vanity Fair, Vulture, Variety, Thrillist, Heated, and The Washington Post. Her personal essays can be read in the Los Angeles Times and Longreads, and her tangents and general complaints can be seen on Twitter at @ByValentinaV.
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