The moment Bridgerton dropped on Netflix, it took the internet by storm with its riveting plotline and its exquisite cast. Who would not choose to see it? Ever since Bridgerton season 2 hit the Netflix library, fans have been frustratingly anticipating season 3. Adapted by Shona Rhimes’ Shondaland Productions for Netflix, Bridgerton, for those unversed, is inspired by a series of eight novels written by Julia Quinn.
The romance drama follows the life of the Bridgerton family, which consists of widowed matriarch Violet (Ruth Gemmell) and her eight children, who are currently looking for marriage suitors in Regency England’s aristocratic society.
The first season of Bridgerton, which premiered on December 25, 2020, covered the first daughter, Daphne’s (Phoebe Dynevor) potential suitors that lead her to form connections with Simon Basset, Duke of Hastings (Rege-Jean Page). The second season is based on the second book of the novel series, following the life of the eldest brother Anthony’s (Jonathan Bailey) romance with the naïve Kate Sharma, which will not fail to remind you of Darcy and Lizzy’s love story trope.
With that said, here’s a comprehensive run-down of the Bridgerton season 3 containing all the necessary information you need.
When was Bridgerton officially renewed for a third season?
As previously mentioned, Bridgerton dropped on Netflix on December 1, 2020, and was renewed for the second season in January 2021. Interestingly, the popularity of the Regency Romance novel adaptation was so exponential that Netflix renewed the show for a third and fourth season simultaneously in April 2021, and that too, before the second season began filming. The streaming giant surely surprised its fans with its double renewal since they are such a rarity these days.
While making the renewal announcement for seasons 3 and 4, Netflix VP of Global TV Bela Bajaria said in a statement:
“Bridgerton swept us off our feet. The creative team, led by Shonda, 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.”
Dearest readers, this author brings a most exciting announcement… pic.twitter.com/sV0QiYcn8z
— Bridgerton (@bridgerton) April 13, 2021
The news was released in a rather interesting manner. It came through a letter from Lady Whistledown herself, who read, “Esteemed members of the Ton, it seems we have a rather special announcement. Bridgerton shall return for seasons three and four. This author shall have to pen more ink…”
Additionally, producer Shonda Rhimes also released a statement saying (via People):
“This two-season pickup is a strong vote of confidence in our work and I feel incredibly grateful to have partners as collaborative and creative as Netflix. Betsy [Beers] and I are thrilled to have the opportunity to continue bringing the world of Bridgerton to a worldwide audience.”
What to expect from Bridgerton season 3?
Here’s the official synopsis for Bridgerton season 3 shared by Netflix:
“From Shondaland and new showrunner, Jess Brownell, 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.”
During the promotions of Bridgerton season 2, Rhimes disclosed one of the most interesting updates about the story arcs that seasons 3 and four could take. Speaking to Entertainment Tonight, she said that although the show will be covering the lives of each sibling, it won’t “necessarily” be following the order of the books. Netflix Life states, “Rather than diving into Benedict’s story in An Offer from a Gentleman, the series will jump to Penelope and Colin’s story in Romancing Mister Bridgerton.”
In a conversation with Variety, Jess Brownell, the showrunner for season 3 mentioned the deviation in the chronology. Brownell said, “I really feel like it’s Colin and Penelope’s time. 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.”
She further added, “I think Shonda Rhimes has said publicly before that she wants to have eight seasons. We hope to get to tell every sibling’s love story and they will always be in each season.”
Additionally, in conversation with Entertainment Weekly, Luke Thompson shed light on the character of Benedict and his potential as a character in the series. He said, “Benedict has such a lovely openness and fluidity about him generally, and that’s really, really fun to play because it could go anywhere.
“What I would say is that we’re only in season one and just getting into season two. People get very excited and they want everything to be explored in the first few seasons and every corner of sexuality, gender.
“Obviously, there’s a way to go, so we’ll see what happens with Benedict, but we’re only on season two, so there’s lots of space for him to explore all sorts of things.“
Who are the cast members of Bridgerton season 3?
