A first look at Bridgerton season 2 just dropped — and it looks *spectacular*

Lady Whistledown is back for another round of regency scandal.

Mark your calendars and tell all your mates: a first look at Bridgerton season 2 just dropped, and it looks every bit as phenomenal as we'd hoped.

Yep, the Netflix smash hit that inspired an upsurge in regency-inspired baby names, countless memes, and dating rumours so wild that the cast themselves had to get involved, is back for another round, and this time, it's honing in on the eldest Bridgerton brother's quest for love.

Aptly described as Gossip Girl meets Pride and Prejudice, the Shonda Rhimes regency drama was all any of us could talk about last Christmas – swiftly usurping Emily in Paris as 2020’s most binge-worthy Netflix series. (And usurping every other Netflix original ever to become the streaming platform's most-watched show of all time.) So when it was announced that Bridgerton had been renewed for at least another three seasons, safe to say we'd cancelled all our plans for the next three consecutive Christmases faster than you could say Lady Whistledown.

Following the structure of the Bridgerton novels, which follow one sibling per book, season 2 will move away from Daphne Bridgerton and instead focus its attention on older brother Anthony, whose love interest for the season, Kate Sharma, will be played by Sex Education's Simone Ashley. (Did someone say greatest crossover episode of all time?)

"We’re very much passing on the baton to the lovely [Jonathan Bailey], who plays Anthony, and that will be the main storyline of season 2 and the story arc of season 2," Phoebe Dynevor, who stars as Daphne, told Us Weekly of the show's long-awaited next chapter.

And while we were a little heartbroken to discover that Regé-Jean Page, who starred as the Duke of Hastings on the show's first run, would not be reprising his role, the new sneak-peak has just convinced us that season 2 will be every bit as good as its predecessor.

The first-look clip was posted on Bridgerton's official Twitter page, with a caption reading, "Dear readers, this author is most pleased to bring you a first glimpse into the upcoming social season, and even more delighted to introduce you to Miss Kate Sharma."

The brief clip shows the series' new leads having a heated debate over Anthony's "many requirements for a wife".

As the eldest Bridgerton sibling asks if she "takes issue with his requirements", Kate bites back: "I take issue with any man who views women merely as chattels and breeding stock." And we can take a wild guess as to what transpires from there.

An air date for the second season hasn't yet been announced, but it's likely to be a little later than anticipated due to the pandemic halting production last July. While the first season hit our laptop screens just in time for the Christmas break (and the ensuing lockdown) it's looking increasingly likely that season 2 may not be with us until early 2022.

Tactical binge of season one incoming...