Sounds like Mr. Anthony Bridgerton (Jonathan Bailey) might have met his match.
Netflix just announced that Bridgerton has cast Simone Ashley (Sex Education) as Kate Sharma, the woman who's about to steal Anthony's heart in season two of everybody's new favorite show. Kate is "a smart, headstrong young woman who suffers no fools—Anthony Bridgerton very much included."
Lady Whistledown made sure to note on Twitter that she'll be writing about the new arrival as she hits the ton in season two.
"Quite the juicy bit of gossip, dear readers..." she wrote via the Bridgerton Twitter account, accompanied by a bee emoji. "This author is certainly looking forward to many a column covering Miss Kate Sharma."
Bees are sure to play a large part in the second season, which will follow eldest Bridgerton Anthony in his quest to finally settle down as the head of his family. However, it's not going to just be smooth sailing for Kate and Anthony if the show follows the book, The Viscount Who Loved Me. It's actually Kate's sister upon whom Anthony first sets his sights, and Kate is "the most meddlesome woman to ever grace a London ballroom."
In the book, Kate drives Anthony mad as she tries to stop the wedding, but when Anthony goes to sleep, "Kate's the woman haunting his increasingly erotic dreams."
We're so ready.
When Bailey talked to E! News just before the release of season one, he revealed what his hopes are for the future of the character, especially after how sort of terrible Anthony was in season one.
"I think with Anthony, you just want him to be all right," he said. "You want him to learn how to love himself and hopefully to make some mistakes without those mistakes causing serious hurt to the people that he loves. I want to see him on the dance floor. I want to see him smile a little bit more. I want to see those mutton chops back. There's so much scope for him."
Production on season two has not yet begun, but star Nicola Coughlan, who plays Penelope Featherington, tweeted that she had a costume fitting on Feb. 12. On Feb. 14, she tweeted that season two is "in the works" and that it's going to be [fire emoji].
You can watch the first season on Netflix.