With the newest casting announcement for the second season of Bridgerton, fans of the hit period-piece series will finally meet the namesake of the entire show. According to TVLine, Rupert Evans (Charmed) is set to play Edmund Bridgerton in upcoming season of the Netflix series.
While Bridgerton follows the lives of the eight Bridgerton children, the family’s matriarch, Violet Bridgerton (played by Ruth Gemmell, Fever Pitch) guides and protects her children through the trials and tribulations they face during the social season. Bridgerton‘s second season will likely show Violet and Edmund together in flashbacks, as the latter is deceased during the current timeline. Via TVLine, the series has yet to address the cause of the patriarch’s death, but in Julia Quinn’s (author, The Viscount Who Loved Me) novels on which the series is based, Edmund passes after being stung by a bee.
According to TVLine, Edmund was an “endlessly patient and kind father, who [took] special pride in guiding his eldest son, Anthony, through life”. This connection to Anthony Bridgerton (played by Johnathon Bailey, Broadchurch) explains Edmund’s anticipated appearance in season two, as the sophomore season of Bridgerton is set to focus on the love life of Anthony as he sets out to find spouse much like his sister Daphne (played by Phoebe Dynevor, Younger) did in season one.
Evans’ casting announcement is the latest in a plethora of Bridgerton related news which includes cast additions for season two, an early third and fourth season renewal, as well as an announced Queen Charlotte-focused spinoff series, via TVLine. Most shockingly, it was announced that Bridgerton‘s own Duke of Hastings, Simon (played by Regé-Jean Page), will not be returning for a second season of the series. Season two is currently being filmed in England, and while there is no date set for the series’ return to Netflix, fans will have plenty of Bridgerton content to last them the next few years, if not longer.