Why The Casting For Season 2 Of Bridgerton Is Making Waves

Following the uber-successful first season of the Netflix scripted series "Bridgerton," the streaming giant renewed the romantic drama for a second season (via Business Insider). With Season 2 of the Shondaland series set to hit the platform on March 25, fans of the Julia Quinn universe are itching to discover everything they can about its latest installment. While Season 1 focused heavily on Daphne Bridgerton, played by Phoebe Denver, and Simon Hastings, played by Regé-Jean Page, this season will highlight the former's older brother Anthony's search for love. 

Judging by the show's trailer, Anthony, played by Jonathan Bailey, will find himself in a love triangle with Edwina Sharma and her older sister Kate. Edwina will be played by the British-Indian actress Charithra Chandran, while the British-Indian actress Simone Ashley will take on the role of Kate. In fact, the series' centering of South Asian characters has already drawn much praise amongst its viewers (via the BBC).

Upon learning the hit series "Bridgerton" cast actresses of South Asian descent as romantic leads, other aspiring South Asian actors have felt a surge of hope for their futures in the industry (via the BBC). Considering there is a prominent lack of South Asian representation on the small and big screens alike, Simone Ashley and Charithra Chandran's roles on the Netflix series are groundbreaking. 

"When I see any person of colour on screen, especially if they are South Asian, it lights something up in me because you just don't see it," 19-year-old Pakistani actress Laraib Waheed told the BBC.

Though many other young South Asian actors share this sentiment, it's important to note that there is still much work to be done in terms of diversity in film and television. "People want to escape into a fantasy and that's what 'Bridgerton' does, and importantly it offers that to people of colour as well as to white people and I think that is important," television critic Ellen E. Jones explained (via the BBC). "If you understand it in those terms, it is to be celebrated, but it's not about racism or race, it's not challenging any of those very embedded notions in our society."

"I don't think 'Bridgerton' is doing anything wrong and I'm glad it exists, but there's room for so much more," Jones concluded. Luckily, there are other shows in the rotation that are working to rectify this issue, including "Then Long Song," "Sanditon," and "1917" (via NBC).