The 'Bridgerton' Cast: The New Characters and Old Favorites of Season 2

We're finally returning to the 'ton. Nearly 18 months after the release of the first season of Bridgerton—Netflix's most-watched TV show of all time—season 2 of Bridgerton drops in full on March 25, 2022. This time around, we're leaving Daphne and Simon behind to focus on Anthony Bridgerton (Jonathan Bailey), the capital R-Rake and star of Julia Quinn's second Bridgerton book, The Viscount Who Loved Me. Bailey and Simone Ashley—who plays Anthony's love interest Kate Sharma—will lead the cast of Bridgerton season two, a mix of old favorites (Penelope Featherington! Queen Charlotte) and new stars (the Sharma family!). Ahead, our guide to the actors and characters, old and new, of the second season of Bridgerton.

Simone Ashley as Kate Sharma

The leading lady of season 2 is played by British actress Simone Ashley. The 26-year-old is best known for playing popular girl Olivia on the Netflix comedy Sex Education, and she's also appeared in the British shows The Sister, Casualty, and Broadchurch, as well as the film Pokémon Detective Pikachu.

Kate Sharma

Arriving in London from India, Kate has one goal: to find a suitable match for her younger sister, Edwina, and then settle into life as an unmarried woman. That mission gets very complicated when she crosses paths with Viscount Anthony Bridgerton.

Jonathan Bailey as Anthony Bridgerton

Bailey was an accomplished English actor even pre-Bridgerton, with roles on Broadchurch, Jack Ryan, and the Phoebe Waller-Bridge show Crashing. He's also a musical theater actor, having won a Laurence Olivier Award for his role in the 2018 West End revival of the musical Company. Since season 1, the actor appeared as a guest judge on RuPaul's Drag Race: UK vs the World, and is now starring in the play Cock alongside Rocketman's Taron Egerton.

Anthony Bridgerton

In season 2, the eldest Bridgerton child applies the intensity he showed during his sister Daphne's season to his own search for a bride. Once he decides on Edwina Sharma as his future bride, he has to deal with Kate, and finds himself drawn to the elder Sharma even though she infuriates him.

Charithra Chandran as Edwina Sharma

UK native Chandran began acting in college, approaching the field as a hobby and joining the National Youth Theatre while earning a philosophy degree from Oxford University. She eventually decided to pursue acting full-time, and landed her first-ever role on the series Alex Rider. Bridgerton's her second TV role, and she also starred in the 2022 film Class S.

Edwina Sharma

Shy, kind-hearted Edwina gets thrown into London society with a boost after Queen Charlotte names her "the diamond of the season." She develops quite a crush on Anthony Bridgerton, with her family helping the match move forward.

Shelley Conn as Mary Sharma

Conn is best known on this side of the pond for starring in the Lifetime series Mistresses and The Lottery, as well as the short-lived Fox show Terra Nova. She also starred in the BBC show Liar alongside Downton Abbey's Joanne Froggatt. Next up after Bridgerton, she'll be joining the Prime Video fantasy series Good Omens.

Mary Sharma

When she was young, Mary Sharma, née Sheffield, left England for India in the midst of a scandal, where she married a common worker who already had a child from a previous marriage. Now she's come back home so her daughter Edwina can find a suitable husband, who's hopefully a love match like Mary had with her late husband.

Nicola Coughlan as Penelope Featherington

Irish star Coughlan became one of season 1's breakout stars, thanks to the finale reveal that her character had been—spoiler alert—Lady Whistledown this whole time. The actress has also been keeping busy with Bridgerton, though she did find time to film a third and final season of the coming-of-age comedy Derry Girls.

Penelope Featherington

Spoilers for Bridgerton season 1. Quiet Penelope Featherington is quite busy with her double life when season 2 starts, as a new social season means a new round of Whistledown missives. She does have to deal with the dangers of her position, especially since Queen Charlotte is still investigating Whistledown's secret identity.

Adjoa Andoh as Lady Danbury

After season 1, Andoh joined the cast of another beloved Netflix series, playing priestess and magic teacher Nenneke in the second season of The Witcher. She also kept up her prolific career narrating audiobooks, with her new narration works including Lauren Groff's Matrix, Vanessa Riley's Island Queen, and The New Yorker's The Matter of Black Lives.

Lady Danbury

A year after leading her godson Simon Basset through his courtship with Daphne, Lady Danbury finds herself facilitating another Bridgerton match as the Sharmas' sponsor for the season. Lucky for us, that also means the return of the Lady Danbury/Mama Bridgerton friendship.

Golda Rosheuvel as Queen Charlotte

Guyana-born Rosheuvel also joined a huge sci-fi franchise after season 1, portraying the housekeeper Shadout Mapes in Denis Villeneuve's Dune remake. There's also a spin-off series about young Queen Charlotte in the works at Netflix, but no word yet on whether Rosheuvel will make an appearance.

