Los Angeles (AFP)

The period romantic series "Bridgerton", from the famous producer Shonda Rhimes at the origin of "Grey's Anatomy", was renewed Thursday for a second season by the Netflix platform, where it was a hit when it was released last month. latest.

The series takes place in 1813 in England, under the regency of the Prince of Wales, a period of cultural ferment marked in particular by the writers Jane Austen and Mary Shelley.

But the creation of Shonda Rhimes has chosen to take liberties with the novels from which the series is inspired, and especially with historical reality, assuming sometimes blatant anachronisms.

The recipe was clearly appealing as "Bridgerton" will have been seen in more than 63 million homes in the four weeks following its release on Christmas Day, according to Netflix.

"Dear readers (...) I have the honor to bring you the news: Bridgerton will officially return for a second season," the video-on-demand platform wrote on social media, in the narrator's style. fantasy of the series, Lady Whistledown, to which Julie Andrews lends her voice.

The first season followed Daphne Bridgerton (Phoebe Dynevor), a young woman in search of a husband, like most of her counterparts from good society, and who will forge a trompe-l'oeil relationship with Simon Bassett, a duke, source of misunderstandings and twists.

Production of the second season will resume in the spring and will focus on the "romantic pursuits" of Daphne's brother Lord Anthony Bridgerton (Jonathan Bailey).

Each novel in the book series written by Julia Quinn, which inspired the television series, is dedicated to a family member.

Creator of "Grey's Anatomy" and "Scandal", Shonda Rhimes took 40 months to deliver her first series to the platform which offered her, according to several American media, a contract of 150 million dollars.

Unlike other recent references, such as "Downton Abbey", which wanted to be closer to their time, "Bridgerton is not a history course", claims its creator Chris Van Dusen.

According to him, "our series is made for a modern audience, with modern themes and characters", many of whom are played by black actors while slavery was not abolished until 1833 in England.

The costumes and sets are faithful, as is the social context, but the language and behavior of the characters often seem very current.

© 2021 AFP