It’s official: sex really sells.
The period softcore piece “Bridgerton” is now the most watched show in Netflix’s history. On Wednesday, the streaming giant announced that an impressive 82 million families had tuned in to the bodice ripper Shonda Rhimes in the first 28 days since the program’s launch on December 25.
But all those viewers were probably not in tune with regency-era costumes and string quintet versions of pop songs.
The romance-based show, which has already been renewed for a second season, follows the hormone-driven love affair between Daphne Bridgerton (Phoebe Dynevor, 25) and Simon Basset (Regé-Jean Page, 31).
Dynevor revealed to Glamor that the show’s many sex scenes – including a solo sex scene – were not as easy as they seemed.
“We did the intimate scenes as acrobatics – we blocked them, so you have yoga balls between you and all kinds of things that never make you feel exposed in any way,” she said.
“I rehearsed so much with Regé that we both knew what we were doing. It seemed very practical. But alone is a different thing, ”she said, referring to a masturbation scene earlier in the season.
“The stage instructions are very specific: you have to have an orgasm. It is a difficult thing to rehearse, which means it is not. You just do. “
She did not elaborate on whether she achieved this, however, saying she managed to get over the scene thanks to the program’s female “intimacy coordinator”. Like actress Keira Knightley, who recently vowed not to do sex scenes for male directors, Dynevor said he felt more comfortable going through the masturbation scene without the weight of the male eye.
“If we didn’t have an intimacy coordinator, it would be our director, who was a man, coming up to me and telling me what to do,” she said. “No one wants to hear from a man how to reach orgasm.”
Netflix revealed that “Bridgerton” ranked first in 83 countries, including the US, UK, Brazil, France, India and South Africa, and ranked in the Top 10 in all 190 countries where Netflix is available, except Japan.
Granted, Netflix metrics include viewers who tuned in the first few minutes of a show or movie – so take “82 million” with a grain of salt, as it’s unlikely that many people watched until the end. It still indicates a large audience for the show, however, and perhaps a cultural appetite for more romantic adaptations on the screen.
The second season will follow Daphne’s older brother Anthony (Jonathan Bailey) and his love / hate relationship with Kate (a new character who hasn’t appeared on the screen or has been cast yet). Season 2 has yet to be announced, but production is scheduled to begin in the spring.
