The Courtship is described as the ‘ultimate social experiment’ and takes its cues from classic period romances of page and screen such as Pride & Prejudice and Bridgerton, transporting American software engineer Nicole Rémy to Regency-era Britain.
The Courtship was filmed at Castle Howard near York in the north of England. Castle Howard is a magnificent historic house with ornate interiors, landscaped gardens and an adventure playground. It's the perfect location for recreating Regency-era courtly life - and for a family day out.
Find out more about visiting Castle Howard
A new reality show from American broadcaster NBC, The Courtship is pitched as ‘a romance novel in reality TV form’. Throughout the series Nicole Rémy is courted by sixteen potential suitors from around the world, set against the backdrop of the historic Castle Howard.
Castle Howard played host to carnivals, boating trips, archery, formal dances and dinners during the filming of the show, as the producers brought the pageantry and drama of the 18th century to life. Each of Nicole’s potential suitors has to win not only her approval but that of her friends and family, with all participants leaving their mobile devices at home and adhering to Regency-era social norms.
Airing on Sundays on NBC with episodes also available internationally on streaming service Peacock, The Courtship provides a completely new way to explore the grandeur of Castle Howard and discover the rituals and etiquette of 19th century courtly life.
Castle Howard is the perfect location for The Courtship, following the use of the estate in many classic film and television productions. Most recently it was transformed into the fictional Clyvedon Castle for Netflix’s smash hit Bridgerton, with the entrance hall and iconic exterior being used for Simon and Daphne’s new home.
Bridgerton follows in a long tradition of using Castle Howard for period productions. Both screen versions of Brideshead Revisited were shot here, first in 1981 with Jeremy Irons and again over twenty years later with Matthew Goode, Ben Wishaw and Hayley Atwell.
Acclaimed dramas Victoria and Death Comes to Pemberley made Castle Howard part of their stories, and even Stanley Kubrick’s 1975 masterpiece Barry Lyndon - which filmed all over Europe - chose Castle Howard to stand in as the Countess’ extravagant ‘Castle Hackton’.
Situated in an area of natural beauty on the edge of North York Moors National Park and only half an hour from the city of York, Castle Howard is one of the United Kingdom’s most picturesque grand estates with a remarkable history dating back to 1699.
Its construction took over a century and the building survived an enormous fire in 1940 which swept through the building, with the dome crashing down into the Great Hall. That the damage was not more extensive is in large part due to the combined efforts of the fire service and the students of Queen Margaret’s School, who had been evacuated to Castle Howard during the Second World War.
Featuring in film and television productions directly helps our conservation and restoration work. The filming in 1981 of the first adaptation of Brideshead Revisited aided the rebuilding of the Garden Hall, while the movie version in 2008 saw the completion of the High Saloon. The success of Bridgerton in 2021 brought many new visitors to the estate and to Yorkshire as a whole, ensuring that the area will continue to be enjoyed for many more generations.
While The Courtship takes viewers on an exclusive journey several hundred years into the past, Castle Howard continues to thrive in the 21st century. It is still home to the descendants of the estate’s original owners and is now open to the public, visited by over 250,000 people each year.
You can embark on your own adventure to the worlds of Bridgerton, The Courtship and Brideshead Revisited by visiting Castle Howard. While here you can walk the grounds, explore woodland and waterways, take a tour of the house, and enjoy food and drink in our cafés - all while imagining you are starring in your own period romance.