“All is fair and love and war.”

So begins the first full-length trailer for Netflix and Shonda Rhimes’ Bridgerton, and thus the bodice-heaving, scandal-heavy, and quick-witted period TV drama has secured our love forever (or, at the very least, for the duration of the Christmas break).

Based on Julia Quinn’s bestselling novels, the star-studded series takes us back to Regency London and introduces us to Daphne Bridgerton (Phoebe Dynevor), who is 100% ready to make her societal debut and – you guessed it! – bag herself an eligible husband.

“The time has come for the social season,” comes the voice of Dame Julie Andrews, whose character, Lady Whistledown, is the sort of Gossip Girl-esque narrator we love to hate. 

“This is what they have been trained for since birth. But which young ladies might succeed at securing a match?”

For one hot minute, it seems as if our heroine might have done just that with the oh-so-handsome, and highly-eligible, Duke of Hastings (Regé-Jean Page). A few breathless gazes across the dance floor later, though, and Daphne is insisting that she knows all about his rebellious reputation and that she is “anything but interested” in him.

Of course, he reciprocates wholeheartedly. And, of course, there’s far too much chemistry for us to believe either of them, because the Duke and Daphne are, essentially, the Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy of the Bridgerton world.

Unfortunately for Daphne, though, it seems that Lady Whistledown has something of a grudge against her (“You do not know me, but I know you”). So much so that our omniscient narrator pens a sheet of scandalous secrets about the eldest Bridgerton daughter and distributes it to basically everyone in society who’s worth a jot, declaring her “all but ineligible.”

So, what’s a girl to do in a situation such as this? Why, “pretend to form an attachment” with the aforementioned handsome duke, of course! 

He’s convinced that their little arrangement will cause “every presumptuous mother in town” to leave him well alone (he’s sick of being hounded by all the debutantes’ mamas). She, in turn, hopes it will give her a newfound sense of allure and draw “every suitor” back to her.

Naturally, though, things quickly spiral down the To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before route: pretending to be besotted with one another leads to them becoming… well, becoming besotted with one another.

“Is it awful that I’m enjoying it?” asks Daphne at one point. And to this we say: absolutely bloody not.

Check out the trailer for yourself below:

Netflix promises that the show won’t be all lingering glances and incredibly charged hand brushes, though; Bridgerton also celebrates the “timelessness of enduring friendships, families finding their way, and the search for a love that conquers all.”

In our opinion, all of the above makes this show ideal Christmas TV fodder – which is incredibly handy, as it lands on Netflix on 25 December. 

A word of warning to all those who intend to dive straight in, though: we have it on very good authority that the events portrayed in Bridgerton get a little steamy. So steamy, in fact, that it may not make for a comfortable watch with your mum and dad.

Ahem. So… anyone else counting down the days until this hits our TVs, then?

Images: Netflix