Visually creating a world as expansive as Bridgerton is no small feat. That’s why, for season three of Shondaland’s hit Netflix series, it took many great directorial minds to helm the eight episodes that continue the Bridgerton family saga. In this editorial series, we introduce the four directors and directors of photography whose visual genius is responsible for lush, luxurious world we see on screen.
When ushering in the first two episodes of one of the world’s most popular television shows as it begins its third season, one ought to find a seasoned pro. Enter Tricia Brock, a 20-plus-year TV director who has not only helmed some of the best shows of the past two decades — The L Word, The Walking Dead, Ugly Betty, Gossip Girl, 30 Rock, The Great, and the list truly does go on — but has also rung in Bridgerton’s second season as director of the first two episodes.
Brock’s working relationship with Shondaland actually began in her first two years (we’re sensing a theme here) as a director. She was hired to direct an episode of Grey’s Anatomy in 2006 during its second season, but it wasn’t until 2020 that fate brought Brock and Shondaland together again.
“I think that [Bridgerton executive producer and Queen Charlotte and Bridgerton director] Tom Verica had a lot to do with putting me back on their radar, for which I’m extremely grateful,” says Brock, referring to her connection with Verica through their work on the Creative Rights Committee of the Directors Guild of America.
Despite her vast and varied career, though, directing wasn’t always inevitable for Brock. “It took me such a long time to have the courage to even say I wanted to be a director,” she admits.
Living in Los Angeles as a co-parenting but single mom, she was working as a writer and managed to get work on Twin Peaks and Knots Landing in the early 1990s, but it was “feast or famine,” as she describes it.
“Everyone in L.A. wanted to be a director; your dentist wants to direct,” Brock says, “so it just took me a long time to be brave and to put myself out there. When my daughter turned about 13 or 14, she was fiercely independent, which I had encouraged, but it felt like she needed me less. That’s when I decided to take the leap. It took me five years of applying, but I got into the American Film Institute’s Directing Workshop for Women — a program that has spawned most of the women directors working in the entertainment field, and certainly in Los Angeles.”
From that, Brock made a short film that became her calling card as a director, and the rest, as they say, is history. Today, as an in-demand guest TV director, Brock has a plethora of shows to take on. She’s currently working on The Witcher out of London, and in between episodes, we got the chance to talk to her about directing the first two episodes of Bridgerton’s third season. We chatted about what it’s like to work on such a huge show, setting Colin and Penelope up for what is to come, and what her favorite moment of filming was. (All without spoilers — which was no easy task!)
VALENTINA VALENTINI: You’ve directed a wide variety of TV shows! The Walking Dead and Smash couldn’t be more different. What is the thing for you that binds them all together?
TRICIA BROCK: The connective tissue about all the choices I’ve made in my career comes down to storytelling. I started off as a writer, and I know how hard it is to create good stories. So, I follow good writing, whether that be drama, comedy, action, fantasy.
VV: Not every director gets pigeonholed, but you’re at the total opposite end of getting pigeonholed. Is that something you’ve deliberately tried to stay away from?
TB: I never thought about it. I never said, “Oh, I’m just going to be a comedy director” or “just a drama director.” I mean, one of my favorite days in my entire career is when I wrapped Girls in New York City on a Thursday night, and the next morning at 6 a.m. I was on a plane to Atlanta to start prep for The Walking Dead. I think ignorance is bliss, in a way, when you’re starting out your career; I didn’t know that most directors ended up choosing if they are going to direct drama or comedy or fantasy, et cetera, and so I just went after everything I was attracted to. And again, I followed the storytelling.
VV: How did it come about that you got hired on Bridgerton?
TB: Through our connection with the DGA, Tom Verica and I had a Zoom early on during Covid. Then I had a call with Tom and [executive producer] Betsy Beers. Bridgerton had not come out yet, and no one really knew what was coming, but I got to read the first three scripts of season one, and I was able to see the pilot before my Zoom. And the first thing I said to them in our meeting was “You have lightning in a bottle.” I just knew it was going to be tremendous. Now, no one could predict how huge it was going to actually be, but it’s been one of the most thrilling jobs of my career. It’s also been one of the most insanely pressurized jobs of my career.
VV: You felt pressure? How so?
