Latest news with #LadyWhistledown
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Why Nicola Coughlan Is the Soul of ‘Bridgerton' and Deserves an Emmy Nomination
Anyone who's seen Nicola Coughlan in 'Derry Girls' knows that she's a brilliant comedic performer. As nerdy teenager Clare Devlin, Coughlan made teenage anxiety immensely physical and palpable — firing her dialogue with all the air in her lungs, walking with so much propulsive energy she was nearly tripping over herself. In 'Bridgerton' Season 3, Coughlan similarly portrays adolescent turmoil, but through subtler and more internal means. As wallflower Penelope Featherington, who harbors a double identity as the controversial Lady Whistledown, Coughlan was tasked not just with making the ton's resident introvert a mesmerizing lead but also with bringing humanity to her character's morally ambiguous actions. More from Variety 'Last of Us' Creator Craig Mazin Reminds Angry Fans That Pedro Pascal Lives On, Even if His Character Doesn't: 'He's Alive and He's in Literally Everything Else' 'Severance' Creator Dan Erickson Discusses the 'Depressing' Lumon Industries - While Touring Lumen, the Actual Name for Variety's Office Building 'There Is No Feud': Walton Goggins and Aimee Lou Wood Tell All on Their 'White Lotus' Connection, a Cut Love Scene and Yes, Why He Unfollowed Her on Instagram Coughlan nails it: the hit Netflix show's third season sees Penelope fully step into the spotlight as a romantic interest. In Penelope's evolution, Coughlan captures how a young woman's coming of age is defined as much by her own personal choices as it is by her struggle against society's expectations for women. And Coughlan makes a case for herself as an excellent dramatic lead, the kind that Emmy voters should pay attention to. That's because Coughlan has to reconcile two conflicting aspects of her character. One is the standard teenage heroine. Penelope previously existed mainly on the sidelines, a spinster-to-be. Her transformation into the center of attention is literally represented through a glow-up: there's a scene in which she enters a ballroom sporting a completely different fashion and hair and makeup. Coughlan's tentative delight as she notices the amount of eyes on her instantly makes viewers root for her. She establishes Penelope as our favorite underdog. This idea is complicated by the fact that Penelope wields actual power as the anonymous writer behind an all-knowing gossip rag that can completely make or break someone's reputation. The journey that Penelope undergoes in becoming the main character is something Lady Whistledown already pulled off; Penelope has been the main character all along; it's just that now, she must own up to that status — including the hurt she caused to attain it. It's to Coughlan's credit that these emotional threads stay together. She grounds Penelope's characterization in a fundamental sincerity. Penelope's flaws are humanizing, never outright villainous, and neither are they completely ignored. She's an intelligent young person, but she's not immune to her age. Coughlan realistically captures what it's like to be in the throes of adolescence, fumbling toward the person you want to be. Take, for instance, the scenes when Penelope tries to flirt with a gentlemen for the first time. Her awkward attempts at conversation are incredibly entertaining and charming as Coughlan leans into the cringe. For all of Penelope's brilliance as a proto-journalist, she can't help her social inexperience. Similarly, Coughlan taps into a universal feeling when Penelope asks her childhood friend and longtime crush, Colin Bridgerton, to kiss her. Having just run away from a ballroom where everyone had been talking judgmentally about her, Penelope tells Colin, 'It would not have to mean anything.' Simply, 'I do not wish to die without ever having been kissed.' Coughlan brings heart and sensitivity to Penelope's longing for romantic validation. And in Penelope's pragmatic pursuit of a husband, Coughlan translates her character's internal struggle. Penelope must secure a marriage, but she's cautious about her romantic decisions, as she prizes her independence and, of course, her work. A shot of Coughlan's serving face in the midst of scribbling is certainly memeable, but Coughlan does make the viewer understand the gravity of Penelope's intellectual endeavors and her hesitation at giving them up for love. The night before Penelope's wedding to Colin, she tells dressmaker Madame Delacroix that 'I felt like I was losing a part of myself' when she attempted to stop writing. It is her ultimate form of self-expression. That's where Lady Whistledown originated from: a young woman's desire for agency. If Penelope's approach was messy and slightly misguided, Coughlan's portrayal indicates that her actions as Lady Whistledown sometimes reflected the missteps of youth. 