The cast of Bridgerton has heard your jokes about their romps in the garden and frankly, they don't mind.
The stars actually find them kind of delightful because, for one, it's sparked a discussion about what women want. And in an industry that is largely dominated by men, it's refreshing to feature a female perspective.
"There's so many people who will go, 'Oh yeah, Bonkerton,'" Jonathan Bailey (Anthony Bridgerton) said in the March issue of Entertainment Weekly. "But the female gaze is so important because there are many ways people communicate by sex, and what sex means, and what your body means to someone else. It's important that there's an inversion of sexuality and how people are exploited in the storytelling of sex."
Actress Nicola Coughlan thinks it's even more compelling to have a sex-positive series that's set in the Regency era. "It's going back in time and saying, 'What were their wants and desires?'" shared the Irish actress, who plays Penelope Featherington a.k.a. Lady Whistledown. "They weren't these one-dimensional people who just did needlework. They had real lives and wants and needs and feelings."
As such, series creator Chris Van Dusen promises there will be more "thirsty moments" in the upcoming season and this time, the characters are going to be even more vocal about their desires.
One such woman is Kate Sharma (Simone Ashley), who has more experience in the bedroom than season one's Daphne Bridgerton (Phoebe Dynevor). "There's always been a familiarity deep down with what Kate wants," Sex Education's Ashley said. "That's what I love about shows like Bridgerton and Sex Education: They might be touching on slightly taboo topics, but these characters know what they want."
But female characters who are sexually empowered haven't always been celebrated in pop culture. So, Coughlan worried Bridgerton would be snubbed for being a frivolous romance drama with pretty clothes. Which means she's been pleasantly surprised by the response to the project. "It's so gratifying for this show to be a huge success, because oftentimes the things women are drawn to, people so easily disparage," she said. "But you should never underestimate a woman."
The March issue of Entertainment Weekly hits newsstands on Feb. 18.
Season two of Bridgerton premieres on Netflix March 25.