After a record-breaking first run, Netflix series Bridgerton returned to the streaming service for season 2 on March 25, 2022. In the same way that season 1 of Bridgerton adapted The Duke and I — the first book of the Bridgerton novels — season 2 of the drama series adapted the second book: The Viscount Who Loved Me.
In an interview with Insider, Julia Quinn, the author of the hit romance novel series, discussed some of the differences between the page and screen. In both seasons of the TV series, Quinn relinquished creative control to Shonda Rimes and her production company Shondaland, saying her involvement was “minimal,” but remained on-hand as a consultant. But she noted that the Bridgerton season 2, which focusses on the love story between Viscount Anthony Bridgerton and Kate Sharma, veered further away from the source material.
“[Season 2] did veer farther from the book than season 1 did, but my attitude towards season one, and it really is the same thing for season two, is that they go really well together,” she explained.
“I don’t expect them to be word-for-word and I don’t want them to be carbon copies,” she added. “It’s really neat, you have these two things that complement each other really well. You can watch the show and read the books and have both two separate experiences and one big experience.”
She continued, “I’ve had people say to me, ‘Don’t you want everyone to say that the book’s better?’ And I was like, ‘No, I want the show to be awesome.’ I want people to have trouble deciding. It means things are going great if people are split, and the creators of the show chose to emphasise a slightly different aspect of the many relationships that occur within the story.”
Season 1 and 2 of Bridgerton are now available to view on Netflix. Meanwhile, if you want to learn more about the people who bring these characters to life, check out our guide to the Bridgerton cast.