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CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION | ||
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Positive:
75
Mixed:
40
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews
Dec 24, 2020
Season 1 Review:
It’s an unqualified triumph. ... “Bridgerton” is Jane Austen meets “Scandal” meets “Gossip Girl” meets “The Favourite,” resulting in a wonderfully anachronistic mashup with gorgeous visuals, high-end production values and suitably larger-than-life performances by the talented cast.
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ColliderDec 27, 2020
Season 1 Review:
The costumes are beautiful. The actors are on point. It's a show that knows exactly what it is, but beautifully achieves that while also still layering in some surprises and modern twists. Turn your nose up at it, if you like. But you'll miss out on some of the year's most enjoyable television yet.
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May 16, 2024
Season 3 Review:
The first chunk of episodes in Bridgerton Season 3 are an ecstatic delight. Bridgerton might have a new showrunner in long-time writer Jess Brownell, but the world is still as enchanting and romantic as ever. .... This season is truly a showcase for new leading lady Nicola Coughlan. The Irish actress absolutely sparkles as wallflower-turned-heroine Penelope Featherington.
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Dec 21, 2020
Season 1 Review:
The series somehow manages to feel both comfortably familiar and completely brand new—an effervescent, romantic romp that centers the female-gaze and spirit in a world that too often views women as little more than objects. Its cast is effortlessly diverse. ... But it is also a story of family and friendship where every plot twist and relationship shift manages to feel completely and thoroughly earned.
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Dec 21, 2020
Season 1 Review:
Ultimately what makes Bridgerton such a gem is its adoration of the historic romance genre. The attention to detail in this show doesn’t cater to fussy historic accuracy, but the way the romance genre drowns readers in fantasy. Bridgerton is a swoon-inducing treat that will leave you hot, bothered, and begging for more.
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Dec 21, 2020
Season 1 Review:
Beguiling. ... Bridgerton’s diversity backstory feels warm yet half-baked ... But because it’s happening in a genre that always papers over some realities, I don’t really mind. Bridgerton’s end result is a heady cloud of pleasure and true love set in an idealized, more inclusive milieu. At a time when I’m longing to escape the real world, few fantasies are more inviting.
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May 16, 2024
Season 3 Review:
As with most of Bridgerton’s stories, nothing about this is particularly subtle. But damn if it still isn’t incredibly affecting. Coughlan and Newton’s chemistry remains sweetly adorable. .... This season largely belongs to Coughlan, who shines as Penelope and runs the gamut from furious to heartbroken to deeply indecisive.
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ColliderMar 21, 2022
Season 2 Review:
Bridgerton successfully fills the very specific niche of unabashed romance-rooted storytelling that audiences have been anticipating — and those of us who get our thrills from watching people fall in love amidst the backdrop of a very restrained society (set to the tune of many excellent instrumental covers of contemporary pop songs) will have plenty to feast our eyes on.
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Dec 22, 2020The TelegraphJan 30, 2026
Season 1 Review:
This is a series which wears its charms on its sleeve from the start and thus has no shame about its desire to beguile and bewitch viewers. It succeeds thanks to creator Chris Van Dusen’s understanding of the material and some smart, spritely scripts from a young female-led writing room.
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Jan 29, 2026
Season 4 Review:
Yerin Ha is sharp and effervescent as Sophie, and it’s hard not to fall in love with her almost instantly. Plot-wise, there’s some charming “upstairs-downstairs” type interplay a la “Downton Abbey” or “The Gilded Age.” .... The show also manages to give Benedict a bit more depth than he’d been afforded in the books.
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May 22, 2024
Season 3 Review:
It’s all sumptuous fun. The spectacular balls with the orchestrated pop songs and the old-old-old-school line-dancing continue to dazzle. The supporting characters, including Lady Danbury (the fabulous Adjoa Andoh), her newly returned brother Marcus (Daniel Francis), and mean girl Cressida (Jessica Madsen), continue to amuse.
