Shonda Rhimes is an absolute genius, who did what she wanted to do with a popular romance series. The Bridgerton series is intended to be escapist romance, and romances tend not to tackle social issues. She employed her imagination and somewhat color-blind casting to bring a new spirit to a rather played-out genre.

She gets to do what she wants with it. Just because someone else wants her to do something different doesn't mean she has to entertain their point of view. The Bridgerton Netflix series is what it is. The author of Longbourn" intended to re-write Pride and Prejudice from a different viewpoint, as have many other writers. They are able to re-write it in various ways because the book is in the public domain.

What Bridgerton is belongs to the author, Julia Quinn, and the producer, Shonda Rhimes. Julia Quinn had no intention of writing history, and Shonda Rimes had no intention of presenting history. Comparing it to other series and expecting it to be "relevant" is a useless exercise. They don't tel us what to write and present, and we don't get to tell them.