Queen Charlotte

Queen Charlotte is ready to lead another London social season, Though it is the second year with Whistledown, the queen has a few tricks up her sleeve of how to deal with the gossipmonger and make sure her diamond finds a great match.

Claudia Jessie as Eloise Bridgerton

The 32-year-old Brit has mostly stayed busy with Bridgerton, though she has an extensive back catalog if you want to watch some of her old shows. She previously starred on the British series Vanity Fair and Defending the Guilty, along with guest-starring roles on Lovesick, Call the Midwife, and Doctor Who.

Eloise Bridgerton

Proto-feminist Eloise enters society this season, and though she still thinks that societal courtship is ridiculous, she's quite nervous about all the presentations and fashion-forward balls. She's also still on Whistledown's tail, after the season 1 finale's near miss, which puts her in the path of handsome printer's apprentice Theo Sharpe.

Ruth Gemmell as Violet, Dowager Countess Bridgerton

Prolific TV and theater actress Gemmell spent 2021 reprising her role in the beloved British franchise Tracy Beaker with a new miniseries. She's best known for starring alongside Colin Firth in the 90's film Fever Pitch, as well as appearances on the series Home Fires, Utopia, and EastEnders.

Violet, Dowager Countess Bridgerton

The Bridgerton mom has to deal with two kids navigating courtship this season, Anthony diving full in and Eloise hating the entire process. She also hopes to lead Anthony toward a love match, though her son wants to stay methodical about the whole thing.

Phoebe Dynevor as Duchess Daphne Basset, née Bridgerton

The star of season 1 has been hard at work since the blockbuster success of Bridgerton, with tons of projects in the works (and a celebrity romance behind her). Some of the films and TV shows she's working on include a UK remake of the acclaimed French comedy Call My Agent!, a TV adaptation of Irish writer Naoise Dolan's novel Exciting Times, a thriller called Fair Play where she'll be co-starring alongside Alden Ehrenreich, and another thriller called I Heart Murder directed by Ingrid Goes West's Matt Spicer.

Duchess Daphne Basset, née Bridgerton

Though Daphne may have a husband and baby at home, she still shows up for important family events, including Eloise's introduction to society and the annual Bridgerton pall mall game. She also lends plenty of advice to Anthony as he searches for a wife.

Luke Newton as Colin Bridgerton

Before landing his role as the third-born Bridgerton, Newton was best known for his role in Disney's UK show The Lodge and the teen show The Cut. He's mostly been devoted to Bridgerton since the show's success, as his character grows toward starring in his own love story (depicted in Julia Quinn's 4th book Romancing Mister Bridgerton).

Colin Bridgerton

Colin arrives home from his world travels just in time for the new social season. He's still good friends with Penelope, who wrote him more than anyone else during his travels. He also seems to be growing up more, though he's still affected by his failed engagement in season 1.

Kathryn Drysdale as Madame Genevieve Delacroix

Drysdale has been a fixture on British TV for over two decades, having starred on the sitcom Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps for eight seasons. She also is well known for playing Meghan Markle in the comedy soap The Windsors, based on the royal family (which is available on Netflix if you want to check it out). Since Bridgerton season 1 she has mostly done voice work on shows and podcasts, including the cartoon Circle Square.

Madame Delacroix

After being falsely suspected as Whistledown in season 1, our favorite modiste gets wrapped up in the columnist's schemes once again, to the benefit of her business. She also shuts down her romance with Benedict Bridgerton in the very first episode, so she can concentrate on her art (making gowns for the season).

Polly Walker as Lady Portia Featherington

Odds are you've seen Walker somewhere before Bridgerton, either in another acclaimed UK-based series or one of your favorite '90s or '00s movies. The prolific actor previously starred on the Batman prequel series Pennyworth, the period series Rome, the mythology action flick Clash of the Titans, and the Austen adaptation Emma, among tons of others.

Lady Portia Featherington

Since the death of her husband last season, Lady Featherington has been holding off the impending bankruptcy of her family while keeping up appearances among the Ton. She's believes the new Lord Featherington will be the answer to all their worries... until he arrives.

Rupert Evans as Viscount Edmund Bridgerton

This season we meet the Bridgerton kids' deceased father, Viscount Edmund Bridgerton. Playing the beloved husband and dad is Evans, who's best known for his roles in the Charmed reboot and Prime Video's The Man in The High Castle.

Calam Lynch as Theo Sharpe

Printer's apprentice Theo has no connection to the world of London society, until Eloise Bridgerton comes into his shop in search of Whistledown. The unlikely pair end up forming a bond over radical writing, and maybe something more? Before landing the role in Bridgerton, Lynch appeared in the films Dunkirk and Benediction, and also guest-starred in an episode of Coughlan's Derry Girls.

Rupert Young as Lord Jack Featherington

In season 2, new character Jack is revealed to be the new Lord Featherington, arrived in London after working in the mining industry in the Americas. Playing the role is British actor Young, who's best known for playing Sir Leon in the fantasy series Merlin, as well as appearances on Doctor Who, The White Queen, and The Good Karma Hospital.