Will Regé-Jean Page and Phoebe Dynevor return for Bridgerton season 2?

Good news: Netflix has renewed Bridgerton for a second season. But with their storyline wrapped up, will Simon Basset and Daphne Bridgerton be back?

Ever since it debuted on Christmas Day, the first season of Bridgerton — a new Shondaland based on author Julia Quinn’s series of bodice-rippers — has dominated, finding millions of fans eager for more Regency-era romance.

The issue is that the first season neatly wrapped up the romantic arcs of the main characters — Duke of Hastings Simon Basset (Regé-Jean Page) and Daphne Bridgerton (Phoebe Dynevor) — pretty neatly. But never fear: there are eight books in Quinn’s Bridgerton series, each focusing on the love life of a different Bridgerton sibling. Next up is Anthony Bridgerton (Jonathan Bailey), the focus of the book The Viscount Who Loved Me. He will be at the center of season 2, which Netflix announced via an invitation from Lady Whistledown (voiced by Julie Andrews) herself:

Considering what a hit Bridgerton has been for Netflix, a second season was pretty much a given. But will Page and Dynevor return, at least as supporting characters? After a couple months of uncertainly, we now that the answer is no, at least for Regé-Jean Page and the Duke of Hastings. The official Bridgerton Instagram revealed as much in another missive from Lady Whistledown:

"Dear Readers, while all eyes turn to Lord Anthony Bridgerton’s quest to find a Viscountess, we bid adieu to Regé-Jean Page, who so triumphantly played the Duke of Hastings,” the message began. We’ll miss Simon’s presence onscreen, but he will always be a part of the Bridgerton family. Daphne will remain a devoted wife and sister, helping her brother navigate the upcoming social season and what it has to offer – more intrigue and romance than my readers may be able to bear."

So Daphe and Dynevor are back but Simon and Page are out. And the mourning begins.

That said, a lot of fans could have predicted this, and that includes Page himself. “It’s a one-season arc,” he told Variety. “It’s going to have a beginning, middle, end – give us a yea. [I thought] ‘That’s interesting,’ because then it felt like a limited series. I get to come in, I get to contribute my bit and then the Bridgerton family rolls on.”

"One of the things that is different about this [romance] genre is that the audience knows the arc completes. They come in knowing that, so you can tie people in emotional knots because they have that reassurance that we’re going to come out and we’re going to have the marriage and the baby…I have nothing but excitement for ‘Bridgerton’ continuing to steam train off and conquer the globe. But there is also value in completing these arcs and sticking the landing."

There’s no release date for Bridgerton season 2 as of yet.

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h/t The A.V. Club