Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story proved a spectacular success for Netflix, winning the hearts of viewers with its opulent aesthetic (at the time a Bridgerton signature), charismatic young cast and affecting plot. Focus on the origin story of the loved one Bridgerton queen, portrayed by Golda Rosheuvel, it features breakout talent India Amarteifio as her younger counterpart, with further cast members including Corey Mylchreest as the young King George III and Sam Clemmett and Freddie Dennis as the couple’s right-hand men, royal butlers Brimsley and Reynolds.

At a concise six episodes, the limited series has been billed as a standalone entity, with no indication of a planned second season (despite earnest pleas from fans). Now, however, super-producer Shonda Rhimes has hinted that she has no longer ruled it out Bridgerton prequels, with particular interest in the fan-favorite character Lady Violet Bridgerton.

The founder of the production company Shondaland (the makers of Bridgerton and Anna found outamong others Netflix Originals), Rhimes is the executive producer of the original Bridgerton series and creator of the new prequel. And while gracing the red carpet at the London premiere for the show, Rhimes opened up about possible ideas for more Bridgerton spin-offs, tell Hello!, “There is no plan to explore anyone in particular… Although I became very interested in Violet’s story when I wrote it. So, we’ll see.”

Rhimes also revealed why she was “so passionate about the subject” of Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Storyexplains: “For me it was a much more intimate story… it’s about a man’s illness, it’s about race, it’s about a lot more things than we do in Bridgertonwhich is supposed to be a much lighter show.”

The most famous to Bridgerton viewers (and readers of Julia Quinn’s romance, on which the franchise is based) as the matriarch of the sprawling Bridgerton brood, more light is shed on Lady Violet in the new Queen Charlotte series. Poignantly portrayed by Ruth Gemmell, the character is shown longing for companionship in the wake of her husband’s death; While in the earlier timeline, young Violet Ledger (Connie Jenkins-Greig) grows up among the shifting sands of high society after Charlotte’s marriage to King George. Viewers also see the older Lady Violet’s reaction when she realizes—spoiler alert—that her friend, Lady Danbury, once had an affair with Violet’s father, Lord Ledger.

Talk to Tatler before the debut of Bridgerton season two in March last year, Gemmell spoke of her character’s role as a reassuring presence in the background of the action, noting that it was largely “their [the Bridgerton siblings’] stories… I play the mother in the corner, drink tea and push the children in the way of suitors.” However, she added that viewers are increasingly “getting a little bit more of a backstory from Violet … Not just her story, but the family’s story and what happens that shapes their future.”