In part one of my conversation with Bridgerton creator, showrunner, and executive producer Chris Van Dusen, we discussed what it was like to see the show come to life, and then, well, become a cultural phenomenon. The show is nominated for tons of Emmys for its first season, but what's ahead for Season 2?
Here in part two of our three part interview with Van Dusen, we get into what it was like filming Season 2 – from the crowd seasons to the intimate scenes – and he tells us who's really in charge when it comes to releasing those sex scenes that were cut from Season 1.
So where are you in production now? There was a few moments where you had to shut down production on Season 2, because of Covid…
We had a pause in shooting, but we’re back to it now. I’m actually going back and forth between L.A. and London, and when I’m in L.A., I’m in post-production, so we just started editing our first couple of episodes. I’m in the editing bay on those. The second season is looking amazing! It’s incredible. I cannot wait for the world to see it.
How is shooting Season 2 different this time around? Is there anything you can’t do because of the pandemic, either involving crowd scenes or more intimate scenes?
It’s been really challenging. The second season has been a completely different world than the first season, which we wrapped shooting on just before the pandemic hit. Since then, we were able to work remotely on the show during Covid in order to launch it last December. But ever since, it’s a much different story because we’re dealing with it directly in the middle of production. Obviously, our concern is everyone’s health, and we’re closely monitoring everything and following all the safety protocols, because it’s really about safety, security, and health there.
Bridgerton is a big sprawling show. We have a huge cast. And we have a lot of crowd scenes where we’re at these amazing balls, in these incredible set pieces. I wouldn’t say there’s anything we haven’t been able to do, but it did take some strategizing on my part, and on the writers’ part, as far as how to bring the Bridgerton magic that everyone fell in love with in Season 1, how to make sure we retain it in Season 2. We have an incredible Covid-safety team, and we have an incredible line producer, who have been amazing in terms of figuring out creative solutions to make that happen. It’s definitely been difficult. And we’ve been relying on visual effects and other creative ways to create those larger crowd scenes, for sure.
There is a whole other layer of difficulty with the intimate scenes. There are a number of new protocols, and we work with an incredible team of intimacy coordinators, so that all of those scenes are choreographed and staged well ahead of time. It’s really about making sure our actors are comfortable and know what’s expected of them, what they’re going to be doing, when they walk into the room. That there is a plan in place. There was always a plan in place, well in advance, but with the Covid of it all, those plans are even more specific. There’s even greater scrutiny on all of those things.
Speaking of intimate scenes, one of your intimacy coordinators revealed recently that there are a lot of sexy Simon scenes that were edited out of Season 1. Any chance you’ll release them?
[Laughs] I would love to, but it’s not up to me. We’re always looking at ways to keep our audience engaged between scenes, but it depends on what we’re talking about. The reason why I love Simon, the Duke of Hastings, so much is that he didn’t really want anything to do with being a duke. He really had no interest in marriage. He had no interest in finding a wife. He wanted to do things on his own terms, and he wasn’t going to answer to anyone. So even without those specific scenes, I think it’s pretty clear that is his character is a rake. But releasing the scenes showing him being a rake? That’s up to Netflix, totally.
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