Each season of the show - which was adapted from Julia Quinn’s bestselling book series - will center a different sibling’s love story, while still keeping other characters in the mix. If you’re hooked on Bridgerton, you already have a sense of what an extended cinematic universe looks like. That’s something the romance novel world perfected long ago. But as that pool becomes more diverse and those actors start showing up as the same characters in multiple films, there’s something even more appealing about it -because it’s not just about seeing people who look like you, but communities that look like yours. The Hallmark Cinematic Universe, if you will, has a reputation for repeatedly casting from the same pool of actors, which certainly can help viewers feel more connected to the network. But it does seem like the notoriously conservative network is taking cues from its competitors, particularly when it comes to creating “extended universes” of intertwined Hallmark romance movies.
Streaming platforms like Netflix and Hulu have been building their own romance movie catalogs to compete - and they’ve been branching out with more inclusivity, something Hallmark historically hasn’t done such a great job with.
But that oversaturation is starting to dilute their appeal, especially considering they’re no longer the only game in town. Hallmark has long dominated the cheesy Christmas movie niche, producing dozens upon dozens of pleasant - if often forgettable - made-for-TV romances every year.