'You were a girl who did not know her own power,' Madame Delacroix also reminds her. And so Coughlan imbues Penelope's acceptance of accountability with the same earnestness that she treats her character's first romantic encounters. Penelope decides that going forward, she'll punch up rather than punch down. As she states at one point, 'I should've been using the column to give a voice to the other voiceless.' Despite the clichéd declaration, Coughlan makes Penelope's good intentions and activist dedication believable. The night before her wedding, Madame Delacroix tells Penelope that 'there's no such thing as true love without first embracing your true self.' By the end, we see Penelope accept who she is, wallflower and alter ego combined. It's because of Coughlan's nuanced performance that this merging of selves lands so seamlessly. Awards Circuit: Emmys Best of Variety Emmy Predictions: Documentary Programs — Nonfiction Races Spotlight Pee-wee Herman, Simone Biles and YouTube Creators 25 Hollywood Legends Who Deserve an Honorary Oscar Emmy Predictions: With One Week Until Voting Opens, Declining Submissions Create Tight Acting and Series Races
The Age
17 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Age
A new kind of drama is set to unfold with changed privacy laws
An Australian scandal is a like a sudden southerly on a clear summer's day – unexpected, jarring and liable to leave everyone shivering in its wake. From political pitfalls to celebrity slip-ups and the ever-rumbling corridors of Parliament House, we are a nation that guards privacy with one hand and refreshes newsfeeds with the other. Little wonder, then, that a show like Bridgerton – with its heaving corsets, whispered secrets and illicit entanglements – has a devoted fan base here. It's not just the drama that captivates us, but the tension between the private and the public, discretion and spectacle. While fans must wait until 2026 for the next episode, take heart 'dearest gentle reader': whispers among case-starved defamation lawyers suggest a new kind of drama is set to unfold. From Tuesday, a new statutory tort of privacy makes its debut on the Australian legal stage – and it's expected to dance to a familiar tune. Australians who suffer a serious invasion of privacy may claim up to $478,000 in damages and seek remedies including injunctions. As the age of unchecked intrusion draws to a genteel close, Lady Whistledown herself might remark that society's most prominent figures will breathe easier behind their velvet curtains. Or so they may think. As far back as 1960, US professor William Prosser identified four privacy torts: intrusion upon seclusion; public disclosure of private facts; false light portrayal; and appropriation of likeness. By 1977, all four were recorded in the US Restatement of Torts, a treatise issued by the American Law Institute. While not uniformly adopted there, intrusion and disclosure are well established – especially in celebrity-laden California. Britain took longer to get there. In 1991, two Sunday Sport photographers posed as doctors to snap a British actor in his hospital bed. The Court of Appeal famously declared: 'In English law, there is no right to privacy'. By 2000, however, the House of Lords changed course in Naomi Campbell v Mirror Group Newspapers. The action for 'misuse of private information' was born. By 2014, it was recognised as a tort, and today, privacy suits in London have become de rigueur. New Zealand recognised a general tort of privacy in 2004. By 2012 it recognised intrusion into seclusion as a standalone tort when a young woman was secretly filmed in the shower and awarded damages. That same year, Canada did likewise when a bank employee whose financial data had been improperly accessed received damages. Australia, by contrast, wasn't even at the races. It relied on defamation and breach of confidence – a patchy and much-criticised regime. This nearly changed a quarter-century ago in the Lenah Game Meats case. The chief justice urged better protection for privacy; the Australian Law Reform Commission echoed this in 2014. Lawyers even tried to open cracks left by the Lenah case, but these mostly faltered. In 2016, former High Court judge Michael Kirby said the inertia made Australia a ' laughing stock '.
