‘Queen Charlotte’ Is the Best ‘Bridgerton’ Yet: TV Review
variety.comAlison Herman TV Critic As the subtitle suggests, “Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story” is a prequel and spinoff to the hit Netflix series, which adapts Julia Quinn’s Regency Era romance novels with the soapy, progressive sensibility of producer Shonda Rhimes.
In practice, though, the six-episode series is more like “Bridgerton” Season 2.5. Though the story flashes back some 50 years to depict the titular monarch’s early marriage, it keeps the flagship show’s stylistic trademarks firmly in place, from the classical covers of contemporary pop songs to the voiceover by Julie Andrews’ Lady Whistledown.
There’s even a timeline set just after the most recent season centering the social set’s elder stateswomen: Lady Danbury (Adjoa Andoh), Violet Bridgerton (Ruth Gemmell), and Queen Charlotte herself (Golda Rosheuvel). “Queen Charlotte” is not a break from precedent.
Instead, it’s a return to form for Rhimes, who serves as showrunner in her most hands-on role since “Inventing Anna,” a disappointing — if hugely popular — take on the Anna Delvey saga.
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