Queen of Netflix: Streaming Shondaland

In 2017, Netflix announced that it had entered into an exclusive multi-year development deal with award-winning American producer and writer Shonda Rhimes. Under this deal, all of Rhimes’s future productions (made under her company Shondaland) would be Netflix Originals. This article examines Bridgerton and Queen Charlotte to consider how the traditional period drama has been transformed, in this case through colour-blind and colour-conscious casting, and a focus on strong female leads of colour and interracial relationships. The article will consider more broadly how streaming services like Netflix are taking diversity seriously as a key to reaching contemporary global audiences.