The members of the ton, dressed to the nines, are standing around an ornately styled ballroom when a flurry of footmen arrive bearing the latest edition of “Lady Whistledown.” The ballroom is ostensibly part of a stately house now owned by the Mondrich family, but in reality it’s inside a nondescript film studio on the outskirts of London. It’s been designed, built and decorated for today’s Botanical Ball, the setting for a series of dramatic revelations in the “Bridgerton” episode titled “Romancing Mr.
Bridgerton.” As the footmen file in, “Bridgerton” choreographer Jack Murphy instructs cast members to move “frenetically.” “It’s gluttony for information,” he says of the latest “Whistledown” issue.
“You’ve been starved.” The actors react accordingly, frantically grabbing for the envelopes, much to the shock of Penelope Featherington ( Nicola Coughlan ), who, for once, did not write it. Like any good “Bridgerton” scene, it’s fitting that this moment should take place in a ballroom.
Since the first season, the series has established itself as the gold standard of lavish onscreen parties, all of which have been built from scratch. For Season 3, which is split into two parts, with the latest arriving Thursday, showrunner Jess Brownell and production designer Alison Gartshore wanted to go even bigger and more ornate with the show’s iconic balls. “We landed on the fact that it would really help to have specific themes for the ball.
