This is how the platform intends to spread the fame of ‘The Bridgertons’

It is one of Netflix’s biggest hits, not just in recent years, but in its entire history: a series that can be watched face to face with the audiences of ‘Stranger Things’ or ‘Wednesday’. And Netflix does not intend to let it go, since it has generated a fandom that allows the platform to exploit it far beyond the simple bunch of sequels, and get closer to the strategy that Disney or Warner follow with their franchises.

The success of ‘The Bridgertons’. At the time of writing these lines, the Netflix series has just been displaced from its throne, according to an analysis by Samba TV, by the second season of ‘The House of the Dragon’. But before that, its result had been astonishing: ‘The Bridgertons’ had not left the list of the most watched in a month streamingand since last week, when Netflix premiered the second half of season 3, it climbed back to number 1.

Maximum branching. A look at the Netflix Top 10 shows lets us see why Netflix is ​​so interested in taking care of the Shondaland series: season 3 has been in the top 10 of English-language series for 6 weeks. And it is in such good health that not only is it invincible, after so long, at number 1, but this week it has even quintupled the number of views of the next series on the list. Not only that: its success has made the previous seasons (positions 3 and 5) and the spin-off ‘Queen Charlotte’ (in 10) return to the Top 10. The viewers of the series are loyal to the franchise: remember that the first season garnered 113.3 million views, and the second, 93.8.

Ten years of income. There is Bridgerton for a while: Netflix has already announced that, if the audience responds, the series will continue to complete eight seasons. Taking into account that each one has been in production for about two years, we could be looking at a project that lasts ten years. That Netflix plans to squeeze the most out of it. For example, with live events such as the Queen’s Ball that is being performed in a dozen cities around the world, or themed tea parties in hotels such as the Lanesborough, which already comes with a Regency aesthetic. It is estimated that these events have brought in $350 million to the British economy.

Lighter than ‘Stranger Things’. There’s one indisputable reason Netflix is ​​arguably happier with this series than its biggest media hit to date, Stranger Things: While Shondaland’s production machine is relentless, churning out a season every two years (and looking to step on the gas), Stranger Things is going much slower. It’s been more than two years since the fourth season premiered, and the fifth is still in mid-production. Bridgerton, though, brings its own challenges (its notable $7 million per episode budget not the least of which).

World merchandising. As this article from The Wrap explained, Netflix has gone all out with the issue of products derived from the series, especially because of the huge benefits that the merchandising from series like ‘Stranger Things’ or ‘The Squid Game’. To give some examples: tea accessories in collaboration with Republic of Tea, makeup in collaboration with Kiko Milano and Pat McGrath Labs and even a line of wedding dresses with Allure Bridals. Forbes talked about how Lush makeup sales rose 25% with the launch of their Bridgheron collection.

Home, Netflix. Netflix Houses are a kind of permanent experience that offers all kinds of attractions, productions, and shows based on Netflix series (of course, you have to bring them from home, because Netflix Houses do not have movie theaters). At the moment there are two, in Dallas and in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, and among the attractions is the possibility of “waltzing with your partner to an orchestral version of a Taylor Swift song on a replica of the set of ‘The Bridgertons.'” Without a doubt, this is a test run for a future leap into the live experiences that Disney, Universal, Warner, and their corresponding (and lucrative) parks have been running for decades.

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