Netflix has announced a second Bridgerton spinoff series, a limited prequel that will explore the love story between a young Lady Violet and her future husband, Viscount Edmund Bridgerton. The cast of the new show has not been announced.The announcement was made through the show’s official Instagram account on Thursday in character, framed as a dispatch from the fictional gossip columnist Lady Whistledown, who declared that “the love match that started it all shall soon be yours to see, dear reader.”The new series will be produced under Shondaland, Shonda Rhimes’ production company, which has overseen the entire Bridgerton franchise since its debut in 2020. Rhimes herself will return to write, executive produce and showrun the spinoff, reuniting with Nicholas Nardini, who co-created Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story (2023), the first spinoff from the franchise. Tom Verica, who has directed multiple episodes of the main series, is attached as an executive producer and director.Prepare yourselves dear readers, for this author has some rather large news to share… https://t.co/J44NP2x0yp— Bridgerton (@bridgerton) October 8, 2026The storyUnlike Queen Charlotte, which was an entirely original story created by Rhimes without a direct literary source, the Violet spinoff has existing material to draw from. Julia Quinn, the author of the Bridgerton novel series, published a novella titled Violet in Bloom that recounts the romance between the young Violet Ledger and Edmund Bridgerton, the Viscount whose early death before the birth of his eighth child became a defining element of the Bridgerton family’s backstory.In the main Bridgerton series, the older Violet Bridgerton is played by Ruth Gemmell as the Dowager Viscountess who has raised eight children alone after Edmund’s death. The character has been a warm, steadying presence across all four seasons of the show. In Queen Charlotte, a younger version of the character was played by Connie Jenkins-Greig, who portrayed Violet Ledger before her marriage. Rupert Evans played the Viscount in the same series. Whether Jenkins-Greig and Evans will reprise their roles or whether new actors will be cast has not been confirmed.The spinoff will explore the period of Violet’s life that the main series has only referenced in passing: her courtship with Edmund, their marriage and the relationship that produced the eight siblings whose individual love stories have formed the backbone of the Bridgerton franchise. In narrative terms, it is the prequel to every story the series has told.Also Read: Bridgerton’s latest season is all about ‘log kya kahenge’, takes them a full season to realise ‘logo ka kaam hai kehna’Where the main series standsStory continues below this adThe announcement comes at a point where the Bridgerton franchise is at its most expansive. The fourth season premiered earlier this year and was followed by Netflix swiftly renewing the series for both a fifth and sixth season.Season 5, which is currently filming in the United Kingdom and expected to release in 2027, will make history within the franchise by focusing on its first queer romance. Hannah Dodd plays the widowed Francesca Bridgerton, and Masali Baduza plays Michaela Stirling, the cousin of Francesca’s late husband. Their love story will mark the first time the period drama has centred a same-sex relationship, a significant departure for a franchise that has built its identity on heterosexual Regency-era courtship.Season 6 has been confirmed with Claudia Jessie in the lead, focusing on the love story of Eloise Bridgerton, the sharp-tongued, intellectually curious sister who has been a fan favourite since the first season. Penelope and Eloise in Bridgerton season 4 (Image credit: X – Bridgerton)Rhimes has stated publicly that her ambition is to tell the love stories of all eight Bridgerton siblings. Will Tilston and Florence Hunt play the youngest siblings, Gregory and Hyacinth, whose stories remain untold. If Rhimes follows through on that ambition, the main series could potentially run for eight seasons, with each season dedicated to one sibling, as Quinn’s novels are structured.About BridgertonStory continues below this adBridgerton debuted on Netflix on December 25, 2020, and became the platform’s most-watched series at the time of its release. Based on Julia Quinn’s eight-novel series set in Regency-era London, the show follows the eight siblings of the Bridgerton family as they navigate love, society and scandal under the watchful eye of the anonymous gossip columnist Lady Whistledown. The series is produced by Shondaland and Betawards Productions for Netflix.The four seasons have covered the love stories of Daphne (Phoebe Dynevor), Anthony (Jonathan Bailey), Colin and Penelope (Luke Newton and Nicola Coughlan), and Benedict (Luke Thompson). The fifth and sixth seasons will cover Francesca and Eloise respectively. Gregory and Hyacinth’s stories remain unannounced.A release date for the Violet Bridgerton spinoff has not been confirmed.