Slaking audiences' pent-up lust,Bridgertonbecame a cultural phenomenon.
“It became a cultural conversation.
you’re free to’t say that about everything, even if it gets a lot of eyeballs.”
Jack Sheridan (Martin Henderson) and Melinda Monroe (Alexandra Breckenridge) on ‘Virgin River’ season 2.NETFLIX
“It’s a female-driven market; it outsells every other genre in fiction.
Why then has romance been ignored for so long?
Part of it is Hollywood’s enduring reluctance to foreground women’s voices.
Peter Kavinsky (Noah Centineo) and Lara Jean Covey (Lana Condor) in ‘To All the Boys: Always and Forever’.Katie Yu/Netflix
“What’s so guilty about it?
When you look at it through the male POV, it perhaps feels a little frivolous.
Lawson echoes this sentiment, chalking the disinterest in the genre up to sexism.
LIAM DANIEL/NETFLIX
“What they miss is romance is very feminist.”
“Romance shows up in every genre because that’s what people care about,” she says.
“Historically, romance has not been taken seriously,” she says.
Dafina Books
“Shondaland had a certain vision and put a lot of money and effort into the production.”
Executive ProducerBetsy Beerspreviously told EWthat both the themes ofBridgertonand upending genre expectations were part of Shondaland’s DNA.
“Bridgertonis its own beast because it’s a Shonda thing,” she reflects.
Avon Books
“I’m not 100 percent sure executives are looking at that as a romance adaptation.
I think they’re looking at it as a Shonda Rhimes show.”
Weatherspoon’sCowboys of Californiaseries has recently been optioned bySweet MagnoliasandQueen Sugarproducer Valerie C. Woods.
Little, Brown Book Group
But Weatherspoon worries outmoded Hollywood perceptions of romance will limit the potential for aBridgertonbump.
“I think there’s a disconnect between film/TV executives and the romance reading community.”
Bridgertonalso hit at a time when audiences were thirsty for escapism and human contact: during an isolating pandemic.
Simon and Schuster
“The romance genre has always been a rich source,” notes UTA agent Mary Pender.
The biggest audience in Netflix history to be precise.
Will Hollywood take that love lesson to heart?
Berkley
“Bridgertonhas made its mark,” Howe affirms.
“The audience has spoken and it’s very loud and clear.
Tsang marks an uptick in interest for Avon properties, chiefly in the form of informational meetings.
Blue Box Press
Though Hollywood is still slow to greenlight projects, Leah has noticed a shift in attitudes.
“The main change is in the hearts and minds of executives,” she notes.
It is easier to get meetings, and they are more interested in what we’re selling.”
Lawson has also pivoted to selling her client’s work as romance with a capitalR.
“The framing of it has changed.
But some that have languished in development likeForbiddenandRoomieshave gained steam.
In March, production company MRC Film announced a new label to focus exclusively on romance movies.
Dewan says the impact has been noticeable withRoomies.
Village Roadshow has recently signed on, and they’re nearly ready to begin casting.
Bridgertonalso proves how ideal streamers and television are as a space for romance adaptation.
“Four years ago, everybody would have saidHello Sunshine.
It’s just something they also do.”
“You tell the story in the format that it needs to be told,” Pender adds.
“You have the bones of something.
I would hope that Hollywood would see that there are so many stories that are already there.”
Han adds that romance’s emphasis on character also meshes well in this medium.
“TV makes sense because you get to really dig into the characters,” she says.
you might really do that in TV and tell a long story.”
“For a long time, we only saw certain kinds of people fall in love.”
But there’s still ample room for improvement.
This includes LGBTQ romance, like Casey McQuiston’s best-sellingRed, White & Royal Blue, whichAmazonandGreg Berlantiare developing.
“We need more happy queer stories,” affirms Weatherspoon.
Ever-expanding backlists are there waiting to make executives and creatives burn for them.
And afterBridgerton, romance publishing and Hollywood might just get their happy ending.
