Spoilers for Bridgerton and Still Star-Crossed are below.
Bridgerton Season 2 is currently the buzziest Netflix series on Twitter. Though the second season is not as raunchy as its first, the period drama makes up for it by slowly burning through the love triangle between the capital R Rake viscount and the lovely Sharma sisters. Since its release, fans of the series delightfully share their favorite moments on the bird app, like when Anthony (Jonathan Bailey) passionately tells Kate (Simone Ashley) in Episode 5, “You are the bane of my existence. And the object of all my desires.” Once again, executive producer Shonda Rhimes and showrunner Chris Van Dusen demonstrate that they know what their viewers want. However, as with any production company, not every Shondaland joint is a success.
Before Bridgerton, there was Still Star-Crossed, an ABC Shakespearean-inspired series produced by Shondaland and created by Heather Mitchell that premiered in 2017. Like the Regency drama, Still Star-Crossed attempted to cater to women, especially women of color, by casting diverse actors in a historical setting, spending its budget on gorgeous costumes, and leaning into its juicy soap opera tropes. Yet, the show’s low production values, terrible action sequences, and ABC’s lack of support led to its downfall. Despite its failure, Still Star-Crossed laid the groundwork for Bridgerton to prosper.
For the uninitiated, Still Star-Crossed is an adaptation of the young adult novel by Melinda Taub. The romantic period drama follows Rosaline (Lashana Lynch), a former Capulet maid and cousin of Juliet (Clara Rugaard), as she entangles herself in an arranged marriage with noted Montague and Romeo’s (Lucien Laviscount) best friend Benvolio (Wade Briggs). While the two enemies object to the proposal, the ruler of Verona and one-time lover of Rosaline, Prince Escalus (Sterling Sulieman), insists that the union will prevent the Capulets and Montagues from spilling more blood on the streets. But, unbeknownst to them, a secret society called “The Fiend” plots to dethrone the untested prince by manufacturing more chaos between the two noble families.
Still Star-Crossed aired when Rhime’s hit shows Scandal and How to Get Away with Murder were in their twilight years. Although the series still had millions of fans, neither show was in the cultural zeitgeist anymore. So, the Shakespearean sequel needed to be a hit. Unfortunately, many critics felt the drama lacked substance. While 2.3 million viewers watched Episode 1’s “In Fair Verona, Where We Lay Our Scene,” the show never became a viral success like Bridgerton. By the time Still Star-Crossed aired its third episode, ABC moved the series from Monday to Saturday nights, confirming that the network did not believe in the show’s survival. Soon after airing its seventh episode, the disastrous television show was cancelled.
Still Star-Crossed failed to live up to its predecessors. However, there are some things the drama did well, such as casting diverse actors. Outside of television, the theater community was at the forefront of consciously casting actors of color in their Shakespearean or Shakespearean-adjacent works. Yet, it was still a novelty to cast multicultural performers in certain television shows, even in 2017.
While period dramas such as The Hollow Crown and Borgia reserved their roles for white performers, Still Star-Crossed refused to follow convention by fearlessly bringing representation onto the screen. Handing two beautiful dark-skinned actors the parts of Rosaline and her sister Livia (Ebonée Noel) was the right step for Shondaland. For many Black women, it was their first time seeing themselves as the heroine in a televised period drama.
Bridgerton applies Still Star-Crossed’s approach to casting in their romantic drama as well. Although the Regency drama bungles its takes on race in some areas, it is still lovely to see them incorporate different cultural elements into the renowned series. The show depicts this exchange of ideas spectacularly in Season 2, Episode 6, “The Choice.” In one scene, Kate and her mother, Mary (Shelley Conn,) celebrate Edwina’s (Charithra Chandran) upcoming nuptials to Andrew by performing a Haldi ceremony. Together in Lady Danbury’s (Adjoa Andoh) estate, the older Sharma women cleanse the bride-to-be from evil spirits with turmeric and other ingredients.
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As Kate and Mary rub the paste onto Edwina’s brown skin, a classical rendition of “Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham” by the late Indian singer Lata Mangeshkar plays in the background. Pleasantly lit, intimate, and full of joy, this bonding moment between the three Indian women is an excellent example of how Bridgerton infuses Indian traditions within its European-centered work. Thanks to Still Star-Crossed, the Netflix show had a blueprint on how to do it right.
