The English actress exclusively talks to ET about the anticipated new season and Eloise's hunt to unmask Lady Whistledown.
Bridgerton is just days away from dominating the world's attention and Claudia Jessie, the actress behind Eloise Bridgerton, is just as anxiously anticipating the new season as well.
Season 2, loosely based on Julia Quinn's sequel The Viscount Who Loved Me, focuses on the eldest Bridgerton sibling, Anthony (Jonathan Bailey), as he embarks on a quest to find a wife. Sex Education's Simone Ashley plays Anthony's love interest, Kate Sharma, and newcomer Charithra Chandran plays Kate's younger sister, Edwina. The Sharma family was reimagined for the series.
"Everything they loved in season 1 is still there but we've got the the most amazing introduction of a new family, the Sharmas, who are incredible," Jessie recently shared in an exclusive interview with ET's Lauren Zima. "They're such a rich vibrant, interesting family to come into the show. We're so used to our little set-up now. We're quite familiar with everybody, so it's really nice to have that injection of freshness with the Sharmas. And Lady Whistledown is still very much at large. She's back and I don't think that quest [to find out who she is] is over for Eloise. And all of the delicious costumes and the music, it's back. I'm so excited for everybody to see it."
The English actress said the whirlwind response from fans over the past year and a half has put everything into perspective, especially launching amidst a pandemic.
"It was such an interesting time; it came out during a difficult time for us," Jessie recalled. "I really felt like there was a sense of gratitude from everybody. It was an incredibly challenging time. People have lost jobs and gone through unthinkable things. We were grateful to be back with our friends and to have work and to have a job, but very, very lucky. I don't really know if any of us spoke about it on set. Sometimes, it just felt like season 1 again when we didn't know what it was going to be. We didn't know. We were just on the job, and [it] so very naturally went back to that. We just want to do a really good show, but obviously [are] very pleased [with the reaction]."
While Anthony focuses on trying to find love, Eloise is focused on unmasking the Ton's all-knowing gossip maven, Lady Whistledown, whom, in the season 1 finale [spoiler alert!] was revealed to be her best friend, Penelope. When the season picks up, Lady Whistledown has been laying low for an extended period of time.
"Eloise is going to make Penelope’s life very difficult," Jessie hinted. "She's at these balls with her. This is where Penelope picks up the majority of her information, at these tea parties, these social gatherings and Eloise is there right next to her blocking her everywhere. And for Eloise, it's brilliant. She's like, 'Oh amazing I don't need to be at these on my own anymore. We can run off together,' but Penelope’s like, 'That's great, you're ruining my job! I've got things to do!'"
"Penelope enjoys Eloise's company. They're best friends, but it's going to make Penelope's life quite a challenge and that's what I think you'll be able to see," she added. "Their dynamics will shift. Their dynamics will change in their friendship during season 2."
And romance will very much be in the air for Eloise too. Jessie admitted she "didn't expect" a courtship to blossom for her character in the new season, but called the storyline "lovely."
"What's lovely about the show is there's no right or wrong way to experience romance and love as a woman in the show. And what's more interesting is to watch someone like Eloise have romantic feelings," she shared. "How does Eloise respond to this sort of scenario? But I think she's found someone that she can have really good back-and-forth with. They make fun of each other, they both are exploring different ways of thinking. That's a real attraction and it's so cute. I just think more than anything, it's incredibly cute. It's very cute."
Who is Eloise's new love interest? It's Theo (Calam Lynch), a printer's assistant who is introduced this season.
"I was so excited and Callum, who plays Theo, was brilliant," the actress praised. "He was so easy to work with and we had we had a lot of fun on set together. We found the story as adorable as I [hope] people will as well."
"In the stage directions in Bridgerton it's really expressive, like they're really fun to read. Like, 'Things are getting steamy AF,' you know. It's stuff like that, and then with Eloise and Theo there was just one in capital letters that said, 'Nerd swoon,' and I loved it so much," Jessie revealed. "It felt so accurate that this isn't like a 'dun dun dun dun' sort of situation. Eloise and Theo are young and it's cute."
Bridgerton returns Friday, March 25 on Netflix. For more, watch below.
RELATED CONTENT:
