Bridgerton star Jonathan Bailey has spoken about his character Anthony's journey in the Netflix show's upcoming second season.
The hit period drama is set to finally return later this month, with Anthony Bridgerton moving to the centre of focus this time around.
The actor has admitted that the next batch of episodes will take a look at the toxic nature of the male characters, admitting that "you never really get behind the men" in period dramas, "or know why they're avoidant and toxic".
Speaking to GQ, Bailey revealed that Anthony's negative personality traits show a man grieving the loss of his father as he struggles to fill in his role.
The star explained that he "started to think about [Anthony's] charm" and "what it means to be a rake, and how his anxiety and self-hatred plays into that".
Creator Chris Van Dusen added: "Going into the first season, I wanted to fully break Anthony, so that we could put him back together in the second".
Bailey also touched upon his own personal life, admitting the show forced him to "think about love a lot".
"You put your life experiences into [the work]," he added. "What's most interesting is not necessarily having to talk about what that is, and keeping a sense of privacy."
It comes a few days after Bridgerton dropped its latest trailer, which teases Anthony's romantic dilemma with Edwina and Kate Sharma, as well a bit of a Colin Firth Pride and Prejudice throwback with a soaked shirt.
Bridgerton season 1 is now available to watch on Netflix. Season 2 will premiere on March 25. Secret Cinema with Fever Present Bridgerton is open now in a secret outer London location. To purchase tickets, head here.
![from monumental television frauds sr1pictured: jodie whittaker as sam suranne jones as bert this photograph is (c) itv plc/ monumental television and can only be reproduced for editorial purposes directly in connection with the programme or event mentioned above, or itv plc. this photograph must not be manipulated [excluding basic cropping] in a manner which alters the visual appearance of the person photographed deemed detrimental or inappropriate by itv plc picture desk. this photograph must not be syndicated to any other company, publication or website, or permanently archived, without the express written permission of itv picture desk. full terms and conditions are available on the website www.itv.com/presscentre/itvpictures/termsfor further information please contact:michael.taiwo1@itv.com](https://hips.hearstapps.com/hmg-prod/images/frauds-sr1-first-look-03-6891d81c2d536.jpg?crop=0.428xw:0.643xh;0.0641xw,0.116xh&resize=360:* "©ITV")