It is thrilling to see people of color in a period drama, but fans of the genre still want to see pretty people frolic and create mischief in gorgeous frocks. Fortunately for Still Star-Crossed, Shondaland tailors its budget towards its costumes. The Shakespearean-inspired drama’s outfits may not be as grand as Bridgerton’s, but the detailing is impeccable. No one can deny that Rosaline looks like a Black Cinderella as she sashays at the prince’s ball in her teal blue gown, golden necklace, and pinned natural hair in Episode 1.
The ABC series also uses garments to emphasize the character’s story arc. For example, Princess Isabella (Medalion Rahimi), Escalus’s thoughtful and determined sister, wears a collection of tight dresses that nearly cover up her body to imply that she is chaste. However, it is not until she travels to Venice in Episode 5, “Nature Hath Framed Strange Fellows in Her Time,” to secure a peace treaty between the two cities that her clothes—and personality—loosen up.
In terms of costume design, Bridgerton takes its cues from Still Star-Crossed, but it also pushes the clothes further by having each noble family don colors that represent them as a unit. Throughout the series, the Bridgerton family attends parties in pastel solid colors, the Featherington rock loud floral prints, and Lady Danbury presents herself as the most frightening person in the room with her cane and top hat. Like Still Star-Crossed, Bridgerton’s Season 2 costume designer Sophie Canale uses costumes to comment on the character’s emotional state. For instance, Anthony and Kate’s wardrobe transitions from constrained to lighter fairs as their relationship evolves.
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As with Still Star-Crossed, Shondaland productions live on soap opera tropes. Within the seven episodes of the series, an intriguing love triangle between the three leads forms, an evil stepmother’s schemes against her niece, and a conspiracy to transform the characters’ world for good. But the one thing Still Star-Crossed lacks is romance. Of course, the forbidden love between Rosaline and Escalus is spicy and titillating, but the moment between the lovers is rare. The show spends way too much time on the violent beef between the Capulets and Montagues than on young love. As much as the political machinations in Shakespeare’s works are essential, romance matters too. Sadly, Mitchell wastes her 40-minute episodes on the two feuding families.
Thankfully, Bridgerton’s showrunner Van Dusen takes this lesson to heart and focuses more on the romantic scandals in London’s high society. Notably, the drama demotes real-world events such as the Transatlantic Slave Trade, the Napoleonic War, and the French Revolution in favor of romantic storylines. As a result, fans of the series indulge in scenes that include intense stares across the room, heated arguments in libraries, and tender kisses between lovers. The creator does this because he knows viewers want to watch Anthony and Kate make out passionately in a church as chaos ensues around them, not petty fights between rich white lords.
Another aspect of Still Star-Crossed that led to its downfall is its production values. Next to music, visual effects are the most expensive component of a television show. Unfortunately, ABC did not give the series enough funds to cover it since the visuals look terrible. One moment that completely flops due to its effects is the betrothal ceremony of Rosaline and Benvolio in Episode 3, “All the World’s a Stage.” During the scene, Escalus presents the unlucky couple in the town’s square. As the event proceeds, a bomb explodes in the crowd, shocking everyone in attendance. Yet, despite the tension and chaos, the explosion looks so fake that it is hard to take the situation seriously.
Sadly, the producers did not procure a good fight choreographer for the action sequences either. Watching the haphazard sword fight scene between the Montagues and Capulets during Romeo and Juliet’s funeral is hard to watch as it features a bunch of extras swinging their weapons at one another. At least Bridgerton is smart enough to avoid scenes like this and utilize their budget on where it matters most: costumes, set pieces, and covers of hit pop songs.
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Still Star-Crossed may not rise to the heights of other Shondaland productions like Grey’s Anatomy and Station 19. Yet, this massive misfire influenced the production company to produce one of the most successful period dramas on Netflix. Van Dusen takes the best elements of the ABC series, like its commitment to diversity and costuming, magnifies them, and crafts a show that fans of period dramas will cherish for times to come.
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