History Series / Bridgerton

** The dresses, makeup, and accessories in the third season become increasingly gaudy and anachronistic, including frilly shawls, robes, oversized sleeves, sequins, false eyelashes, and acrylics that are from much later time periods, including the 20th and 21st centuries. Some of the dresses are uncharacteristically cinched, while others are just shapeless. The big sleeves [[note]]a form of which would slowly come into fashion in the next two decades, the 1820s and 1830s before falling out of fashion again by 1840[[/note]] on characters such as Cressida and Penelope's sisters are beyond avant-garde.

** The dresses, makeup, and accessories in the third season become increasingly gaudy and anachronistic, including frilly shawls, robes, oversized sleeves, sequins, false eyelashes, and acrylics that seem to be from much later time periods, some of which are clearly from the 20th and 21st centuries. Some of the dresses are uncharacteristically cinched, while others are just shapeless. The big sleeves [[note]]a form of which would slowly come into fashion in the next two decades, the 1820s and 1830s before falling out of fashion again by 1840[[/note]] on characters such as Cressida and Penelope's sisters are beyond avant-garde.

** The dresses, makeup, and accessories in the third season become increasingly gaudy and anachronistic, including frilly shawls, robes, oversized sleeves, sequins, false eyelashes, and acrylics that seem to be from much later time periods, some of which are clearly from the 20th and 21st centuries. Some of the dresses are uncharacteristically cinched, while others are just shapeless. The big sleeves[[note:a form of which would slowly come into fashion in the next two decades, the 1820s and 1830s before falling out of fashion again by 1840[[/folder]] worn on characters such as Cressida and Penelope's sisters are beyond avant-garde.

** The dresses, makeup, and accessories in the third season become increasingly gaudy and anachronistic, including frilly shawls, robes, oversized sleeves, sequins, false eyelashes, and acrylics that seem to be from much later time periods, some of which are clearly from the 21st century, if not 20th. Queen Charlotte's moving hair pieces weren't technologically possible. Big sleeves would slowly come into fashion in the next two decades, the 1820s and 1830s before falling out of fashion again by 1840, and the particular silhouettes worn on characters such as Cressida and Penelope's sisters look almost 1890s. One man even has a beard; beards had fallen out of fashion by the end of the 1600s in England, and wouldn't be commonly worn again until the 1850s.

** The dresses, makeup, and accessories in the third season become increasingly anachronistic, including frilly shawls, robes, oversized sleeves, sequins, false eyelashes, and acrylics that seem to be from much later time periods, some of which are clearly from the 21st century, if not 20th. Moreover, big sleeves would slowly come into fashion in the next two decades, the 1820s and 1830s before falling out of fashion again by 1840, and the particular silhouettes worn on characters such as Cressida and Penelope's sisters look almost 1890s. One man even has a beard; beards had fallen out of fashion by the end of the 1600s in England, and wouldn't be commonly worn again until the 1850s.

* GrayRainOfDepression: In the near end of season 2 chapter 7, rain starts pouring just as Anthony wakes up alone in the morning after spending a passionate night with Kate. Upon learning about Kate's departure, he immediately [[RaceForYourLove rushes to follow her.]] Despite he catches her on time, unfortunately [[spoiler:Kate falls from her horse, thus he immediately rescues her by [[BridalCarry carrying]] her in the Middle of a rainstorm]]. The rainstorm reflects their angst and guilt for finally [[spoiler:[[OvercomeWithDesire "giving themselves in" to each other]]]].

** The dresses, makeup, and accessories in the third season become increasingly anachronistic, including frilly shawls, robes, oversized sleeves, and sequins that seem to be from much later time periods, some of which are clearly from the 21st century, if not 20th. Moreover, big sleeves would slowly come into fashion in the next two decades, the 1820s and 1830s before falling out of fashion again by 1840, and the particular silhouettes worn on characters such as Penelope's sisters look almost 1890s. One man even has a beard; beards had fallen out of fashion by the end of the 1600s in England, and wouldn't be commonly worn again until the 1850s.

** The dresses, makeup, and accessories in the third season become increasingly anachronistic, including frilly shawls, robes, oversized sleeves, and sequins that seem to be from much later time periods, some of which are clearly from the 21st century, if not 20th. Moreover, big sleeves would slowly come into fashion in the next decade, the 1820s, but the particular silhouettes worn on characters such as Penelope's sisters look straight out of the late Victorian era. One man even has a beard; beards had fallen out of fashion by the end of the 1600s in England, and wouldn't be commonly worn again until the 1850s.

