The ton just got a hell of a lot less steamy. On Friday, Netflix and Shondaland announced that breakout Bridgerton star Regé-Jean Page, who played the rakish Duke of Hastings, will not be returning for season two.
“Dearest Readers,” begins a letter purportedly from the show’s gossip in chief, Lady Whistledown, posted on Bridgerton’s official Instagram page. “While all eyes turn to Lord Anthony Bridgerton’s quest to find a Viscountess, we bid adieu to Regé-Jean Page, who so triumphantly played the Duke of Hastings.”
The news comes as quite a shock to fans of the Netflix series, which smashed records following its December debut last year and become one of the streaming platform’s most watched series, reaching 82 million households in its first month alone.
Phoebe Dynevor, who played the diamond of the season and the object of Page’s onscreen affection, is sticking with Bridgerton for its second season, which follows Jonathan Bailey’s Anthony Bridgerton and his search for love. “Daphne will remain a devoted wife and sister, helping her brother navigate the upcoming social season and what it has to offer,” Lady Whistledown’s letter continues, cheekily adding that the show’s next chapter will also feature “more intrigue and romance than the readers may be able to bear.”
In an interview with Variety, Page said that he was, in part, attracted to the idea of joining Bridgerton because it would only be a yearlong commitment. “It’s a one-season arc. It’s going to have a beginning, middle, end—give us a year,” he said, citing early conversations with Shondaland producers about the project, having been approached after his starring role in Shondaland’s ill-fated For the People. “[I thought,] That’s interesting, because then it felt like a limited series. I get to come in, I get to contribute my bit, and then the Bridgerton family rolls on.”
The British-Zimbabwean star wishes the best for his Bridgerton family, telling Variety that he has “nothing but excitement for Bridgerton continuing to steam-train off and conquer the globe.”
“But there is also value in completing these arcs and sticking the landing,” he added.
Since sticking the landing on Bridgerton, Page’s star has been on something of a meteoric rise. He recently wrapped filming on the Russo brothers’ upcoming spy thriller, The Gray Man, for Netflix; booked the lead role in the forthcoming Dungeons & Dragons movie; and even hosted Saturday Night Live. He’s already had to shoot down rumors that he’s in line to take over the James Bond franchise from Daniel Craig.
Page also recently became the first member of the Bridgerton cast to score a prize for acting work on the series, taking home the NAACP Image Award for outstanding actor in a drama series on March 27. The entire Bridgerton cast is nominated for outstanding performance by an ensemble in a drama series at the forthcoming Screen Actors Guild Awards, airing on April 4. Page is nominated for outstanding performance by a male actor in a drama series, naturally.
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