Bridgerton Needs to Decide Whose World It’s Living In

The latest in pop-culture news, recaps, and reviews, plus close reads, profiles, interviews, and more from Vulture.com. [Brand Logo]( close reads [Bridgerton Needs to Decide Whose World It’s Living In]( The Netflix series fashions itself as a Regency theme park, but its historical fantasy is built on shaky ground. Photo: LIAM DANIEL/NETFLIX/LIAM DANIEL/NETFLIX About 20 minutes into [the first episode]( of its [second season](, I became obsessed with a single question: In the world of Bridgerton, is England a colonial empire? The season’s new family are the Sharmas, a mother and two daughters who lived in India for many years and return to England to find a husband for younger sister Edwina. In more traditional historical fiction this would make them outliers in upper-class English circles, not because they’ve been to India but because they are ethnically Indian in an overwhelmingly white social class. But that’s not the case for Bridgerton, because the show’s “Regency” period is proudly, deliberately fantastical — a Regency theme park for modern visitors, complete with chamber arrangements of “Material Girl” and “You Oughta Know,” ahistorical costume design, and the English nobility reconstructed as racially diverse. [Read The Story »]( Devour pop culture with us. [Subscribe now](for unlimited access to Vulture and everything New York. The Latest TV Recaps • [Tokyo Vice:]( What Really Happens • [Top Chef: Houston:]( Ladies Night • [Atlanta:]( Bitch Better Have My Money • [Severance:]( A Tale of 3 Innies • [Grey’s Anatomy:]( Stress Test [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( Stories We Think You’ll Like 1. [This Week’s Atlanta Insists That Attention Must Be Paid “The Big Payback” makes a case for reparations and a case for how much small details can matter.]( By Jen Chaney 2. [The Best Books of the Year (So Far) A few novels and an old Greek tale to lay on your recently reemerged picnic blanket.]( 3. [Jerrod Carmichael’s Surreal Life Won Late Night This Week Plus Amber Ruffin’s unvaccinated mascot and Emil Wakim’s Tonight Show debut.]( By Bethy Squires 4. [What Does Camila Cabello’s Familia Tell Us About Her Breakup With Shawn Mendes? She said the album is completely true — which is practically an invitation to dive into the lyrics.]( By Justin Curto [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( 5. [Netflix Might Plumb More Britstory for a Prequel to The Crown Which … isn’t that just The King’s Speech?]( By Rebecca Alter 6. [Erotic Thrillers Owe Everything to Home Viewers They famously brought sex and death to the multiplex, but their survival depended on late-night cable, down-market sequels, and direct-to-video films.]( By Alison Willmore [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( [Today’s Crossword]( 1-Down, Five Letters: Goop hawked by Kylie Jenner. Photo-Illustration: Vulture; Photos by Getty Images Vulture Recommends We consume it all so you don’t have to. Watch Lawrence Kasdan’s directorial debut, the 1981 erotic thriller Body Heat. As Vulture caps off its celebration of erotic thrillers, Angelica Jade Bastién considers [Kathleen Turner’s role in creating]( the modern femme fatale. [Read more from Vulture]( Next week at Union Hall Vulture’s weekly comedy show, Pretty Major, will feature Karen Chee, Blair Dawson, Anthony DeVito, Aminah Imani, Jay Jurden, Rojo Perez, and Zach Zimmerman. [Buy tickets here.]( Tuesdays at 7 p.m. Union Hall, Brooklyn, NY If you enjoyed reading Vulture’s daily newsletter, forward it to a friend. Or dive deeper into the Vulture universe with our other newsletters: • [1.5x Speed](: Podcast recommendations and listening notes from Nick Quah, sent every Wednesday. • [Buffering](: Joe Adalian reports on the streaming industry, sent every Thursday. • [The Housewives Institute Bulletin](: For dedicated students of the Reality TV Arts and Sciences, sent every other Friday. • [Vulture 10x10 Crossword](: A puzzle for pop-culture obsessives sent to your inbox every weekday. • [The Critics](: A weekly dispatch on the cultural discourse, sent Fridays. [logo]( [facebook logo]( [instagram logo]( [twitter logo]( [unsubscribe](param=daily) | [privacy notice]( | [update preferences]( This email was sent to {EMAIL}. Was this email forwarded to you? [Sign up now]( to get this newsletter in your inbox. [View this email in your browser.]( You received this email because you have a subscription to New York. Reach the right online audience with us For advertising information on email newsletters, please contact AdOps@nymag.com Vox Media, LLC 1201 Connecticut Ave. NW, 12th Floor Washington, DC 20036 Copyright © 2022, All rights reserved