Gentle reader, prepare for a new dose of Regency-era drama because Season 3 of Bridgerton is on the way to Netflix, and the couple of the moment is one we know well already. Loyal followers of the iconic Shonda Rhimes series (and the books before them) will likely be aware at this point that Season 3 of Bridgerton will centre on Penelope and Colin’s love story; skipping right past that of Benedict’s – which is the next romance in the books.
We’ll take a look at why the series is deviating from the books and every other update worth knowing here. Consider this your guide to the next Bridgerton chapter.
Table of contents
The latest updates regarding Bridgerton Season 3
- April 12, 2024: Get excited, people, because our first official trailer for Part 1 of Bridgerton Season 3 has dropped.
- March 21, 2024: We’ve been served another romantic sneak peek of Bridgerton Season 3 – this time focusing on Anthony and Kate (details ahead).
- February 15, 2024: We’ve had a release date (or two), a sneak peek of some footage and storyline hints confirmed as a Valentine’s Day gift for fans.
- May 2022: Francesca Bridgerton has been recast due to conflicting schedules.
- April 2022: Season three (and four) of Bridgerton have been confirmed.
Bridgerton Season 3: Release date
Get excited, people, because we finally know when Bridgerton Season 3 is set to hit Netflix Australia. It’s been announced that the season is set to premiere in two parts: on May 16 and June 13, 2024.
What’s Bridgerton about?
It’s shocking, but there are still people who haven’t watched Seasons 1 or 2 of Bridgerton. Where have you been?!
The series is based on a collection of novels that focus on each of the eight Bridgerton children and their prospective love stories. Each story is set in 19th-century England, where ridiculously rich families often find themselves wrapped up in a scandal.
Season 1 of Bridgerton centred on Daphne and her Duke, Season 2 focused on Anthony and his Viscountess, Kate, and Season 3 will zoom in on Colin and Lady Whistle- I mean, Penelope.
The series is narrated by ‘anonymous’ Lady Whistledown, who also pens (lol) a gossip-filled newsletter that dishes on all the drama circulating the Ton.
Bridgerton Season 3: Cast
But don’t forget the other siblings and their good-looking partners. We have some updates in that area for you, too.
Deadline confirmed that Anthony (Jonathan Bailey) and Kate (Simone Ashley) will return for Season 3 of Bridgerton as the Viscount and the Viscountess Bridgerton. And Ashley has teased that the pair “are just getting started”.
We’ve now received an official lineup for Bridgerton Season 3, which includes the following regulars:
Joining Nicola Coughlan (Penelope Featherington), Luke Newton (Colin Bridgerton), Jonathan Bailey (Anthony Bridgerton), and Simone Ashley (Kate Sheffield) will most likely be Harriet Cains (Philipa Featherington), Bessie Carter (Prudence Featherington), Ruth Gemmell (Lady Violet Bridgerton), Florence Hunt (Hyacinth Bridgerton), Claudia Jessie (Eloise Bridgerton), Luke Thompson (Benedict Bridgerton), Will Tilston (Gregory Bridgerton), Polly Walker (Lady Portia Featherington), Adjoa Andoh (Lady Agatha Danbury), Golda Rosheuvel (Queen Charlotte) and Julie Andrews (Lady Whistledown).
New faces to look out for in the new season include Hugh Sachs (Brimsley), Emma Naomi (Alice Mondrich), Kathryn Drysdale (Genevieve Delacroix), and Sam Phillips (Lord Debling). As Shondaland reports, Francesca Bridgerton has also been recast due to original actress Ruby Stokes taking another role. Hannah Dodd will be stepping into the role for Season 3.
Bridgerton Season 3: Trailer
We finally have our first official trailer for Part 1 of Bridgerton Season 3. This trailer has joined our handful of sneak peeks we’ve been obsessing over. In it, we see a glimpse of Penelope on her journey to find a husband, and Colin working hard to help her… sort of. What we also see here is the building tension between these two, and Penelope seemingly getting her moment in the sun after many years of going unnoticed.
Other points of interest were Eloise apparently finding a new bestie after her falling out with Pen, Anthony and Kate looking hot and heavy, and (our new) Francesca entering the husband race, too.
Prior to this, Netflix dropped this clip that shows Anthony and Kate looking loved up as ever, while Penelope and Francesca retreat to the sidelines of the dancefloor, looking withdrawn.
The first clip we were given shows Penelope ripping into Colin about his cruel comments regarding “never courting” her. Check it out below.
We also have a little clip from when filming began, but don’t expect much in the form of insights here.
Bridgerton Season 3: Set photos
In addition to the above, we have a few first-look pictures to obsess over for Bridgerton Season 3.
At the last Netflix Tudum event, the streaming service dropped a handful of photos from the upcoming season, showing some intense stares shared by #Polin.
Where to watch Bridgerton Season 3?
Like the seasons before it, Bridgerton Season 3 will be streaming on Netflix Australia. Until we do get new episodes, you can rewatch Seasons 1 and 2 of the series here.
FAQs on the upcoming season
Where was it filmed?
There are obviously a number of different filming locations used for Bridgerton, but Visit Britain has shared that one particularly popular spot is Bath. Yorkshire and Bristol are also highlighted as important filming locations for the series, too.
Who will Season 3 be about?
Spoilers for Season 2 of Bridgerton are coming.
