Bridgerton is Netflix's biggest series ever

And the success of the series has also had a knock-on effect on the sales of the books on which it is based: Julia Quinn's novels have reached The New York Times bestseller lists for the first time, 18 years after the first one was published.

Jinny Howe, the vice president of original series at Netflix announced the news via a blog post, saying that it was "a dream come true" to see the show achieve such great popularity, especially given it was the first project she helped bring to life on the platform.

In the blog post, Howe outlined the three most important lessons she had learned along the way: that all kinds of audiences love romance, that it pays to be bold and to take creative risks, and that more people want to see themselves reflected on the screen.

While Bridgerton is the new record holder, it is not the first series to strike a chord with viewers during the coronavirus pandemic: series such as Tiger King, The Queen's Gambit, and even the much-maligned Emily in Paris have all attracted huge audiences in the last year.

The series revolves around Regency era London’s Ton – high society – as debutantes across the town enter the competitive marriage market, with the Bridgerton cast including Regé-Jean Page, Phoebe Dynevor and Nicola Coughlan.

It has already been renewed for a second season – and with showrunner Chris Van Dusen having suggested that he's hoping for as many as eight seasons of the show (one for each sibling), it seems like it could be breaking records for a while yet.

Bridgerton is now streaming on Netflix. You can order the books on Amazon. Looking for something else to watch? Check out our guide to the best series on Netflix and best movies on Netflix, or visit our TV Guide.