The Bridgerton Effect: How a Reimagined Regency Reshaped Modern Romance

An analysis of the Netflix series' impact on the romance genre and popular culture.

Since its 2020 debut, Netflix’s Bridgerton has become more than a streaming success; it has evolved into a global cultural phenomenon. Each new season shatters viewership records, while its influence—the “Bridgerton effect”—ripples through fashion, music, and tourism, contributing over £5 million to the economy of filming locations like Bath and the surrounding West of England region alone, according to a report by the destination management agency Visit West (“Visit West reveals”). To dismiss the series as mere escapist fare, however, is to overlook the deliberate architecture of its success and its impact on a genre historically dismissed by critics. As scholar Pamela Regis notes, the romance novel has long held the “strange distinction of being the most popular but least respected of literary genres” (Regis 1). This article argues that Bridgerton has fundamentally redefined and legitimized the modern period romance for a mass audience by integrating historical fantasy with a contemporary sensibility. It achieves this through three core strategies: a vibrant form of “heritage spectacle” that rejects traditionalism; a groundbreaking use of colour-conscious casting; and a narrative centred on modern, feminist-inflected agency.

The ‘Bridgerton Effect’ and a Strategy of Heritage Spectacle

The foundation of Bridgerton’s cultural power is its immense viewership. The first season was watched by over 82 million households in its initial month (Howe). Subsequent seasons have sustained this engagement, with Season 3 accumulating 9.3 billion viewing minutes in June 2024 alone (Gruenwedel). This massive reach has translated into a tangible cultural impact, most notably a dramatic surge in sales for Julia Quinn’s novels and the historical romance genre as a whole (Gillette).

This phenomenon is fuelled by a production strategy rooted in a modernized form of “heritage spectacle.” Where traditional British heritage films of the late 20th century often prioritized historical authenticity and a restrained, museum-like aesthetic, Bridgerton offers a hyper-saturated, visually decadent world. This opulence, from the elaborate ballgowns to the wisteria-draped manors, functions as a form of aspirational fantasy. This visual language is paired with a distinct auditory signature: orchestral arrangements of contemporary pop songs. This anachronistic soundtrack acts as a key narrative device, closing the temporal gap for the audience. It signals that while the setting is historical, the emotional and thematic concerns of the characters are entirely contemporary.

Reimagining the Regency through Inclusive Fantasy

The most significant innovation of Bridgerton lies in its approach to casting. The series presents a reimagined Regency London populated by a diverse aristocracy. This is not colour-blind casting, which ignores race, but a deliberate act of colour-conscious world-building. This decision, however, exists within a complex scholarly debate. Historians like Kerry Sinanan critique this approach as a fantasy that “erases the brutalities” of racism inherent to the period (Sinanan). Furthermore, media scholar Kristen Warner’s work on “plastic representation”—whereby the simple presence of diverse bodies serves as a visually pleasing substitute for deep cultural specificity—provides a crucial theoretical lens. Bridgerton navigates this by explicitly acknowledging race within its fantastical premise; the “Great Experiment” of the King’s marriage to a Black woman is presented as the direct catalyst for the diverse aristocracy. This narrative choice, while ahistorical, moves the casting beyond mere plastic display, making race a conscious element of its world-building and demonstrating the commercial power of inclusive storytelling.

A Modern Lens on Agency and the Female Gaze

Beneath the lavish aesthetics and inclusive casting, Bridgerton’s narrative core is decidedly modern. Set within a patriarchal society, the story consistently centres the perspectives, desires, and agency of its female characters. The heroines are portrayed as complex individuals who actively navigate and subvert the restrictive social structures they inhabit. They are subjects of their own stories, grappling with ambition, identity, and the pursuit of their own happiness.

The series also distinguishes itself by formally adopting the female gaze. This stands in contrast to the traditional “male gaze” identified by Laura Mulvey, which often positions female characters as passive objects for a male viewer (Mulvey 6–18). Bridgerton employs a more contemporary version aligned with the framework proposed by critic Iris Brey, for whom the female gaze “allows us to share the lived experience of a female body onscreen” by centering the character’s point of view and feelings (Brey 9). The intimate scenes are often framed from the heroine’s perspective, focusing on her emotional journey and physical satisfaction. By weaving contemporary themes—consent, female ambition, and self-realization—into its Regency framework, the show makes its characters’ struggles feel both timeless and urgently relevant.

Conclusion: A New Blueprint for Romance

Bridgerton is not merely a popular show; it is a cultural artifact that has powerfully reshaped the period romance for the 21st century. By intentionally blending historical fantasy with a modernized heritage spectacle, inclusive representation, and a female-centric narrative, it has forged a new template for a genre long denied critical legitimacy. Its record-breaking success confirms the existence of a vast, underserved audience eager for romantic stories that reflect a more diverse and emotionally complex world. The “Bridgerton effect,” therefore, signifies more than a fleeting trend; it signals the cultural and commercial validation of the romance genre’s narrative priorities. The true test of this effect will be whether this new blueprint empowers a wider wave of inclusive, female-driven historical narratives, or if it remains a singular, if revolutionary, anomaly in the genre.

This article was developed through an iterative collaboration between our Editor-in-Chief and multiple AI language models. Various LLMs contributed at different stages—from initial ideation and drafting to refinement and technical review. Each AI served as a creative and analytical partner, while human editors maintained final oversight, ensuring accuracy, quality, and alignment with AuthZ's editorial standards.