WASHINGTON — While some continue to anticipate the third season of Bridgerton, fans will soon have their regency-era romance thirst quenched soon when the show's prequel, "Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story" airs on May 4 on Netflix.
Queen Charlotte is getting her own show which dives into how she became the queen of the United Kingdom and as a Black woman at that. WUSA9 spoke to Golda Rosheuvel, who plays the older version of the queen (also seen in the first two seasons of Bridgerton) along with Arsema Thomas who plays the younger Lady Danbury about what viewers can expect in this Bridgerton prequel.
According to Rosheuvel, fans can expect the prequel to give more context to the story behind Bridgerton's Queen Charlotte where it will touch on her navigating her private life and marriage to King George.
In her role, Thomas had to fill the younger shoes of Lady Danbury's character to provide another layer to the already-witty and influential role the character has in Bridgerton. Thomas admitted that she initially felt a little scared and had a moment of imposter syndrome when she first got the role. However, she felt very fulfilled after reading the script and seeing how much character development there was for Lady Danbury and the other characters on the show.
Jumping into this role and representing what regency and royalty look like as a Black woman was another aspect of the role Rosheuvel took on. Although this story is fiction, the impact this representation has is very real. Rosheuvel explained that "the truth is huge for us as Black women, for us as actors" with the roles and stories they take on.
"It's really huge to be in this position where we can as artists communicate some of the stories that are difficult and the subjects that are difficult to discuss," said Rosheuvel. "And in a creative environment, we can really push that out in a wider space for it to be discussed."
Thomas further explained that an aspect of the show she believes makes it great is that it highlights "women fighting for their worth and the women that look like them."
"There is something so true about being in something that is aspirational. I think it allows us to kind of shoot for something outside of where we are and hope for something better," Thomas expressed.