Sydney Morning Herald
17 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
A new kind of drama is set to unfold with changed privacy laws
An Australian scandal is a like a sudden southerly on a clear summer's day – unexpected, jarring and liable to leave everyone shivering in its wake. From political pitfalls to celebrity slip-ups and the ever-rumbling corridors of Parliament House, we are a nation that guards privacy with one hand and refreshes newsfeeds with the other. Little wonder, then, that a show like Bridgerton – with its heaving corsets, whispered secrets and illicit entanglements – has a devoted fan base here. It's not just the drama that captivates us, but the tension between the private and the public, discretion and spectacle. While fans must wait until 2026 for the next episode, take heart 'dearest gentle reader': whispers among case-starved defamation lawyers suggest a new kind of drama is set to unfold. From Tuesday, a new statutory tort of privacy makes its debut on the Australian legal stage – and it's expected to dance to a familiar tune. Australians who suffer a serious invasion of privacy may claim up to $478,000 in damages and seek remedies including injunctions. As the age of unchecked intrusion draws to a genteel close, Lady Whistledown herself might remark that society's most prominent figures will breathe easier behind their velvet curtains. Or so they may think. As far back as 1960, US professor William Prosser identified four privacy torts: intrusion upon seclusion; public disclosure of private facts; false light portrayal; and appropriation of likeness. By 1977, all four were recorded in the US Restatement of Torts, a treatise issued by the American Law Institute. While not uniformly adopted there, intrusion and disclosure are well established – especially in celebrity-laden California. Britain took longer to get there. In 1991, two Sunday Sport photographers posed as doctors to snap a British actor in his hospital bed. The Court of Appeal famously declared: 'In English law, there is no right to privacy'. By 2000, however, the House of Lords changed course in Naomi Campbell v Mirror Group Newspapers. The action for 'misuse of private information' was born. By 2014, it was recognised as a tort, and today, privacy suits in London have become de rigueur. New Zealand recognised a general tort of privacy in 2004. By 2012 it recognised intrusion into seclusion as a standalone tort when a young woman was secretly filmed in the shower and awarded damages. That same year, Canada did likewise when a bank employee whose financial data had been improperly accessed received damages. Australia, by contrast, wasn't even at the races. It relied on defamation and breach of confidence – a patchy and much-criticised regime. This nearly changed a quarter-century ago in the Lenah Game Meats case. The chief justice urged better protection for privacy; the Australian Law Reform Commission echoed this in 2014. Lawyers even tried to open cracks left by the Lenah case, but these mostly faltered. In 2016, former High Court judge Michael Kirby said the inertia made Australia a ' laughing stock '.
Cosmopolitan ME
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Cosmopolitan ME
Bridgerton season 4 UAE release: Trailer, cast, story and more
Since it landed on Netflix back in 2020, Bridgerton has totally taken over our screens and our conversations. It's got everything – dreamy love stories, wild scandals, and that quirky mix of corsets paired with string-quartet covers of pop songs that somehow just works. From the juicy gossip at those fancy balls, or just can't get enough of Lady Whistledown's witty commentary, it's pretty impossible not to get totally swept up in all the drama. What's this season about? Now, all eyes are on Season 4 – and it's finally time for Benedict Bridgerton to take centre stage. While Netflix hasn't confirmed the exact plot just yet, book fans know his story is a swoony Cinderella-inspired arc: a masked ball, a mysterious woman, and a love that challenges class expectations. Yes, we're already counting down. The cast for season 4 and who's returning for the season? What we do know is that the cast is locked in and ready. Luke Thompson finally takes the lead as Benedict, the creative, quietly charming Bridgerton brother, alongside newcomer Yerin Ha as Sophie – the mysterious woman at the heart of his fairy-tale romance. Familiar faces are back too: Jonathan Bailey and Simone Ashley as Anthony and Kate, Nicola Coughlan and Luke Newton as Penelope and Colin, and Claudia Jessie as the ever-blunt Eloise. And of course, Queen Charlotte (Golda Rosheuvel) is still reigning with flair. The ton's assembled – and the drama's just getting started When will season 4 be released? But here's the thing – the wait is long. Like, *really* long. Season 3 dropped in two parts in 2024, over two years after Season 2 aired, and Season 4 isn't expected until 2026. And even though Netflix has confirmed Seasons 5 and 6 are in the pipeline, no release dates have been announced. Fans are hyped, but they're also tired of the slow rollout. Still, if there's one thing *Bridgerton* does well, it's making us wait – and want more. So whether you're in it for the scandal, the slow glances, or the secret rendezvous, we'll be here… counting the days (and rewatching Seasons 2 and 3 for the hundredth time). If you love a romance ? Check out all things about the release of Crazy Rich Asians 2.
Irish Independent
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
Nicola Coughlan shares her delight at receiving Supermacs gold card
The actor shared a snap of the card, which has made her a certified VIP at the fast food chain. 'Few things that have happened to me in my life impress people more than this,' she captioned the picture. The card which is 'vaild for life' notes she is also known as Clare Devlin and Lady Whistledown – her characters in Derry Girls and Bridgerton. Coughlan also hails from Supermac's home county of Galway. The starlet spent the weekend in Ireland, attending Fast Net Film Festival in West Cork. On Saturday, she appeared in conversation with director Lenny Abrahamson. Meanwhile, Barry Keoghan also attended the festival, appearing in conversation with casting director Maureen Hughes on Sunday. Kin stars Clare Dunne, Aidan Gillen, Maria Doyle Kennedy also appeared alongside creator Peter McKenna as they discussed the hit RTÉ show.
