The first trailer for Shonda Rhimes' 'Bridgerton' is like 'Gossip Girl' meets 'Pride and Prejudice'

Replace Blair Waldorf’s headband collection with a set of ruffled parasols in every shade of pastel and you’re halfway to Bridgerton, Shonda Rhimes’ latest television drama that brings her trademark flare for intrigue and Scandal to Regency-era England — where gossip travels not by text message but via a widely read and vicious newsletter. The first trailer for the upcoming series dropped today, giving Shondaland fans an initial look at the eight-episode show.Bridgerton’s storyline brings to mind all those Austen and Bronte novels focused on young women playing the desperate and sometimes deceitful game of landing a husband (not that we can blame them, power and economic structures being what they were back then). Set in London, Bridgerton depicts an especially competitive matchmaking scene in which unmarried women vie for the love and attention of eligible young men, corsets cinched to 11.At the centre of the series is actor Phoebe Dynevor as Daphne Bridgerton, one of the above-mentioned young women about to enter the marriage market. Her family’s wealth gives her every advantage, but this is a Shonda Rhimes production, so you can bet her dating life won’t be a petticoated walk in the park. Rege-Jean Page plays Simon Bassett, a man whose royal title guarantees him plenty of interested women. It’s Julie Andrews, however, that will grab your attention while watching this first trailer. Andrews, who worked with Rhimes on The Princess Diaries 2, voices the narrator and original gossip girl, Lady Whistledown.Check out the new clip below. Bridgerton premieres on December 25. [video_embed id='2030335']WATCH: Cat attempts daily hilarious attack on mail carrier[/video_embed]