Bridgerton is officially renewed for its second season under Netflix, to no surprise to the fans of the hit show. The series on Britain’s high society, created by Chris Van Dusen and produced by Shonda Rhimes, has been the streaming service’s latest success since its release in December.
Based on Julia Quinn’s “Bridgerton Series” that chronicles the lives of the Bridgerton children, the first season focused on the eldest daughter Daphne (Phoebe Dyvenor) and her winding path to marriage with the Duke of Hastings (Regé-Jean Page). Fans awed over the colorblind casting of the Regency period, as the interracial coupling hallmarked the show.
Netflix released the news in the form of Lady Whistledown’s notorious society papers, the town’s gossip column narrated by Julie Andrews.
“The ton are abuzz with the latest gossip, and so it is my honor to impart to you: Bridgerton shall officially return for a second season,” Whistledown wrote. “This author has been reliably informed that Lord Anthony Bridgerton intends to dominate the social season.”
The second season, Whistledown writes, will follow the novels’ order and produce its next adaptation on “The Viscount Who Loved Me.” The season is suspected to shift its focal point to Lord Anthony Bridgerton, played by Johnathan Bailey, who is the eldest child of the clan.
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“Anthony is going to have a love interest next season, and I think it’s going to be as sweeping and moving and as beautiful as viewers of the first season have come to expect from the show,” Van Dusen said in an interview on Today With Hoda & Jenna.
The cliffhanger on the finale of the last season hinted at the continued romantic pursuits of Anthony as he ended his relationship with his love interest Siena (Sabrina Bartlett).
Although the release date hasn’t been revealed, Netflix’s official announcement states the cast “will return to production in Spring of 2021.”
The Trump administration has given schools and universities across the country just two weeks to eliminate diversity initiatives or risk losing federal funding. In a memo issued Friday, the U.S. Department of Education ordered institutions to stop using “racial preferences” in admissions, financial aid, hiring, or any other areas. Schools have 14 days to eliminate any practice that considers race as a factor, a move that could dramatically reshape campus life.
Educators across the country are scrambling to assess their risk, weighing whether to fight for policies they believe are legally sound. The sweeping directive could upend everything from college application essays to faculty hiring and student organizations.
The memo frames the crackdown as an effort to combat discrimination.“With this guidance, the Trump Administration is directing schools to end the use of racial preferences and race stereotypes in their programs and activities—a victory for justice, civil rights laws, and the Constitution,” said Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor.
“Schools have been operating on the pretext that selecting students for ‘diversity’ or similar euphemisms is not selecting them based on race. No longer. Students should be assessed according to merit, accomplishment, and character—not prejudged by the color of their skin,” Trainor added.
The backlash from civil rights groups and higher education leaders was swift. Many argue the vague language is designed to have a chilling effect, pressuring schools to abandon any programs touching on race—even those that could hold up in court.
“Creating a sense of risk around doing work that might promote diverse and welcoming campuses is much more of the goal than a clear statement of existing law,” Jonathan Fansmith, senior vice president of government relations at the American Council on Education, an association of college presidents told the Associated Press.
The directive builds on Trump’s previous executive order banning diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs and cites the 2023 Supreme Court ruling that struck down race-conscious college admissions.“Put simply, educational institutions may neither separate nor segregate students based on race, nor distribute benefits or burdens based on race,” the memo states.
The Education Department is also slashing $600 million in grants for teacher training programs that promote concepts like DEI, critical race theory and social justice activism, calling them “divisive.”
Uncertainty over how far this anti-DEI order will reach was evident during last week’s confirmation hearing for education secretary nominee Linda McMahon. When asked whether courses on African American history would violate the president’s order, McMahon admitted she wasn’t sure.
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Despite the pressure, some education leaders are urging schools not to overreact. The School Superintendents Association has reminded members that the new guidance is not legally binding, and any funding cuts would require lengthy investigations.
“We’re not certain a district should do anything beyond reading the guidance, talking to their legal counsel, and gauging community interest in keeping existing programs,” said Sasha Pudelski, the group’s director of advocacy.
At the heart of the memo is a direct challenge to college admissions policies. The guidance warns that schools cannot use essays as a way to infer an applicant’s race—a key concern since the Supreme Court’s ruling left room for students to discuss race in personal statements. Chief Justice John Roberts acknowledged this possibility but cautioned that colleges could not use essays as a loophole to achieve racial diversity.
The memo also targets schools that have eliminated standardized testing requirements. It argues that dropping SAT and ACT requirements to increase racial diversity is unlawful, even though many universities have moved away from standardized tests over concerns that they favor wealthy students.
Longstanding practices—such as recruiting in underrepresented areas or obtaining lists of potential students based on academic and demographic factors—could now be seen as legal risks. Scholarships for students of specific racial backgrounds are also under scrutiny. While legal experts continue to debate whether the Supreme Court’s decision extends to financial aid, some institutions have already removed racial criteria from certain scholarships.
The National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators is working to understand the memo’s implications. “The last thing students need when making plans about how to pay for college is uncertainty over when or whether they will receive financial aid they’ve been relying on,” the group said in a statement to the Associated Press.
Trump has called for eliminating the Education Department altogether, and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has already slashed dozens of federal contracts it deemed wasteful.