'Bridgerton' spinoff casts India Amarteifio as young Queen Charlotte

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the spinoff is focused on the younger Queen Charlotte, to be played by Amarteifio in the eight-episode series, which Bridgerton executive producer Shonda Rhimes is writing.

The show, ordered to series last year, will tell the story of how the young queen's marriage to King George sparked both a great love story and a societal shift that led to the world seen in the parent series.

The casting of the spinoff comes on the heels of Bridgerton's second season premiere on March 25, which set a Netflix English-language series record for viewing time on its opening weekend.

Golda Rosheuvel, who plays Queen Charlotte on Bridgerton, will reprise her role in the prequel, as will Adjoa Andoh (Lady Agatha Danbury) and Ruth Gemmell (Lady Violet Bridgerton).

New additions to the cast include Michelle Fairley, Corey Mylchreest, Arsema Thomas, Sam Clemmett, Richard Cunningham, Tunji Kasim, Rob Maloney, Cyril Nri and Hugh Sachs.

Amarteifio's Charlotte is betrothed to the king of England against her will and arrives in London only to realize the royal family isn't what she expected. As she learns to navigate the palace, the ton and her unpredictable husband, she grows into one of Europe's most unforgettable monarchs.

Fairley will play Augusta, the dowager princess who will do what it takes to secure her son's place as monarch in a changing, modernizing England. Mylchreest plays the young King George, who has always bowed to the restraints of the crown -- until sharing his space and bed with his new wife forces him to face his hidden demons. Thomas will play the younger Agatha Danbury, who uses Charlotte's arrival to find her own way into society.

Clemmett will play the younger Brimsley, with Sachs reprising the older version of the character from Bridgerton. Cunningham will play Lord Bute, Kasim plays Adolphus, Maloney plays the royal doctor, and Nri plays Lord Danbury, Agatha's much older husband.

Rhimes and her Shondaland partner, Betsy Beers, are executive producing the Queen Charlotte series. Tom Verica will direct and executively produce. (ANI)