A comedy of manners. The Courtship It might sound similar to many other reality shows, but there’s one major quirk: it’s set in Regency England.

The NBC series follows “the heroine” Nicole Remy as she tries to find love with 16 suitors. The catch is that she – and the men – have to follow early 19th century social rules, which means they call each other “Mrs”. and “Sir”. and rarely interact alone.

“I was heartbroken. The guy I fell in love with, he didn’t love me back,” Ms Rémy, 26, explained during the Sunday March 6 premiere of the show. “And that’s why I’m trying this whole experiment. Modern dating doesn’t work for me. Courtship these days does not happen. It’s really like ‘I picked you up on a dating app’ and it doesn’t have the romance you’re looking for.”

Besides having the cast wearing a period dress, The CourtshipThe creators of attempted to recreate the mores of Regency England by ensuring Ms Remy has the help of family and friends when choosing a partner. Instead of attending cocktail parties, the Seattle native and her suitors go to proms, where they share dances and whisper in each other’s ears while the rest of the cast watches.

“I’m ready to fall in love and find love like they did in Jane Austen’s novels,” the software engineer explained. “Back then, everything meant so much more because it took time.”

The Regency was a relatively short period in British history, but it inspired a ton of pop culture, including the novels about which Bridgerton is based. The era name refers to the regency of King George III, who was deemed unfit to rule in 1811. His son George IV ruled in his place as Prince Regent until he himself became same king in 1820. (George III only appeared briefly in Season 1 of Bridgertonbut his wife, Queen Charlotte (Golda Rosheuvel), was a major player.)

At The Courtshipnarrator and master of ceremonies Rick Edwards – known to candidates as Mr. Edwards – occasionally explains Regency customs, including the one Mrs. Remy uses to weed out suitors. At the end of the first episode, the former NFL cheerleader wrote the names of six men on her “dance card” and then gave them one last chance to prove themselves in the ballroom. That’s not quite how dance cards worked in the real Regency, but it’s pretty close — and easier to use than a dating app.

The Courtship airs NBC Sundays at 8 p.m. ET. The episodes are available to stream on Peacock the next day. Keep scrolling to see what The Courtship is right and wrong about Regency England: