On this episode of Bridgerton: The Official Podcast, Gabrielle Collins gets into the steamy, sensual sex scenes that riveted audiences to their screens and inspired tons of memes. But the sexy stuff wasn’t just there for fun and blushes; every longing glance, electric hand-grazing, and momentous caress was packed full of storytelling and character development. She sits down with writer Jess Brownell, executive producer Shonda Rimes, directors Tom Verica and Julie Anne Robinson, and intimacy coordinator Lizzy Talbot to learn how these spicy scenes were thoughtfully planned and carefully choreographed for maximum viewing pleasure, and how they successfully got “all our minds in the fanciest of gutters.”
Jess talks about her favorite scene: Lady Bridgerton talking to Daphne about sex. “It reels you into the period – they really don’t know anything about sex. These girls have the weight of the world placed on them about their marriage….and don’t even know about the best part of it!” she says. The pinned-up, prim-and-proper Regency world the show takes place in required the writers, directors, and actors to get creative about how they communicated desire. “This is all about the build-up,” Gabrielle says. And when they did show sex or nudity, “we’re seeing it for a reason – we’re growing a character and taking them someplace,” Shonda says. “It feels very important….that the women feel empowered, that the storyline for the character is empowered.”
Lizzy Talbot explains her job on set as an intimacy coordinator. It isn’t all about choreographing sex scenes, though that is important, but also tackling all types of intimacy, from siblings to parents and even best friends. “Those are still very intimate relationships that have to be formed quickly because these actors maybe have just met…. and they have to portray a deep, personal relationship with each other,” she points out. With those relationships and especially with sex scenes, her job is very important “for the dignity of the actors and the magic of the scenes,” Shonda says. They go through how they created all your favorite intimate moments, from the infamous library scene to Daphne’s sexual awakening to the honeymoon – and quite a few scenes that were filmed but didn’t make the cut – on this episode of Bridgerton: The Official Podcast.
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