Much has been made of Netflix’s outspoken to desire to craft as many in-house franchises as possible, with the streaming service talking a good game without ever really backing it up. Of course, it doesn’t help when so many would-be sagas end up being axed at the very first hurdle, but Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story exists as one of the very few immune from the axe.
After the first season of the main show exploded in popularity to become a global phenomenon and one of the platform’s most-watched exclusives of all-time, it was immediately positioned as one of the company’s flagship properties. The second run of episodes have been and gone, but a third and fourth have been confirmed, while the first spin-off has done exactly what was expected.
Per FlixPatrol, Queen Charlotte has decimated the competition to debut as Netflix’s number one episodic offering, having seized the top spot in a staggering 75 countries around the world. Focusing on the title character’s rise to power, the prequel regales audiences with the tale of how her marriage to King George was both a love affair for the ages and a societal benchmark, setting the stage for the Bridgerton everyone knows and loves.
Historical period pieces and political thrillers continue to succeed where fantasy has failed over and over and over again, then, with Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story underlining the overarching saga’s credentials as one of the very few Netflix IPs that can be safely deemed as nigh-on bulletproof.