The Netflix series returns March 25, and while Bailey’s character Anthony Bridgerton finds himself in a new love triangle with sisters Kate (Simone Ashley) and Edwina (Charithra Chandran), there is a fourth actor in the mix: a netball. Bailey joked to The Radio Times that Season 2 offered “new tricks to the trade” when it came to working with the show’s intimacy coordinator. “It’s amazing what you can do with a half-inflated netball,” Bailey said. “If there are two people doing a sex scene, the rule is they must have three barriers separating them and there are certain acts where a half-inflated netball can allow for movement without having to connect physically.”
Bailey added, “It’s pretty silly really and we have some hilarious moments, but it makes it less awkward.”
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While sex scenes and dancing are “the heart of the show,” per Bailey, the emphasis on the chemistry between Anthony and Kate is key.
Ashley, who plays Kate, said, “We were in a very safe environment and we worked with an incredible intimacy coordinator who encouraged us to portray what it is for the female character to experience pleasure. That’s important for us to see, because it’s not like it doesn’t happen.”
The emphasis on intimacy coordinators to choreograph love scenes, especially for period pieces, has been on the rise. “Outlander” brought on an intimacy coordinator for the first time in six seasons, and even “Saturday Night Live” spoofed the position on a mock “Bridgerton” set. Casey Hudecki, the intimacy expert for fellow steamy Netflix series “Sex/Life,” later applauded the masterful staging for “Bridgerton” love sequences.
“I think Lizzy Talbotdid an amazing job on ‘Bridgerton,’” Hudecki told E! Online. “But also ‘I May Destroy You’ was fantastic, ‘Euphoria.’ There’s a lot of interesting work being done with trans and queer actors. Just the diversity of sex, those stories that we can tell are opening up because we are creating that safe space.”
Per Hudecki, the role of an intimacy coordinator includes “advocacy, choreography elements, movement coaching, mental health, first aid and a deep understanding of consent and power dynamics.”
“Bridgerton” Season 2 premieres March 25 on Netflix.
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