In a recent fan event, Shonda Rhimes revealed a few juicy details about the next instalment of Bridgerton, and what’s in store for Colin and Penelope in Season 3. First, it was confirmed that there is going to be a new suitor for Coughlan’s Penelope – Lord Debling (played by Sam Phillips). It was also shared that a fan-favourite moment in the novel, Romancing Mr. Bridgerton, will appear in the season: when Penelope wraps Colin’s hand after he cuts it.
Netflix has shared the following synopsis for the new season:
Bridgerton is back for its third season and finds Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan) has finally given up on her long-held crush on Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton) after hearing his disparaging words about her last season. She has, however, decided it’s time to take a husband, preferably one who will provide her with enough independence to continue her double life as Lady Whistledown, far away from her mother and sisters. But lacking in confidence, Penelope’s attempts on the marriage mart fail spectacularly. Meanwhile, Colin has returned from his summer travels with a new look and a serious sense of swagger. But he’s disheartened to realize that Penelope, the one person who always appreciated him as he was, is giving him the cold shoulder. Eager to win back her friendship, Colin offers to mentor Penelope in the ways of confidence to help her find a husband this season. But when his lessons start working a little too well, Colin must grapple with whether his feelings for Penelope are truly just friendly. Complicating matters for Penelope is her rift with Eloise (Claudia Jessie), who has found a new friend in a very unlikely place, while Penelope’s growing presence in the ton makes it all the more difficult to keep her Lady Whistledown alter ego a secret.
As we touched on, it was initially assumed that Season 3 of Bridgerton would look at the love story of Benedict, as the third novel does, but instead, it was announced by Nicola Coughlan (Penelope) that Colin Bridgerton and Penelope Featherington would be getting their moment in the upcoming episodes.
Speaking at Netflix’s FYSEE Space’s opening night, Coughlan shared that:
“Like Lady Whistledown, I have been keeping a secret for quite some time and I can confirm to you all that Season 3 is Colin and Penelope’s love story,” she said. “I have kept that secret since two weeks into Season 2. This is the first time I am saying it here.”
Although the romance between these two central characters has been teased since Season 1, the new feud between Penelope and Colin’s sister (Penelope’s best friend), Eloise, will likely cause some hurdles in #Polin’s journey.
Showrunner Jess Brownell explained the reason behind the direction change for Season 3 of Bridgerton in an interview with Variety, sharing that she feels it’s Colin and Penelope’s “time”.
Soz about it, Benedict.
“Because we’ve been watching both of these actors on our screens since Season 1, we’ve already invested in them a little bit. We know who they are as people,” she said.
“I feel like, especially in the last season, there are these moments of tension between them where it’s like, Colin walks up to the line of almost realizing that Penelope has feelings for him but doesn’t quite get there. Instead of treading water on that dynamic, we wanted to push it into their season. It really felt like the perfect moment to tee it up.”
We’ve been gifted more updates in this space since the arrival of Netflix’s Tudum event in 2022. Netflix gave Bridgerton fans a sweet little gift in the form of a video featuring Claudia Jessie (Eloise Bridgerton) and Luke Newton (Colin Bridgerton) discussing the show while painting portraits of one another.
When asked why Colin doesn’t see that Penelope is his perfect match, Luke shared that he thinks because they grew up together, he simply can’t see what’s in front of him.
“Which is frustrating for fans of the show,” he added. “And sometimes, they take that frustration out on me…”
At the end of the clip, we’re also treated to a brief reading from episode one of Season 3 of Bridgerton by Nicola Coughlan. It’s a nice little addition but doesn’t really give anything away.
If you’d like to follow on at home – somewhat – the book we’re working from in Season 3 is Julia Quinn’s Romancing Mister Bridgerton.
How many episodes are in Bridgerton Season 3
Bridgerton Season 3 will be made up of eight episodes, and the episode titles have been revealed, giving some hints regarding the events that will play out along the way.
Who is leaving Season 3?
The latest news in the world of Bridgerton casting is that Phoebe Dynevor (Daphne Bridgerton) will not be joining Season 3. Speaking with ScreenRant, the Season 1 star confirmed that:
“Sadly [I’m] not in season 3. Potentially in the future. But season 3, I’m just excited to watch as a viewer.”
Interestingly, despite the news of Daphne’s absence, there are whispers that Regé-Jean Page (who played the dreamy Duke in Season 1) may return to the world of Bridgerton.
*Faints*
As The Sun reports, an unnamed source sparked this rumour, sharing that:
“Regé-Jean was always very open about his intention to quit the show after the first season and to move on to other projects.
“But recently, there has been a dialogue between him and the show’s bosses. Nothing has been formally agreed yet, but watch this space.”
This could be wishful thinking, of course, but we’re intrigued regardless.
Additionally, Shondaland has shared that Francesca Bridgerton has also been recast due to original actress Ruby Stokes taking another role. Hannah Dodd will be stepping into the role for Season 3.
Why has Bridgerton Season 3 been delayed so long?
Delays have been experienced by many shows recently – mostly due to the writer’s and actors’ strikes – but there have been whispers that Bridgerton Season 3 was actually set back by re-writes.
Sources have reportedly shared with the Daily Mail that Shonda Rhimes was unhappy with certain elements of the show becoming “very dark”. The team has since reworked the contents of the season in an effort to “get it right” for audiences.
If you’re feeling a little riled up while waiting for more horny Bridgerton content, here’s a list of the best sex scenes from earlier seasons to tide you over. Or, you could watch one of these equally-spicy shows instead.
This article has been updated since its original publish date.
Lead Image Credit: Netflix
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