Bridgerton’s Nicola Coughlan Claps Back at Critics of Show’s Diverse Casting

Nicola Coughlan took to Twitter to point out the success of the Netflix period drama series Bridgerton amid debate on its diverse casting.

By Mona Thomas Jan 07, 2021 2:01 PMTags
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Nicola Coughlan is not here for any Bridgerton slander.

The actress, who portrays Penelope Featherington in Netflix time period drama, took to Twitter to address the show's naysayers of its diverse casting.

On Monday, Jan. 4, Netflix Queue tweeted, "In its first four weeks, Bridgerton is projected to court more than 63 million households, which would make it Netflix's fifth biggest original series launched to date."

The 33-year-old actress later retweeted the post and proudly added, "You know the way some people were like ‘Diversity in period drama doesn't work'....63 million households thought it did tho so [skull head emoji]."

To double down on her point, Nicola followed her tweet up with, "Remember people were trying to downvote the show on IMDB cos it was so diverse? You can't downvote us being Netflix fifth biggest original release ever."

For those who haven't seen the popular show as of yet, the Shonda Rhimes-produced series is based on a book series by Julia Quin set in the high society of 1800s London.

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See the Bridgerton Cast's Behind-the-Scenes Photos

In addition to Coughlan, the cast also includes actor Regé-Jean Page as Simon, the Duke of Hastings and actress Phoebe Dynevor as Daphne Bridgerton. 

Bridgerton fans echoed Nicola's sentiments on the show's diversity under her tweets. One user writing, "I loved the books and couldn't wait for the show. I loved how they built the storyline to talk about how important it was that Lady Danbury and Simon be proud of what they had as POC and Lady D telling Simon that it could be taken away."

Another adding, "Everything about Bridgerton is perfect. It's a contemporary take on the regency era. The music, the costumes, the casting are all incredible. If I wanted historical accuracy I can watch a documentary or go to a museum."

Bridgerton has yet to officially get picked up for a second season, but fans are hoping Netflix will make that announcement soon.