LOS ANGELES – British period romantic comedy Bridgerton was an instant hit when it debuted on Netflix in 2020, and quickly became notorious for its temperature-raising sex scenes.

But the series has also had a far more meaningful cultural impact, says Guyanese-British actress Golda Rosheuvel, who plays the commanding Queen Charlotte.

By imagining a black British monarch at the centre of high-society London in the early 19th century, Bridgerton became, for many young black viewers, their first time seeing someone who looked like them playing royalty.

And this is one reason Rosheuvel, 52, is excited to reprise the role in a new prequel devoted to the character, Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story.

Debuting on Netflix on Thursday, the six-episode limited series flashes back to Charlotte as a young woman (played by India Amarteifio) and her 1761 marriage to Britain’s King George III (Corey Mylchreest).

Loosely based on the real George III and his German wife Charlotte – whom a few historians believe may have had some African ancestry – the spin-off imagines this interracial royal union sparking not just an epic romance but also a major societal shift.

Chatting to The Straits Times over Zoom, Rosheuvel says she believes the franchise’s groundbreaking casting will inspire more diversity in representation across the board.

“We as creators have an amazing platform to be able to have those conversations through the medium of storytelling.

“This is where a period drama can bring into the modern world these ideas about inclusion, representation, gender, sexuality, female empowerment, sisterhood and mental health,” says Rosheuvel, who was previously known for her work in British theatre, including playing a lesbian version of the title character in a 2018 production of Shakespeare’s Othello.

And she reveals that young fans have told her how much it meant to them seeing her play the queen in the first two seasons of Bridgerton which, like Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story, were created by American writer-producer Shonda Rhimes.

Rosheuvel says: “I get sent pictures of young black girls dressing up as Queen Charlotte at birthday parties. And I think that’s where the conversations will move forward – by those kinds of things happening, and by people being inspired by characters like Queen Charlotte.

“But (these roles) have to be written. Whatever the genre may be – science fiction, period drama, romantic comedies, horror – we need to start telling these stories and having these characters in these positions.”

Amarteifio, who plays the teenage Charlotte, was one of those who found her view of period dramas, and of history, completely changed by Bridgerton.

“I never really enjoyed period dramas before watching Bridgerton, if I’m being honest.

“And that was probably to do with the fact that they felt so far away from anything I was ever a part of or felt interested in,” says the 21-year-old biracial English actress, who did stints on television dramas Line Of Duty (2017 to present) and Sex Education (2019 to present).

“A lot of the history that would have represented me and people who looked like me is not particularly happy or jolly and joyful,” explains Amarteifio, who has a white mother and a black father. “So, to see people who looked like me being represented in this way was fantastic.”

But she notes that inclusiveness is not the only reason viewers connected with the first two seasons of Bridgerton, which has been renewed for a third and fourth season.

The sumptuous world of Regency-era England is “so decadent and, visually, so contrasting to most people’s situation, it just created the perfect place for them to escape to”, she says.

“The storyline is so rich – there’s so much going on,” she adds. “It’s such a big world that Shonda’s created.

“And I feel a lot of people love the period genre and the fact that we’ve got modernity as well in there, with the music that’s a mix between classical and modern.

“It’s a big fusion of different genres, which I think appeals to a lot of audiences.”

Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story premieres on Netflix on Thursday.