TB: The only reason I felt pressure — no one else was pressuring me — I just felt that I had to deliver and maintain the very high standard that season one had set. Because I was the opening director on season two after season one had just blown it out of the water, and 185 million people had watched it, I just wanted to maintain that momentum and not be the one to screw it up! And much to my delight, the numbers on the opening of season two were very strong.
VV: Well, they brought you back for season three, so they obviously liked your work! Still, what is it like to enter a well-oiled machine like Bridgerton?
TB: Honestly, I came in to Bridgerton as a guest director and a fan, so it was a double whammy of excitement — to be there with all those actors who are so extraordinary, I had butterflies in my stomach before we started. I think it was Steven Spielberg who said, “If you’re not nervous before you start a new project, something’s wrong.”
VV: What were your goals for the first two episodes of season three?
TB: I wanted to begin season three in the most nuanced way to sow the seeds for this budding romance and to build the tension towards it and set the stage for what was to come between Colin and Penelope.
We were going on an adventure together into uncharted territory with Nicola [Coughlan] and Luke [Newton]. They were discovering it as we went and just really making sure that they were comfortable and felt safe to create and explore — that they were happy with the work we were doing was of utmost importance. I would always check in with them to see how they felt about a scene — did they want to try something else? For me, it was a tremendous collaboration with both of them and an honor to kick off this season and work with them as they began their romance.
VV: That was exactly my next question: What was it like working with Nicola and Luke?
TB: I can’t say enough about how much fun we had and just how great they were. They were so open and willing to try new things, or to see it another way or to go deeper. It was truly inspiring to witness their openness. I couldn’t have had a better, more satisfying time working with them.
VV: Were there any other actors whom you were particularly excited to work with?
TB: I love all the Featheringtons, and Polly Walker [as Portia] is just sensational. There’s one scene where she has a discussion with her daughters about some delicate information that is one of my favorite things I’ve ever worked on. But of course, it’s so hard to choose. Adjoa Andoh was incredible to work with; the day I had with Golda Rosheuvel, Queen Charlotte, was a day of true joy — she’s phenomenal. And all of the Bridgerton kids! I would have to go through and list them all because they’re all so great. But it was also quite a privilege to introduce Hannah Dodd as Francesca in my block.
VV: When I interviewed showrunner Jess Brownell, she mentioned the rom-com elements that are a part of this season. Was that something you paid close attention to?
TB: There are some very funny moments in my first two episodes that I definitely lean into when we have that chance, but I always would give Jess and the producers alternates so that they have a choice of what to use. I think the rom-com aspect of it also grew as the season went on.
VV: How was it working with Jess as showrunner?
TB: Jess is a fantastic leader, a wonderful writer. Even though she is the showrunner and has limited time to spend with the directors, she was always available if I needed to call her. She’s generous, she’s collaborative, she’s supportive, and I love working with her. I also had [staff writer? Daniel? Need to cross check who it was] on hand because sets are a breathing, living organism, and sometimes some of the writing would be written not really knowing what the location was going to be. So, that would change some of the blocking as it was written in the script, and it was very valuable having access to Jess through Daniel when that would happen.
VV: Did you have a most challenging moment this season?
TB: The balls, only because they’re so big. There are maybe three or four lines of dialogue, and then screen direction is like this [holds hands far apart]. My joke was that it was the equivalent of “And then Atlanta burns” from Gone With the Wind because there was so much in it. I needed three days just to shoot the screen direction because within that there are all the looks and who’s clocking who. It’s usually all of the characters, which means they all have coverage with the camera with transitions, and it all has to be sewn together. They’re super-challenging, but I love them. I just wish I had more time, but we made it work.
VV: What about a favorite moment?
TB: I do have a favorite moment, but I don’t think I can talk about it yet! Suffice it to say, I was so caught up in it; it was so emotional for me watching it. But there is a favorite moment I can mention: when Penelope has that reveal after she’s transformed herself and comes into the ball. That was a special moment to be able to direct.
Valentina Valentini is a London-based entertainment, travel, and food writer and is also a senior contributor to Shondaland. Elsewhere, she has written for Vanity Fair, Vulture, Variety, Thrillist, Heated, and The Washington Post. Her personal essays can be read in the Los Angeles Times and Longreads, and her tangents and general complaints can be seen on Twitter at @ByValentinaV.
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