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The Daily BeastMay 16, 2024
Season 3 Review:
Penelope’s fractured friendship with Eloise Bridgerton (Claudia Jessie) practically steals the show. Penelope’s bubbling romance might deliver the most captivating scenes, but her desperation to win her best friend back after a gross betrayal cuts much deeper. .... This is the most fun Bridgerton has ever been.
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iMay 16, 2024
Season 3 Review:
The final episode of the four ends with an intoxicating cliffhanger, with Penelope and Colin’s future hanging in the balance. I would usually admonish Netflix for splitting up a series (a transparent ploy to keep viewers subscribed for longer) but, in the case of Bridgerton, it’s somewhat poetic. So far, it’s been worth the wait.
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May 16, 2024
Season 3 Review:
In Season 3 Part 1, familiar faces are spotlighted, new and evolving friendships flourish and blossoming romances infuse an air of freshness into the show. The catalyst for all this change begins with the metamorphosis of Penelope Featherington (a stellar Nicola Coughlan).
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The TelegraphMar 21, 2022
Season 2 Review:
As played by Claudia Jessie, Eloise is one of the best things here, bringing a spark that is missing from some of the bigger performances. There are times when the central relationship between Anthony and Kate seems to drag on without much passion. But after bingeing the series - in the service of this review, dear reader - their romance swept me away in the end.
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Radio TimesMar 21, 2022
The Daily BeastDec 27, 2020
Season 1 Review:
It’s a juicy show that will get you hard and make you cry—a real capturing of life under lockdown—while serving up a cast so stacked with attractive actors that by the time storied British hottie Freddie Stroma shows up, he starts to look almost plain. Let’s all just be grateful.
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Dec 23, 2020
Season 1 Review:
The various marriage plots and melodramas feel familiar (and, in the season’s back half, drawn-out), and the gestures at upstairs-downstairs class-consciousness are underdeveloped. But what works here is fizzy and fun enough that you may not care. Page is magnetic. ... Dynevor likewise balances Daphne’s romanticism and independent-mindedness, and the bow-chicka-wow-wow physical chemistry between the two leads is a character in itself. ... The old-newness of “Bridgerton” is a kind of statement in itself.
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Dec 21, 2020
Season 1 Review:
The series truly dazzles because of its smart weaving of feminist critique throughout its marriage plot, which doesn't just sit atop the proceedings but shapes the storylines themselves. A sex-positive bodice-ripper should be a redundancy… but Bridgerton points up how little of that genre we actually get.
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Dec 21, 2020
Season 1 Review:
Daphne and Simon circle each other throughout the series with eyes equally wary and full of longing, which is great fun to watch unfold. But “Bridgerton” reveals its true strengths once it allows them to explicitly acknowledge what so many period romances of this ilk tend to dodge, namely that these characters don’t just want to marry: they want to have sex. ... “Bridgerton” demonstrates a keen and refreshing understanding of all the ways in which sex can complicate and enrich love — even, or maybe even especially, when its characters don’t.
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The Mercury NewsMay 15, 2024
Season 3 Review:
Toss in an invitation to engage in a threesome, and this racier season, which, of course, is resplendent with gorgeous costumes, period details and classical-contemporary music, is just as much of a great escape from wretched reality as, says, a corker of a romance novel.
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Mar 25, 2022
Season 2 Review:
Take my word, dear reader, this second helping of the smash Netflix series still smolders. Despite a drag in the midsection and the no-show of season-one sex magnet Regé-Jean Page, the dishy Shondaland cosplay brims over with eye-popping spectacle and ravishing romance.
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Mar 24, 2022
Season 2 Review:
Season 2 proves that there's more than one Bridgerton worth rooting for, and considering future seasons will follow the romantic escapades of other siblings (artsy Benedict is up next), these new episodes pass an important test. "Bridgerton" wasn't just a one-hit wonder.
