Assignment #2: Television

Watching television has been a popular pastime for decades, although the means of doing so are a bit different these days. When researching any one of my assignments for my media courses in someway it always seems to tie into this pandemic that we’ve been experiencing as a whole over the last year. With mandates to socially distance people have had plenty of time to sit inside cozied up with their remote and quarantine snacks to watch television. Whether watching a movie or television show through their cable provider, local satellite television channels, or streaming service people seem to enjoy a good television bingeing session. I must admit I too am a part of the number one show in particular that has drawn my attention is Bridgeton.

The show is set in the early 1800s in Britain during the historical epoch known as the Regency. In the first season, we see the lives of various young ladies, all in hopes of finding a spouse during their courting season. The main character, Daphne, has her heart set on finding the love of her life and not just a husband but soon realizes it may be harder than she initially anticipated. To make the show even more intriguing all the time while we are looking to see who will be successful in finding their mate the show is being narrated by a mystery character by the name of Lady Whistledown. Lady Whistledown also seems to know all of what is taking place in the town and doesn’t hesitate to share her findings and predictions with the rest of the townspeople through her anonymous publication. With each episode, discoveries are made as well as new questions and assumptions. You cannot help but be glued to your screen when the show is on because you do not want to miss a minute of the action.

Bridgerton made its way to Netflix on December 25th, 2020, and was just the Christmas present I didn’t know I needed. The show has not even been on Netflix a full two months and has been a chart-topper ever since. The show is yet another masterpiece by none other than Shonda Rhimes. Rhimes is best known for her high-ranking shows, Grey's Anatomy, Scandal, and How to Get Away with Murder. I cannot give Rhimes all the credit for the new sensational show seeing as she did not write the show but works as the executive producer. The writer of the show Chris Van Dusen has been a long-time collaborator, with Rhimes on previous projects. Bridgerton was watched on more than 82,000,000 Netflix accounts within its first month on the streaming service.