The Great Experiment: Empire and Class in Bridgerton

In December 2020, audiences around the world were blessed with the first season of the hit Netflix TV show, Bridgerton: a sexy, romantic romp that blended all of the glamour and escapism of a Regency era romance with diverse representation across race and sexuality. The team behind it all called it ‘colour-blind casting’ - except, it wasn’t quite so blind in reality. Six years, four seasons, and a spin-off show later, we’re still asking the important questions: what was Queen Charlotte's so-called "The Great Experiment"? How does the little thing known as the British Empire fit into this delightfully race-blind society? Does Korea, or any other country really, definitely exist in this world?

Join us as we try and unpick what alternative historical context Bridgerton has created and all of the complicated questions and class dynamics that arise from a worldbuilding based, first and foremost, on escapism and fantasy - all set against a string quartet cover of ‘360’.

Music by Max Elliott

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