EXCLUSIVE: Bridgerton found your Kate. Simone Ashley (Because the night, Sex education) was chosen to play the female lead alongside Jonathan Bailey in Season 2 of Netflix and in the drama series of the extremely popular Shondaland era based on the novels by Julia Quinn.
The second season will chronicle the search for a suitable marriage for Bridgerton’s older brother Anthony (Bailey), as narrated in Quinn’s second book Bridgerton Series, The viscount who loved me.
Ashley will play Anthony’s romantic interest, Kate Sharma. Newcomer to London, Kate is an intelligent and obstinate young woman who does not tolerate idiots – Anthony Bridgerton (Bailey) even.
In the 2nd season, Bridgerton continues to break conventions about race. Anthony’s love interest (called Kate Sheffield in Quinn’s novel) and his family were conceived by the series’ creative team as being of Indian descent in a continuation of the reimagined world created in Season 1, which included several important black characters, including the Duke by Hastings (Regé-Jean Page), Lady Danbury (Adjoa Andoh) and Queen Charlotte (Golda Rosheuvel).
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As protagonists of season 2, Bailey and Ahsley will succeed Page and Phoebe Dynevor, who became global stars like Simon and Daphne, the couple whose sweeping romance was at the center of season 1 (Page is presenting Saturday Night Live this weekend.)
Ashley is one of several additions to the cast for Season 2 of Bridgerton, which will start shooting this spring in London.
“We have a lot of new characters that we’re going to introduce,” said creator and showrunner Chris Van Dusen when announcing the renewal of season 2 in Today with Hoda and Jenna last month. “Anthony is going to have a love interest next season, and I think it will be as breathtaking, moving and as beautiful as the first season viewers can expect from the show.”
Season 2’s focal point was sparked in the final minutes of season 1’s final, when Anthony revealed to Daphne and Simon his plans to “promptly find and declare my intentions for my new viscountess” after the end of his relationship with the opera singer Siena.
“We left him at the end of the first season at a small crossroads, so I’m looking forward to jumping in and finding out how he does in the wedding market,” said Van Dusen in the interview, noting that his hope is for Page and Dynevor to return.
With her vibrant mix of Jane Austen dating gossip Girl and its contemporary narrative redefining the genres of period drama and romance, Bridgerton captivated audiences around the world to break Netflix’s audience records. It became the biggest streamer series of all time, with 82 million families worldwide watching the first season (partially or in full) in the first four weeks.
The series also stars Nicola Coughlan (“Penelope Featherington”), Claudia Jessie (“Eloise Bridgerton”), Ruby Barker (“Marina Thompson”), Luke Thompson (“Benedict Bridgerton”), Luke Newton (“Colin Bridgerton”) , Ruby Stokes (“Francesca Bridgerton”), Will Tilston (“Gregory Bridgerton”), Florence Hunt (“Hyacinth Bridgerton”), Ruth Gemmell (“Lady Violet Bridgerton”), Bessie Carter (“Prudence Featherington”), Harriet Cains ( “Philipa Featherington”), Polly Walker (“Lady Portia Featherington”), Ben Miller (“Lord Featherington”), Sabrina Bartlett (“Siena Rosso”), Martins Imhangbe (“Will Mondrich”), Kathryn Drysdale (“Madame Genevieve Delacroix ”) and Lorraine Ashbourne (“Mrs. Varley”).
Van Dusen is executive producer with Shonda Rhimes and Betsy Beers from Shondaland.
British actress Ashley was already on Netflix’s radar; she is probably best known for her role as Olivia Hanan in the popular streamer series Sex education. It also played an important recurring role in Neil Cross’s ITV 2020 limited series The sister. Your resume also includes a bow in season 3 of Broadchurch. Ashley is represented by Gersh, Identity Agency Group in the UK and lawyer Derek Kroeger of Myman Greenspan Fox.