With Julie Andrews announced to play Lady Whistledown, lets recap where the series stands as we get closer to the 2020 premiere!

Earlier this year, Shondaland announced its slate of upcoming Netflix projects, among them a series based on the now famed New York scammer Anna Delveyand a documentary featuring Debbie Allen Dance Academy’s award-winning interpretation of “The Nutcracker.” Also included in the spate of new Shondaland projects: a yet-to-be-titled series that we’ve hitherto been calling “Bridgerton,” as its based on the Bridgerton book series by New York Times-bestselling romance novelist Julia Quinn.

In case you’re not familiar: This historical romance series follows the eight children — Anthony, Benedict, Colin, Daphne, Eloise, Francesca, Gregory, and Hyacinth — of the late Viscount Bridgerton in Regency (early 1800s) England. (Here’s a helpful family tree.) What originally started as a trilogy grew to eight novels, plus two novellas and a collection. Each follows one of the children — thanks to the books’ popularity — and it’s no wonder readers hungered for more. The series is a fascinating, fictionalized look at London high society, a world filled with power, sex, romance, and betrayal. All of this, of course, is grounded in a 21st century gender equality mindset, because, as Quinn says, “portraying a healthy relationship in literature is the most revolutionary thing you can do.”

When it comes to translating these relationships to the Shondaland/Netflix audience, creator/Executive Producer Chris Van Dusen will helm that responsibility, and as we get closer and closer to the 2020 series release, he’s beginning to round out the cast that will bring the Bridgerton family to life — and he came out of the gate swinging with his first big announcement: None other than Dame Julie Andrews will lend her voice to the character of Lady Whistledown.