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Who is Bridgerton creator Chris Van Dusen – and what is his upcoming project with Bad Bunny?

Who is Bridgerton creator Chris Van Dusen? Photo: @chrisvandusen/Instagram
Who is Bridgerton creator Chris Van Dusen? Photo: @chrisvandusen/Instagram

  • The showrunner of Bridgerton’s season 1 and 2 also worked on Shonda Rhimes’ Grey’s Anatomy, and has 3 daughters with husband Bryan

Bridgerton has been taking over the internet since its third season dropped, from fan-made memes to Nicola Coughlan’s witty comebacks to journalists’ fatphobic questions dominating the social media feeds. This season, the series focuses on the love story between Coughlan’s Penelope Featherington and Colin Bridgerton, played by Luke Newton.

The series is executive produced by Shonda Rhimes of Grey’s Anatomy fame, and has earned both criticism and praise for its “colour-blind casting”. But what do you know about the man behind it all – Chris Van Dusen, the creator of Bridgerton?

Chris Van Dusen worked on Grey’s Anatomy

Bridgerton showrunner Chris Van Dusen. Photo: FilmMagic
Bridgerton showrunner Chris Van Dusen. Photo: FilmMagic
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Before his groundbreaking work on Bridgerton, Van Dusen worked as an assistant for Rhimes, which eventually led to an opportunity to write for Grey’s Anatomy. He eventually worked on other shows for Rhimes’ production company Shondaland, including Grey’s Anatomy spin-off Private Practice, and was co-executive producer on Scandal. Currently, Van Dusen is the creator and executive producer of Bridgerton, and served as the showrunner for seasons one and two.

He’s married with three kids

Chris Van Dusen and his family at a Bridgerton watch party at home. Photo: @chrisvandusen/Instagram
Chris Van Dusen and his family at a Bridgerton watch party at home. Photo: @chrisvandusen/Instagram

Much like our favourite Bridgerton couples, Chris has also found his happily-ever-after. Chris is married to Bryan Van Dusen, and the couple has three adorable daughters together.

Chris and Bryan met at a West Hollywood gay bar through mutual friends in 2005. The two got married in 2017 and are now fathers to three daughters, two of them twins, per Out Magazine. Chris’ own family life reportedly influenced the wholesome and heartwarming stories about family in Bridgerton.

He wants more LGBT storylines in Bridgerton

“Incredible night with my Bridgerton fam,” Chris Van Dusen (centre) wrote on Instagram. Photo: @chrisvandusen/Instagram
“Incredible night with my Bridgerton fam,” Chris Van Dusen (centre) wrote on Instagram. Photo: @chrisvandusen/Instagram

While Van Dusen was the showrunner for Bridgerton season one, we saw queer representation through the character of Sir Henry Granville, played by Julian Ovenden, and his friendship with the second-oldest Bridgerton brother, Benedict. Van Dusen mentioned in an interview with Out in 2022 that he included this component of visibility in the show to portray “tolerance in an intolerant time”, and that he hopes to expand on it in the future.

Ishani Sarkar is an India-based journalist, writer and editor specialising in entertainment and pop culture. She has worked extensively in the Asian entertainment industry, interviewing top talents like Ju Ji-hoon and Song Kang. Born and raised in India, Ishani has an MA in English Literature and is fluent in Korean.