This lavish new series from executive producer Shonda Rhimes follows the cream of British society as they traverse the ballrooms and gardens of 1815 London. Diverse casting and a tweak to Regency style bring this drawing-room drama into the 21st century. “It was all about creating a clean, fresh, colorful world modern audiences could relate to,” said production designer Will Hughes-Jones. For the old-money Bridgerton family, that meant a refined palette of blue, white and champagne, inspired by then-newly popular Wedgwood china. The bedroom in the upstart Featheringtons’ home, by comparison, illustrates their new-money flash: a gilt-frame mirror, damask on nearly every surface and the acid yellows and bright pinks favored by the family, part of a “heightened reimagining of the period.”
Most of the first season of this delightfully oddball show, which introduced poet Emily Dickinson (Hailee Steinfeld) as an angsty, goofy teen, took place in her parents’ staid 1850s New England home. This season shifts to the new estate of Emily’s brother Austin ( Adrian Enscoe ) and his wife, Sue (Ella Hunt). “It’s more of a Victorian Italianate villa, and it’s much more showy,” said production designer Neil Patel. Reflecting Sue’s aspirations, the parlor is decorated in regal blues, greens and golds, with a mix of Hudson River School and Old World art hung salon-style and a showstopping reclining sofa. Said Mr. Patel, “The design looks toward the most current European styles of the time.”
