The Netflix CEO recalls how his mother-in-law took up the idea with a “particular forcefulness” one night, and inspired him to call Shonda Rhimes
Bridgerton’s Queen Charlotte spinoff finds its origins in a rather unlikely place.
While the three main seasons of the Netflix series are based on novels by Julia Quinn, the 2023 spinoff series came about from both the love fans had for the character on the initial two seasons and a very special request.
Jacqueline Avant, the wife of Clarence Avant and mother-in-law to Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos, had a hand in getting the series made, which her daughter, Nicole Avant, previously told PEOPLE.
On May 20, Sarandos expanded on the role his late mother-in-law played in inspiring the series as he paid tribute to his wife, Nicole, who was being honored at the Harlem School of the Arts’ 60th anniversary gala in New York City.
Sarandos, 59, recalled that one night, his mother-in-law — who was killed in her L.A. home in 2021 — took up the subject of the historical figure with a “particular forcefulness” that ended up swaying him.
“Jackie looks at me very sternly and says, ‘There should be something on Netflix about Queen Charlotte,'” he recalled. “I said, ‘Jackie, Queen Charlotte is a character on Bridgerton,’ which was greeted with a legendary eye roll that Jackie could do so well. And she disappeared down the hall and she came back with a stack of books about Queen Charlotte and handwritten letters that Queen Charlotte had written, that Jackie had purchased at auctions over the years and collected.”
After reviewing the materials, Sarandos recalled thinking, “‘Damn, I think Jackie was right.’ I called Shonda Rhimes, the creator of Bridgerton, and I said, ‘You have put Queen Charlotte into the world and now, people are going to want to hear her story and someone is going to tell it.'”
Rhimes, 54, got on board quickly. “So I sent her all the materials. The next day, she calls back to say, ‘Jacqueline Avant is right — something that you will have heard one million times before that.'”
By the time the spinoff series — which starred India Armarteifio and Corey Mylchreest as young Queen Charlotte and King George, respectively — aired, Jacqueline had died, but that didn’t stop Rhimes from paying tribute to her.
“Shonda, she said, and I quote, ‘This is a story about a queen, inspired by a queen,’ and dedicated the show to Jacqueline Avant,” Sarandos said.
Sarandos and Nicole were joined by honorees including Deborah Roberts and her husband Al Roker, as well as Today co-host Sheinelle Jones, CBS Mornings anchor Gayle King and musicians Fat Joe, Mary J. Blige and Questlove at the Bridgerton-themed gala at the Ziegfeld Ballroom in New York City.
After the show aired last year, Nicole told PEOPLE that her mother would’ve been “over the moon” to see her dream come to life, and that after watching the show, she understood Jacquline’s passion for the story.
“When I watched, I said to Ted, ‘I know why my mom was obsessed with her — because that is her.’ That devotion, that is what she fell in love with about her,” Nicole said. “It made me understand my mother a lot more, just knowing more and more about Queen Charlotte. Their personality is the same.”
The Bridgerton-themed gala comes less than a week after the hit show released the first part of its third season on May 16.
Season 3 of the series chronicles Colin and Penelope’s friends-to-love romance, which is detailed in the fourth Bridgerton book, Romancing Mister Bridgerton.
“I’m hoping that he has sort of a more sensitive side to him,” Luke Newton, who plays Colin, told Netflix’s website Tudum. “I love that we are exploring a relationship that so many people have had, where you form a friendship and you get to know each other down to the core. Then it sparks something from there.”
