Bridgerton Season 2: Regé-Jean Page, who plays Simon Basset, Duke of Hastings, in Netflix’s Bridgerton, reveals why he turned down an offer to continue for season 2. The show focuses on author Julia Quinn’s best-selling books set in Regency England. It’s the network’s first official Shonda Rhimes-produced drama. Page agreed to a one-year contract to play Basset on Bridgerton, an unexpected suitor for Daphne Bridgerton (Phoebe Dynevor), on the condition that Simon will not return for season 2.
The producer’s original idea was for each season to track one of the eight Bridgerton siblings as they followed their own separate love hunts. It’s a plot that follows Quinn’s books’ original literacy framework. Bridgerton announced last week that Page’s Simon will not return for Season 2, and now more information about the judgment is emerging. Although Page’s performance as Basset in Bridgerton became a breakthrough opportunity for him, with his reputation among the show’s loyal fandom skyrocketing, the actor declined the opportunity to play the Duke of Hastings in season 2.
Bridgerton Season 2: The Inside Story & The Future
He was “offered a chance to appear as a guest star in three to five episodes” for $50,000 per episode, according to THR. As he clarified his motivations for moving to Variety, Page referred to early discussions he had with the show’s creators, adding, “It’s just a one-season plot. Give us a year for it to have a beginning, middle, and end.” “[I thought] ‘That’s cool,’ as it seemed like a brief show at the time,” the comedian, who had just finished featuring Leonard Knox in ABC’s legal drama For the People, said. I get to go in and do my part, and then the Bridgerton community continues.”
Page’s justification for taking on the part of Simon Basset in Bridgerton points to the actor’s willingness to focus on a script with a fulfilling arc. His one-season run on the show will not only have a rewarding opportunity for the actor by encouraging him to explore Simon’s beginning, middle, and end, but it will also, ideally, shift the attention of the production to other Bridgerton personalities. But apart from this one, keep in mind that Page is an actor, and his decision not to revert to the Netflix show may reflect his ability to work with a wide range of characters, storylines, and storytelling channels in the future.
Conclusion
Fans of the show may be surprised and disappointed by Page’s choice not to revert to Bridgerton for season 2, but the actor’s plot does not persist in the novels. There’s plenty to be said about the Shondaland producers’ effort to get the iconic character again for the next season of the show, but there’s also something to be said for a lighthearted romp of the source material. And, if Netflix is adhering to the novels, Bridgerton season 2 would have plenty of fertile territories to explore.