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Mar 21, 2022
Season 2 Review:
Ten episodes may seem like a long time to stretch out a entangled love triangle, but the romantic complication rings true: Kate may long for Anthony, but her true loyalty lies with her sister, and she can’t ever be with him without hurting Edwina irrevocably. It’s an effective plot hurdle with no easy out. If only any of Bridgerton’s myriad subplots were half as compelling. ... Still, those looking for romantic escapism with picture-perfect historic detail could do a lot worse than Bridgerton.
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IndieWireDec 22, 2020
Season 1 Review:
For the time being, the fizzy fun and exuberant look of the series wins audiences over despite the narrative overcomplexity, even for those who can’t tell the three eldest good-looking twenty-something brunette white guy Bridgerton brothers apart for the first several episodes.
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Jan 29, 2026
Season 4 Review:
The true romantic highlight of Season 4 thus far is the burgeoning lust, yearning and flirtation Lady Violet shares with Lord Marcus Anderson (Daniel Francis). A limited series could be devoted solely to them. Meanwhile, Benedict and Sophie fade into the background, especially amid the bizarrely split season, which harms the show’s pacing and its central romantic tension.
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Jan 29, 2026
Season 4 Review:
Bridgerton Season 4 Part 1 retains the charm of past seasons, but it often feels like two clashing shows, competing for ultimate attention. .... My only hope is that that drama can be a bit more streamlined, a bit more sexy, and bit more focused on our wonderful season leads when Part 2 rolls out on February 26.
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May 16, 2024
Season 3 Review:
Once you’ve mastered basic “Bridgerton,” it’s possible to sit back and let each new season predictably wash over you, its level of satisfaction dictated simply by how much one connects with the latest characters to be paired off. Fortunately, the third round (after a “Queen Charlotte” detour) has the highly sympathetic Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan) at its core, adding some additional sweetness to the formula.
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LooperMay 16, 2024
Season 3 Review:
t's good but not great, yet it accomplishes the two things it really needed to do. One, it's a strong enough entry to keep the series going (hopefully through the romances of each "Bridgerton" sibling, if Netflix knows what's good for them). And secondly, this should be the season that makes Nicola Coughlan the bonafide star she deserves to be.
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Mar 23, 2022
Season 2 Review:
Clever asides here and there suggest this is a more PBS version of the romance novel; scant bedroom scenes confirm it. Season Two gets its heat from Anthony’s no-nonsense way of going about his matrimonial business. ... Bailey plays this oh-so-smoothly and raises the bar on “Bridgerton’s” elegance.
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Mar 21, 2022Mar 21, 2022
Season 2 Review:
Bailey and Ashley’s chemistry feels on the whole more evenly matched than their predecessors’ did. ... As with last season, the storylines around the central romance prove to be a mixed bag. ... Season two backs up the reputation season one earned for delivering fine, frothy romance.
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TV Guide MagazineJan 4, 2021
Season 1 Review:
Twisty romance plays out against a busy swirl of subplots. [4 - 17 Jan 2021, p.6]
Dec 27, 2020
Season 1 Review:
While it may not qualify as an instant classic, or even very good, it is good enough to smooth out the raggedy ending of 2020. All the graces and visual splendor one expects of some dream version of 19th century England seduces the eye on the front end, but beneath this show's heaving decolletage beats the heart of "Scandal" and lust of "Grey's Anatomy."
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Dec 23, 2020
Season 1 Review:
Enjoyably rambunctious (if a tad overblown) period drama. ... Whenever the series starts to drag (and it does do that, with episodes that are often too long and subplots that dawdle around), the show cranks up some other aspect to keep viewers interested — the vivid costumes, the palatial surroundings, the name-that-tune recognition game when a chamber orchestra segues into classically arranged takes on modern hits (Billie Eilish, Ariana Grande).
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The GuardianJan 30, 2026
Season 1 Review:
Show every sign of having watched one too many episodes of Downton Abbey. ... I felt by the end of the first episode it had delighted me with its presence long enough, and yet … and yet … Was there not, after all, room for just one more? And, perhaps, another after that?
