While fans of Bridgerton have been comparing the Lady Whistledown character to the rumor-spreading titular blogger from Gossip Girl, the UK Netflix official Twitter account is comparing the regency columnist to the likes of Mean Girl’s very own Regina George.
Featured in Netflix’s newest most-watched series Bridgerton, Lady Whistledown is the 1813 London’s peephole into the secrets and drama of the surrounding community’s lives.
The columnist is voiced by the lovely Julie Andrew and causes scandals throughout Bridgerton’s first season, going as far as to reveal a hidden pregnancy.
As the show unfolds, Penelope Featherington and Eloise Bridgerton’s friendship is showcased as the two women work to uncover the mysterious identity of Lady Whistledown.
Glamour magazine and GQ have referred to Bridgerton as “Downton Abbey meets Gossip Girl,” and Popsugar uploaded a video playing “Who Said It?” between the two famed gossipers.
Many fans have made the connection between the aforementioned shows, and Bridgerton most commonly finds itself being referred to as “a period-drama Gossip Girl.”
However, UK Netflix changed the narrative a bit, posting an image of a Lady Whistledown column besides the burn book from Mean Girls, which led fans to wonder: Is Lady Whistledown more like Gossip Girl or Regina George?
The teen drama series Gossip Girl revolves around the secret identity of a cheeky online Manhattanite blogger. The character’s catchphrase is, “Gossip Girl here, your one-and-only source into the scandalous lives of Manhattan’s elite.”
Lady Whistledown approaches her column in a similar fashion. The show overlays the character’s voiceover over the town’s reaction to the “must-read” paper, and she serves as a sort of narrator — an uncanny resemblance to Gossip Girl.
Mean Girl’s Regina George is completely different, mostly in the way that the hurtful secrets kept in the burn book weren’t meant to be revealed and aren’t entirely truthful.
Most of it is hearsay. Meanwhile, Lady Whistledown “only writes what she sees.”
What are people saying online?
Bridgerton has been sparking many conversations online, especially on Twitter. On the topic of Gossip Girl vs. Mean Girls, here is what fans have had to say.
Twitter user Becky shared a picture of three Bridgerton characters along with the notorious Mean Girls trio with the caption, “Same energy.”
Lex wrote, “I’m only a few episodes in but Bridgerton is just fancy Gossip Girl.”
And big fan Lena shared, “My absolute favorite movie is pride and prejudice. I also loved watching gossip girl. To mix them both up together is nearly the best thing in my life.”
She then pleaded, “Guys, please. If you didn’t watched it until now, do it! Bridgerton is perfect.” [sic]
While a vast majority of the Bridgerton tweets compare the show to Gossip Girl, a few have had fun with the Mean Girls comparison, and some have even introduced a third choice: Pride and Prejudice.
With fans as excited as these, Bridgerton clearly encapsulates the greatest aspects of all of these shows and has combined them to create something truly unique.
Bridgerton is available for streaming on Netflix.