'Bridgerton' spin-off goes back in time to show 'Queen Charlotte' origins

Queen Charlotte, the brazen and meddling monarch in the hit Netflix period drama Bridgerton, gets her own spin-off series showing the popular character's origin story.

Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton story, which will premiere on the streaming platform on May 4, goes back in time to tell the monarch's rise to power and love life.

The six-episode series is the first spin-off from Bridgerton, set in Regency London and whose first series became a global phenomenon when it was released in late 2020 and won praise for its diverse cast.

"I really loved the fact that we could expand the universe and show people how the Bridgerton world that they know came to be," Shonda Rhimes, executive producer for both Bridgerton and Queen Charlotte, told fans at a teaser trailer reveal event on Tuesday.

"You get to see how stories from the past educate you on the stories in the future... You get the see the growth and who they (Bridgerton characters) become."

With two timelines, Golda Rosheuvel reprises her Bridgerton role as the monarch in the new series while India Amarteifio, whose past credits include appearances in television shows Sex Education, Line of Duty and Doctor Who, plays the young Queen Charlotte.

"There's so much time between our show... and the Bridgerton that we've all come to know... which for us actors is great because it gives us the liberty of creating our own characters," Amarteifio said.

"You don't know their origin story, there's enough time for them to be completely different people for us to create completely unique characters... I know what she's like in future but to be able to create the foundations for that was exciting for me."

On Tuesday, fans got to see a teaser trailer as well as clips from Queen Charlotte, which also features other Bridgerton cast members including Ruth Gemmell, who plays Lady Violet, and Adjoa Andoh as Lady Agatha Danbury.