Shonda Rhimes has a few words for those who are still frosty about the loss of the “Hot Duke” on “Bridgerton.”
It was announced last week that Regé-Jean Page, who played Simon Bassett, aka the Duke of Hastings, would not be returning for Season 2 of the steamy Netflix hit, which is executive produced by Rhimes.
The news upset many fans — including Sunny Hostin of “The View,” who expressed her woes on the talk show last week (and was offered a vibrator as consolation by co-host Whoopi Goldberg).
On Tuesday, Rhimes told Vanity Fair that the fan outrage was a complete surprise.
“I was really shocked, because usually that happens when I’ve killed off somebody that’s been around for a while. Like, we didn’t kill him, he’s still alive,” the TV mogul told the magazine. “[Regé-Jean] is a powerful, amazing actor and that meant we did our job — every season, our job is finding the right people and putting together this incredible, world-shifting romance.”
“I don’t know that I expected this much of an explosion, given that every book [in the “Bridgerton” series] is a different romance,” she continued. “What would be the ever-after of this combo? I mean, really: What would Regé-Jean do, you know what I mean? We gave them their happily ever after! And now we have this next couple coming. And so yeah, I was like, ‘Whoa!’”
When asked about his unexpected departure last week, Page told Variety that the duke had always been a one-season deal.
“It’s a one-season arc. It’s going to have a beginning, middle, end — give us a year,” he told the entertainment outlet. ”[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.”
Shortly after the announcement, Rhimes tried to soothe the duke’s rabid fan base herself on Instagram.
“Remember: the Duke is never gone. He’s just waiting to be binge watched all over again. #ShondalandMenOnNetflixAreForever,” she wrote.