Netflix has announced that Simone Ashley (Because the Night) will star in the second season of its hit series Bridgerton, opposite lead Jonathan Bailey (Crashing), as Deadline reports. The period piece, based on the eight books by Julia Quinn with each following a different Bridgerton sibling throughout their pursuits of a suitable marriage, initially focused on the eldest daughter Daphne Bridgerton, played by Phoebe Dynevor (Snatch), during the debut season. Bridgerton‘s upcoming season will follow suit with the published books and chronicles the eldest son, Anthony Bridgerton, played by Bailey, on his quest to find love. Quinn’s book following Daphne is entitled The Duke and I while the second book of the series, following Anthony, is entitled The Viscount Who Loved Me.

Get ready to fall in love with Simone Ashley, who will play Kate in Season 2 of Bridgerton.

Kate is a smart, headstrong young woman who suffers no fools — Anthony Bridgerton very much included. ` pic.twitter.com/xdVilOjL4Y

— Netflix (@netflix) February 15, 2021

Bridgerton season 1 spoilers below!

The new addition to the cast, Ashley, will serve as Anthony’s love interest, Kate Sharma. New to London, Kate is a tough and smart woman who “suffers no fools – Anthony Bridgerton very much included,” via Deadline. In the first season, Anthony’s main love interest was Siena Rosso, played by Sabrina Bartlett (Virtuoso); however, they had a rather scandalous relationship due to their differing social statuses and things had abruptly ended before the conclusion of the season. Anthony’s hopefulness for love was teased at the end of the season when Anthony confided in Daphne and her newlywed Simon, played by Regé-Jean Page (Waterloo Road), with his plans of “finding and promptly declaring [his] intentions to my new viscountess,” via Deadline.

Ashley is just one of the newly added cast members to join the Netflix series, as creator Chris Van Dusen (Grey’s Anatomy) emphasized on Today with Hoda & Jenna in January, “We have a bunch of new characters we are going to be introducing. Anthony is going to have a love interest next season, and I think it’s going to be as sweeping and moving and as beautiful as viewers of the first season have come to expect from the show,” via Deadline. He also added, “We left [Anthony] at the end of the first season at a bit of a crossroads, so I’m looking forward to jumping in and discovering how he fares on the marriage market.”

The upcoming season of Bridgerton is slated to begin filming in London this spring but its first season is available to stream on Netflix.