‘Bridgerton’ Exists in an ‘Alternate Dimension’ — Meaning 1 Major Character Won’t Be Killed
Bridgerton intentionally omitted a major character’s death despite it being misunderstood.
After Bridgerton’s third season ended on Thursday, June 13, showrunner Jess Brownell was asked about the show’s current setting in 1815, since Queen Charlotte (Golda Rosheuvel) died in 1818 — months before her granddaughter, the future Queen Victoria, was born.
“I adore Golda Rosheuvel and I think she’s fantastic in her role. Shonda [Rhimes] and I, in our hearts, just decided that we were in an alternate dimension,” Brownell told TVLine about why viewers don’t have to worry about Charlotte being killed off. Brownell specifically points to the moment when the queen and Lady Danbury (Adjoa Andoh) “worked together to make society more inclusive” as the moment that created the alternate universe.
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“That’s where we go into an alternate timeline,” she explained. “There’s a possibility that in this timeline, Queen Charlotte could live forever.”
The monarch has been front and center on Bridgerton since the show debuted in 2020. The fan-favorite character later received her own prequel series, which showcased the rise to fame and power of a young Queen Charlotte (India Amarteifio) after she exchanged vows with King George III (Corey Mylchreest).
In addition to exploring the original characters brought to life by Rosheuvel and James Fleet, who plays the current King George, Queen Charlotte also focuses on a young Lady Danbury (Arsema Thomas) and Violet Bridgerton (Connie Jenkins-Greig).
‘Queen Charlotte’ cast: How the stars of the Netflix spinoff look like compared to the cast of ‘Bridgerton’ Ahead of the prequel’s premiere, Rosheuvel, 54, teased how Netflix could expand the Bridgerton universe. “We’re still going to be in the world of Bridgerton. We’re not moving away from the world that we know and love about Queen Charlotte. I think that’s really smart, because it keeps us on track,” she told E! News in March 2022. “I think it’s going to be really interesting to see where she came from and what brought her to the Bridgerton that we know and love.”
Rosheuvel also praised the hit series for introducing important conversations about representation.
“I saw [its success] before it came out, because we had a glimpse of it, and I knew it was something I had never seen before,” Rosheuvel told Town & Country in May 2021. “And I knew that was what I hoped to see. That was what I always hoped to see. That inclusion, that diversity, pushing the boundaries so that Black and brown artists could be celebrated in beautiful costumes and beautiful wigs.”
‘Bridgerton’ Cast: See the Stars of the Hit Netflix Show Then and Now She continued: “That’s the beauty of Bridgerton. We can sit there and it’s just that, and it’s celebrated. We can push the boundaries, and then allow people to just sit in it, experience it, and recognize themselves in it. That’s the power of storytelling—just being yourself and playing.”
Bridgerton director Tom Verica discussed how the creative team chose which elements from Charlotte’s life to explore after the prequel premiered.
“[We were] very clear that this was a fictionalized take on this story, but we also wanted to honor elements of the real Queen Charlotte and her story,” he told TVLine in April 2023. “We really dove into Queen Charlotte’s history and pulled elements to bring some reality to it, but we were very clear when we strayed from that path. So Shonda [Rhimes] pulled real elements of the story to be able to bring authenticity to the time period, but obviously in the process of telling our story, we decided where it was based in our story and how we approached the Queen Charlotte that we knew at that time.”
