Netflix has ordered a limited series spinoff of Bridgerton centered on a young Lady Violet, the matriarch of the Bridgerton family played on the mothership series by Ruth Gemmell. The currently untitled project will follow Violet Ledger’s early life and her romance with Viscount Edmund Bridgerton, the couple whose marriage set the tone for the whole family. The announcement landed Thursday, October 8, delivered, naturally, as a fresh edition of Lady Whistledown’s Society Papers.
Shonda Rhimes writes and co-showruns with Nicholas Nardini, her collaborator on Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story, the 2023 prequel the new series is modeled on. Tom Verica returns to direct and executive produce, with Shondaland’s Betsy Beers also on board as executive producer. The series adapts material from Violet in Bloom, the Julia Quinn novella that tells Violet and Edmund’s love story. No cast has been announced for the younger Violet or Edmund, and Netflix has not set a release date.
The order is the latest piece of business under Rhimes’ new long-term overall deal with Netflix, signed in August. Bridgerton Season 5, which shifts the spotlight to Francesca Bridgerton and Michaela Stirling, is currently in production in London.