No sooner did Bridgerton’s long-awaited Season Two land on Netflix than fans started clamoring about Season Three. You can’t have too much of a good thing, right? Lucky for us, Season Three (and Four!) is already in the pipeline—plus a prequel, more on that below—and plans to shoot are underway, meaning that we could be getting back to the ton very soon.
Read on for everything we know about Season Three of Bridgerton, so far.
Is Bridgerton Renewed For Season Three?
Yes—plus Season Four, and the nascent prequel about Queen Charlotte. Announcing the Seasons Three and Four renewal, Bela Belajara, Netflix’s Vice President of Global TV, said, “Bridgerton swept us off our feet. The creative team, led by Shonda [Rhimes], knew the material and delivered a beautiful, emotional, romantic drama for our members. They have some exciting plans for the future, and we think audiences will continue to swoon for this show. We’re planning to be in the Bridgerton business for a long time to come.”
Though only four seasons have received the green light thus far, Rhimes, for her part, is gunning to make eight. “There are eight Bridgerton siblings, and as far as I’m concerned, there are eight Bridgerton seasons,” she said. “And maybe more.”
What Will Season Three Be About?
Despite following the order of the book series for the last two seasons, Season Three is set to deviate. While many fans (ourselves included) speculated that next up would be the Cinderella-esque story of Benedict from the series’ third book, An Offer From a Gentleman, we now know that the next batch of episodes will focus on the complicated story between Penelope (Nicola Coughlan) and Colin (Luke Newton).
Speaking at the Netflix FYSEE panel, Coughlan revealed that Season Three will follow her character’s love story with the third Bridgerton son. Their story is set to be adapted from the fourth book in the series, Romancing Mr. Bridgerton–parts of which have already been explored in previous episodes.
Perhaps we should have all seen this coming. Speaking with Entertainment Tonight, Rhimes said, “We’re not necessarily going in order—but we are going to be seeing each one of the siblings and their stories.” Some fans took this as a direct nod to Season Three, and a hint that Benedict won’t be up next. Simone Ashley, who plays Kate, fanned the flames when she said, “I’m super excited for the world to see Nicola [Coughlan] and Luke [Newton] rock it, but also to just play with the Anthony and Kate story now that they’re loved up and they’ve kind of sorted themselves out.”
It’s not hard to see how the love story between “Polin” (as the pair are affectionately known) is up next. After all, Season Two lays much more groundwork for this couple than it does for Benedict’s romantic future. Throughout the season, Penelope continues to pine for her unrequited love, but her dreams are dashed when she overhears Colin scoffing to a group of gentlemen, “I would never dream of courting Penelope Featherington.” We know from the books that Colin and Penelope are endgame, but Newton hints that for “Polin,” the journey to the altar may not look the same as it did for the other Bridgertons. “As much as there’s been some progression, it’s not been the heated, steamy scenes or that relationship growth that we’ve seen from other characters,” he said. “But I think it’s really nice to show both sides of what it can be like to fall in love with someone.”
Season Three will also find Penelope on the outs with Eloise Bridgerton after their friendship went up in flames when Eloise discovered Penelope’s secret identity. Coughlan hinted at the fallout, saying, “I think Penelope is going to have to learn she can’t lie to the people that she loves.” But we suspect these two lifelong pals won’t be on the outs for too long. “They have to [reconcile],” Coughlan told Entertainment Tonight. “They have to, because it would break my heart [if they didn’t]. Also, I think, in deep life-long friendships, there are moments like that when you do fight and you’ve just got to learn to grow a little bit. But I think Penelope has got some apologizing to do.”
Will the Cast Return?
Anyone could come or go (just ask Regé-Jean Page, who shocked fans when he exited the series after Season One), but we have a hunch that most of the principals are contracted to return. It’s hard to imagine characters like the Bridgertons, the Featheringtons, Lady Danbury, or Queen Charlotte leaving the show.
But will Anthony and Kate, the leads of Season Two, make a Simon Basset-style disappearance? Don’t worry: they’ll be back. Ashley revealed to Deadline, “We’re going to be back! Kate and Anthony are just getting started. We have the amazing Jess Brownell who is taking the lead as show-runner in Season 3. In Season 2, there was a lot of push and pull between Kate and Anthony, there were complications with the family, and then they find each other towards the end. I think everything is just starting. I’d like to see Kate just let go a bit more and play more in Season 3 and kind of swim in that circle of love together. I think they both deserve it.”
Speaking to Esquire, Quinn advised viewers to take the structure of a romance novel as a serious clue, saying, “If you get another one, you’re going to get two different main characters, but you’ll have the same supporting cast.” It seems like Anthony and Kate may transition to supporting characters. Plot-wise, there’s a strong case for them to stick around. As the heads of the family, the Viscount and his new Viscountess are the most visible members of the Bridgerton clan, and will no doubt remain a large part of the other Bridgertons’ lives. As Ashley says, “She’s in charge of the household now and she’s got big boots to put on. I think she can do it. I want to keep that softness and vulnerability to Kate, for sure, and she can share that with Anthony. I’m just excited for her to have a home and to have a family. I’m excited to see her grow. I think I’d like to see Kate being much braver and less headstrong and more heart strong.”
Speaking of returning cast members, Season Three has a big comeback in store: a character who never left the show, but was somehow always gone. Remember Francesca, the elusive sixth Bridgerton sibling? You’d be forgiven if you don’t—shy, pragmatic Francesca has been virtually MIA throughout the series, making just two appearances in Season One before she departed to “visit Aunt Winnie in Bath and practice pianoforte,” then just three appearances in Season Two before she disappeared early in the season without any explanation. Elusive Francesca didn’t even show up to her own brother’s wedding (not that any of her family members seemed to notice). One aggrieved Reddit user wrote, “As much as I enjoyed this season, I spent much of the final episodes being distracted by my desperate mission to spot this missing Bridgerton to finally reassure myself of my sanity.”
“I love Francesca, but we lost her midway through Season 2,” Van Dusen said. “After exhausting all other options, she unfortunately had to come out due to reasons beyond our control.” Van Dusen is alluding to how Ruby Stokes, the actress playing the part, was too busy playing the lead in Lockwood & Co., another Netflix series. Now, the Bridgerton team has recasted the role with Anatomy of a Scandal‘s Hannah Dodd. Here’s hoping this means we’ll get more of Francesca in Season Three, and finally put the mystery of her disappearance to rest.
When is Bridgerton Coming Back for Season Three?
Speaking to PopBuzz on the red carpet at the Season Two premiere, Rhimes said, “We’re already working on Season Three, so we can have a shorter time between seasons.” Rhimes and Nicola Coughlan (who plays Penelope Featherington) confirmed that they’ll start filming this summer, hopefully without the pesky pandemic hiccups that delayed Season Two. What that means for a release date remains to be seen, but rest assured, we (and Lady Whistledown) will keep you in the loop. Watch this space for updates as we continue to learn more.
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