JOURNAL ARTICLE

The Great Experiment: race and authorship in Shonda Rhimes's Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story.

  • Published In: Adaptation, 2025, v. 18, n. 1. P. 1 1 of 3

  • Database: Humanities Source Ultimate 2 of 3

  • Authored By: Calhoun, Claudia 3 of 3

Abstract

The article focuses on Shonda Rhimes's 2023 Netflix series *Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story*, a prequel to *Bridgerton* that explores the interracial marriage of Queen Charlotte, portrayed as Black, and King George, portrayed as white, within a racially integrated British Regency aristocracy. Unlike *Bridgerton*, which maintains a romantic and optimistic tone, *Queen Charlotte* offers a more ambivalent and sociological examination of race as an institutional tool of power rather than solely an identity or culture, reflecting Rhimes’s personal experiences as a Black woman navigating predominantly white institutions. The series emphasizes themes of isolation, responsibility, and the complexities of racialized power structures through its protagonist’s journey, diverging from typical romance genre conventions by ending on a note of emotional compromise rather than a straightforward "happily ever after." The article situates *Queen Charlotte* within Rhimes’s broader career trajectory, highlighting her evolving engagement with race, authorship, and representation in television.

Additional Information

  • Source:Adaptation. 2025/03, Vol. 18, Issue 1, p1
  • Document Type:Article
  • Subject Area:Literature and Writing
  • Publication Date:2025
  • ISSN:17550637
  • DOI:10.1093/adaptation/apae027
  • Accession Number:184350783
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