The series takes place in an [[AlternateHistory alternative]], racially integrated RegencyEngland, where the marriage mart is in full swing and young ladies and their families scheme for good matches. The plot revolves around the sons and daughters of the rich and respected Bridgerton clan as they find love and come of age. Among the family are eldest daughter Daphne (Creator/PhoebeDynevor), a debutante set to find her match in the new season; oldest brother Anthony (Creator/JonathanBailey), who tries to balance his lordship duties with his personal desires; second and third sons Benedict (Creator/LukeThompson) and Colin (Creator/LukeNewton), who want to find their own ways in life; and younger sister Eloise (Creator/ClaudiaJessie), disdainful of the marriage mart and the society that makes it.

Also in the mix are the Bridgertons' neighbour, the tasteless Lady Featherington (Creator/PollyWalker), has trouble finding matches for her three daughters, including the precocious misfit Penelope (Creator/NicolaCoughlan), and is further threatened by how her lovely but poor relative Marina (Ruby Barker) garners all the attention. Further complicating matters is the enigmatic Lady Whistledown (voiced by Creator/JulieAndrews), who narrates the series through her society papers that threaten to uncover secrets, scandals, and more.

The first season adapts the first book, ''The Duke and I'', and follows newly-minted debutante Daphne, who sees her chances of finding a good husband begin to dim when her older brother Anthony shoots down all her suitors. In a bid to retain relevance, Daphne enters into a mutually beneficial fake courtship with her brother's friend, the dashing and eligible Duke of Hastings, Simon Basset (Creator/RegeJeanPage). Simon refuses to get married, so this arrangement keeps people from throwing their daughters at him while raising interest in ''her''. Naturally, they [[RomanticFakeRealTurn fall in love]] -- but their burgeoning feelings for each other are threatened by their conflicting desires for the future.

The second season is based on the second book, ''The Viscount Who Loved Me'', and is about Anthony, suddenly determined to find a suitable viscountess with whom he can have an amicable but loveless marriage. With his high standards, a perfect match seems impossible until the arrival of Edwina Sharma (Creator/CharithraChandran). Anthony's attempts to court her are deterred by her older sister, Kate (Creator/SimoneAshley), who immediately butts heads with the Viscount. The [[BelligerentSexualTension competitive]] hostility between the two slowly turns into romance, but their trauma-induced fears and ([[HisOwnWorstEnemy often misguided]]) [[HonorBeforeReason sense of duty]] to their families--and the impending marriage between Anthony and Edwina--keep the two apart.

The show debuted on December 25, 2020 on Creator/{{Netflix}}. The second season premiered on March 25, 2022. Netflix has also renewed the show for an additional two seasons.

In 2021, Netflix announced a six-episode prequel miniseries centered around Queen Charlotte of the United Kingdom (Creator/GoldaRosheuvel). Titled ''Series/QueenCharlotteABridgertonStory'', the series premiered in May 4, 2023 between the second and third season.

** The dresses, makeup, and accessories in the third season become increasingly anachronistic, including frilly shawls, robes, oversized sleeves, and sequins that seem to be from much later time periods, some of which are clearly from the 21st century, if not 20th. Moreover, big sleeves would slowly come into fashion in the next decade, the 1820s, but the particular silhouettes worn on characters such as Penelope's sisters look straight out of the late Victorian era.

* AdaptationalTimeSpanChange: A decade elapses in the books before Colin and Penelope [[spoiler:marry]] at 33 and 28 respectively. The show cuts this time jump all together, ''and'' moves their story up to take place before Benedict's; Colin and Pen are only about 22 and 19 in season 3.

In 2021, Netflix announced a six-episode prequel miniseries centered around Queen Charlotte of the United Kingdom (Creator/GoldaRosheuvel). Titled ''Series/QueenCharlotteABridgertonStory'', the series premiered in May 2023 between the second and third season.

* {{Fauxshadow}}: Early season 2 sets up the idea that Anthony's future wife and viscountess will be responsible for launching his younger sisters into society and presenting them to the Queen. In season 3, after Anthony has married Kate, Violet is still the one who debuts Francesca, even though that would no longer be her job as Anthony suggested. However, this is implied to be Kate's prerogative so she can take a step back and allow Violet to be there for her daughter.

* {{Fauxshadow}}: Early season 2 sets up the idea that Anthony's future wife and viscountess will be responsible for launching his younger sisters into society and presenting them to the Queen. In season 3, after Anthony has married Kate, Violet is still the one who debuts Francesca, even though that would no longer be her job as Anthony suggested.

* {{Fauxshadow}}: Early season 2 sets up the idea that Anthony's future wife and viscountess will be responsible for launching his younger sisters into society and presenting them to the Queen. In season 3, after Anthony has married Kate, Violet is still the one who debuts Francesca, even though that would no longer be her job, which should pass to Kate.

* MutualPining: In season 1, despite Daphne and Simon are clearly in love with each other and agree to marry immediately, when they finally stay under one roof in the inn, they initially believed that they trap one another into the marriage. After they finally have the courage to [[ConfessionTriggersConsummation confess their feelings, they eventually consummate their wedding night]].

