Bridgerton Prequel Show’s Netflix Success Was Even Bigger Than It Seemed
Netflix releases viewership data on its Bridgerton prequel Queen Charlotte, which focuses on younger versions of Charlotte, George, and Lady Danbury.
Netflix’s Bridgerton prequel, Queen Charlotte, was a considerable success for the streamer based on viewership numbers. Netflix billed the show as a limited series when it released all six episodes on May 4, 2023. In addition to critical earning recognition, Queen Charlotte made it on Netflix’s Top 10 Most Popular TV (English) list in July. That list covers a show’s first 91 days on Netflix.
Now, Netflix has released more information about Queen Charlotte’s viewership as part of its What We Watched: A Netflix Engagement Report, which the streamer intends to share twice a year going forward. The report, which covers the number of hours over 18,000 titles were viewed from January through June 2023, also includes some interesting information about Bridgerton seasons 1 and 2, which remains popular in the wait for season 3.
Will Queen Charlotte Season 2 Happen?
The data breakdown from Netflix makes one thing clear: the Bridgerton franchise remains an enormous success story for the streamer, and that includes Queen Charlotte. Considering the report covers movies and individual seasons of shows, it’s impressive it landed at number five among the competition. Additionally, since Netflix released Queen Charlotte in May, the data really only covers its first couple of months on the streamer, unlike shows and movies that came out earlier in the window. Looking at Bridgerton’s numbers, it stands to reason Queen Charlotte provided a boost to the original series in the same time frame.
This reminder of the show’s success, now known to be even more impressive than previously thought, could make Queen Charlotte season 2 more likely. Taking viewership into account, as well as the positive reviews Queen Charlotte earned, Netflix’s interest is a near guarantee. More likely than not, it will come down to creator Shonda Rhimes. For her part, following Queen Charlotte’s release, Rhimes said she wasn’t “ruling anything out” when it came to continuing Charlotte and George’s story.
It helps that unlike with Bridgerton, which is under pressure to make seasons quickly before actors age out of their roles, there isn’t a massive rush on Queen Charlotte season 2. There are decades of Charlotte and George’s life together that viewers haven’t seen yet, as well as Lady Danbury and Violet’s, so a potential season 2 could simply pick up with whatever ages the actors are at the time and tell a story from there. In the meantime, viewers can at least see the older versions of the characters on Bridgerton.
