When Chris Van Dusen launched Bridgerton on Christmas Day, he hoped that this sexy, escapist period romance would find an eager audience. What he didn’t anticipate was how the series would skyrocket into the pantheon of Netflix’s top five debuts of all time, with 63 million households projected to stream it within less than a month of the series premiere. Even for Van Dusen, a Shondaland veteran accustomed to the enormous followings that have coalesced around shows like Scandal, Grey’s Anatomy, and Private Practice, Bridgerton’s hit debut was surreal.