* SignificantNameShift: In an interesting variation on the trope. In the end of episode 5, when Anthony intends to call off his engagement to Edwina after un unpleasant dinner with the Sheffields, Kate desperately convinces Anthony to keep his promise to marry Edwina by calling his name; indicating her seriousness and insistence ([[spoiler:despite they've revealed their mutual feelings]]) as she fears it'd break her sister's heart. In the final episode, Anthony calling Kate "Kathani" -- her full given name that she ''never'' uses in England and by anyone else, including her beloved sister and her stepmother -- is an indication of their relationship upgrade as it signifies his sincere love for her and acceptance of ''everything'' about her.

The first season adapts the first book, ''The Duke and I'', and follows newly-minted debutante Daphne, who sees her chances of finding a good husband begin to dim when her older brother Anthony shoots down all her suitors. In a bid to retain relevance, Daphne enters into a mutually beneficial [[TheBeard fake courtship]] with her brother's friend, the dashing and eligible Duke of Hastings, Simon Basset (Creator/RegeJeanPage). Simon refuses to get married, so this arrangement keeps people from throwing their daughters at him while raising interest in ''her''. Naturally, they [[RomanticFakeRealTurn fall in love]] -- but their burgeoning feelings for each other are threatened by their conflicting desires for the future.

* TheBeard:
** Simon and Daphne pretend to be courting. For Simon, the illusion of being taken means "ambitious mamas" will stop trying to set him up with their daughters; for Daphne, the illusion of having a Duke's interest means she'll be a hot commodity again.
** In a more traditional use of the term, artist Henry Granville is in love with a young lord while being married to a woman. They imply to Benedict that this arrangement is mutually beneficial (i.e he's gay and she's a lesbian and they're using each other to hide it).

*** Women are often not seen wearing coats or bonnets when outside, when that would have been historically accurate. In the second season, they are wearing wedding hats, which weren't everyday wear either.

* HighClassGloves: Ties with The Gilded Age for the most gloves worn in any drama made so far in the 21st century. Gloves are worn by every major and nearly all minor characters at nearly all times except when the characters are at home and/or preparing for bed.

** Horses come up a lot around Anthony and Kate in season two. They first meet while horseriding, have a significant interaction at the horse races, [[spoiler: Anthony brings Edwina a horse only to learn that the horse she loved was fictional and only Kate is the passionate rider]], and [[spoiler:Kate being thrown from a horse is climax of the season.]]

* AwfulWeddedLife: [[spoiler: After the marital rape scene, Simon and Daphne's relationship deteriorates and they remain tense over the course of two episodes. Daphne even very nearly gives up on her marriage altogether before a pep talk from her mother convinces her to put in one final yet genuine attempt to salvage her marriage. It works, as Simon and Daphne reconcile and become HappilyMarried once again.]]

** What's sad about [[spoiler:Eloise and Penelope's fight is that they both are right. Penelope points out that the queen was going to blackmail who she thought was Lady Whistledown, and Eloise wouldn't be able to keep up the ruse. She also says that at least she is making a mark on the world, while Eloise is all talk. Eloise retorts that her friendship with Theo was supposed to be secret for a reason, so that he and the Bridgertons wouldn't get hurt by the potential scandal. Penelope betrayed her best friend's trust, even if it was for good intentions, and Eloise cannot forgive that. Not to mention that Eloise was befriending Theo ''precisely'' to figure out what she wanted to do with her life if she couldn't go to university or publish her book. She also asks how Penelope could betray her own family and Marina Thompson by posting about the pregnancy, something that especially abhors her. Marina deceived Colin, but Eloise understand she was in a desperate situation and Marina would have been happy with her brother]].

** Eloise constantly wears her hair loose about her shoulders, both at home and in public; only ''very'' young girls wore their hair down during this period of time. She does at least wear it up for super formal occasions like being presented to the Queen or the various balls that she's dragged to.

** Eloise's theory that Lady Whistledown is one of the servants (because the help is BeneathSuspicion) is hilariously shot down, since no servant in RegencyEngland would have enough time to both research/write a regular gossip sheet ''and'' do their actual day job. Added to that, a person with Lady Whistledown's income would have no reason to be employed in a servile job.

** In a pre-Internet society, anonymously publishing gossip is a much more difficult proposition since it involves an actual printing press and distribution of the physical sheets. Once the Queen gets them involved in finding out Lady Whistledown’s identity, the Bow Street Runners simply locate the printer and identify the schedule for the manuscript drop-off. [[spoiler:If Eloise hadn't intervened they would have easily caught her.]]

* HighClassGloves: More gloves are worn in this series than in probably any other drama made so far in the 21st century. Gloves are worn by every major and nearly all minor characters at nearly all times except when the characters are at home and/or preparing for bed.