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The IndependentJan 29, 2026
Season 4 Review:
It is the closest a human could come to creating an AI slop Regency romance: distilling plotlines from classic novels and fairy tales, generating consistently perfect facial bone structure, rendering everything in lurid, over-saturated colour. And yet, Bridgerton remains perfectly enjoyable.
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The TimesMay 16, 2024
Season 3 Review:
Be in no doubt, though, that this is Nicola Coughlan’s series. You are basically here for her. Without Coughlan’s luminous, showstopping performance as the shy, overlooked and underestimated wallflower Penelope Featherington, plus the frustrating will they, won’t they? dynamic between her and Colin, it would be a fairly shallow affair.
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May 16, 2024
Season 3 Review:
In their steamiest moments together, Coughlan and Newton emit a tenderness that instantly wipes away any doubts a viewer could possibly have about the characters’ ardor for each other. On the whole, however, this outing lacks the giddiness of earlier ones. .... The delicious yearning that has been Bridgerton‘s bread and butter is dulled, significantly, by the fact that there’s not much actually standing between the would-be couple.
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May 16, 2024
Season 3 Review:
Nicola Coughlan and Luke Newton excel as the couple at center stage, beautifully portraying the knife’s edge balance on which Penelope and Colin’s relationship sits. The first four episodes' primary weakness is an overabundance of irrelevant side plots, crowding the stage of the romance itself.
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Mar 24, 2022Mar 22, 2022
Season 2 Review:
Despite its positives, Bridgerton is ultimately not as fully, effectively transportive this go-round. Even though both seasons rely heavily on the tropes of romantic storytelling, this one makes it easier to spot those tropes and become distracted by their presence. ... But the real scandal — Lady Whistledown herself would certainly confirm this — is that there’s less excitement.
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The TimesMar 21, 2022
Season 2 Review:
The performances of Bailey and Ashley are good, and make the series more substantial. Let's not get carried away, though: it's still candy-floss flimsy much of the time and packed with frocks, froth and cliche, but it is moreish, a splash of jolliness, glam and colour in a grim world (its timing is excellent).
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Mar 21, 2022
Season 2 Review:
But over the course of the season’s eight episodes running a solid hour-long each, this “Bridgerton” return too often feels like a luxurious carriage stuck in the mud, spinning its wheels before eventually heaving itself back on the road. ... The good news about Season 2, though, is that for as deliberately frustrating as the main love story becomes, the actors playing it are very, very good.
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Jan 4, 2021
Season 1 Review:
My empty, end-of-the-year brain was well served by the burlesque of selfish viscounts, conniving ladies of the house, and enterprising modistes. Less pleasurable were certain attempts at seriousness. ... The grafting of contemporary politics onto the period piece feels extraneous and vague. Maybe this interracial-love fetish would have jelled better in the Obama era.
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Dec 21, 2020
Season 1 Review:
Van Dusen and his team seem to bite off more than they can chew by giving each of their characters, brought to life by a charming cast, a hefty storyline that in some cases is flayed by the end of the season. That's compounded by its melodrama, which may attract those with a specific palate for this kind of fare, like Downton Abbey and The Crown, even with its flaws, but others may not be able to get past its foibles to enjoy the operatic escapades. Bridgerton is ultimately extravagantly decent.
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May 16, 2024
Season 3 Review:
Bridgerton has lost its charm, at least in part because Newton lacks the charisma of his male-hero predecessors. The sex scenes don’t evoke the same thrill they once did—and maybe, looking back, that was more the thrill of something new, not Bridgerton actually being good at depicting sex.
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IndieWireMar 21, 2022
Season 2 Review:
“Bridgerton” Season 2 tries hard to please everyone, but ends up feeling watered down. Gone is the sexiness in favor of a more chaste series that almost everyone can watch together. Simone Ashley is a gem this season, but there’s never enough chemistry between her and Bailey to get a fire started.
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