The six-episode limited series ‘Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story’ will focus on young Queen Charlotte and her rise to power.
Fans don’t have much longer to wait for Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story, the prequel spinoff of the hit Netflix series Bridgerton. The upcoming dramatic limited series created by Shonda Rhimes will focus on young Queen Charlotte and her rise to power. Fans are eager to explore Queen Charlotte’s origins, her journey, and her influence on the British monarchy.
One of the biggest questions fans have about the series is whether all six episodes will release at once in May.
Queen Charlotte’s story
The latest in a line of prequels and spinoffs from the Bridgerton universe, Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story is the first to focus on a character of color and is expected to be a hit with fans of historical dramas and Bridgerton fans alike.
Adjoa Andoh, Ruth Gemmell, India Amarteifio, Richard Cunningham, and Freddie Dennis star alongside Golda Rosheuvel reprising her role as the titular character. Andoh, Gemmell, Amarteifio, Cunningham, and Dennis will all play new characters.
The series will feature the story of young Queen Charlotte’s marriage to King George III of England. The result is an epic love story that transforms the views of high society. The limited series has six episodes and is set to premiere on May 4, 2023.
Netflix’s new release strategy
For a few years now, Netflix has been releasing popular shows in two parts as opposed to releasing all episodes on the same day as it did in the past. The third season of its hit show You was released in two parts. The first set of episodes debuted on March 15, 2021; the second set released on April 5. The streaming service did the same thing with the show’s fourth season earlier this year.
Last year, Netflix did the same thing with another of its hit shows. The fourth season of Stranger Things was released in two parts. The first set of episodes released in May 2022 and the second set aired in July.
The strategy is intended to keep viewers engaged in the shows for a longer period of time. It’s not uncommon for fans to watch an entire season of a favorite show, if given the opportunity, in a matter of hours or days. By releasing a show’s season in two parts, Netflix can keep viewers interested for weeks and extend its marketing campaigns to reach a larger audience.
Another benefit for Netflix in doing this is managing its server workloads. When a new show releases, Netflix servers are literally bombarded with requests, which makes it harder for everyone to watch the show.
How will ‘Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story’ be released?
The good news for fans is that Netflix won’t be using that release strategy with the much-anticipated ‘Bridgerton’ prequel. According to Netflix Tudum, ‘Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story‘ will debut on May 4. All six episodes of the prequel show will be available that day.
The likely reason is that the limited series has only six episodes, whereas most Netflix series offer eight or more episodes. In allowing viewers to binge-watch all six episodes of the show, Netflix allows Bridgerton fans to get caught up quickly. This also helps the streaming service gauge the popularity of the series quickly.
Since Netflix uses the two-part release strategy with some shows and not with others, it can be assumed the streaming service is still testing to figure out how best to release its original shows. The A/B testing is likely to continue moving forward.