The following list of cast members will reportedly return in Bridgerton season 3:
- Jonathan Bailey as Lord Anthony Bridgerton
- Simone Ashley as Lady Kathani ‘Kate’ Bridgerton
- Nicola Coughlan as Penelope Featherington
- Luke Newton as Colin Bridgerton
- Hannah Dodd as Francesca Bridgerton
- Florence Hunt as Hyacinth Bridgerton
- Claudia Jessie as Eloise Bridgerton
- Luke Thompson as Benedict Bridgerton
- Will Tilston as Gregory Bridgerton
- Ruth Gemmell as Lady Violet Bridgerton
- Adjoa Andoh as Lady Danbury
- Lorraine Ashbourne as Mrs. Varley
- Harriet Cains as Philippa Featherington
- Bessie Carter as Prudence Featherington
- Golda Rosheuvel as Queen Charlotte
- Polly Walker as Portia, Baroness Featherington
- Martins Imhangbe as Will Mondrich
- Calam Lynch as Theo Sharpe
- Julie Andrews as the voice of Lady Whistledown
In addition to the above-mentioned list of cast members, three new cast members are also joining including the likes of James Phoon, Sam Phillips, and Daniel Francis. Below-mentioned are the respective roles of the cast members:
- James Phoon as Harry Dankworth, a man without any wit or intelligence, which is compensated by his good appearance
- Sam Phillips as Lord Debling, an amiable lord with weird interests
- Daniel Francis as Marcus Anderson, a charismatic personality who can spread brightness wherever he goes
The latest arrival joining the coterie of the above-mentioned actors is Hannah New who will play the role of Lady Tilley Arnold. According to Deadline, the character is a “firebrand widow” who savors the privileges that come with holding such a position in society. She emphasizes upon “living life on her own terms with financial independence and sexual freedom.”
According to TVGuide, the role of Francesca has been recast; previously, it was reprised by Ruby Stokes. In the upcoming installment of Bridgerton, it will be reprised by Hannah Dodd. Not only that, but three new male actors will also be joining the team of Bridgerton season 3, including Daniel Francis in the role of Marcus Anderson, Sam Phillips as Lord Debling, and James Phoon, reprising the role of Harry Dankworth. Hannah New will also reportedly reprise the role of the young widow Lady Tilley Arnold.
Additionally, Jonathan Bailey, who bagged a new role in a Showtime limited series, will continue to be a part of Bridgerton in a series regular capacity as the Viscount Anthony Bridgerton. A slew of new cast members, which was introduced in the second season, will reprise their roles in season 3 as well, including the likes of Charithra Chandran as Kate’s sister Edwina and Calam Lynch as Eloise’s love interest Theo Sharpe.
Unfortunately, actor Rege-Jean Page, who reprised the role of charming Duke of Hastings in season 1 and who garnered a lot of critical acclaim for his looks and acting skills, will not be returning in the upcoming installments of Bridgerton. On June 21, 2022, he revealed his fate as an actor on the show through an Instagram post of him and his former co-star Bailey. It was captioned with:
“The boys are back in town. (No, I’m not going back to the show btw – the papers made that one up) But we had the best, and most stylish, catch-up I’ve had in a while over some truly excellent Italian coffee and sunshine.”
Not only that, but the talent Phoebe Dynevor, who played the role of Daphne Bridgerton, will also sadly not reprise her role in season 3, according to Netflix Life.
Celebrating the reprisal of her role as Kate Bridgerton, Simone Ashley, in an interview with Deadline, “We’re going to be back! Kate and Anthony are just getting started. In season two, 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 three and kind of swim in that circle of love together. I think they both deserve it.”
While speaking to Vogue, she also revealed the potential story arc that the third season of Bridgerton will focus upon, “We’re filming a dance this week and tonally, it’s so different – sweet, endearing and light, compared to the heaviness of their story last season. Even though she comes across as fierce, people like that are sometimes the softest on the inside. They develop that skin because they’re vulnerable. You see her insecurities and fears. She’s fucking nervous and I think there’s strength in admitting that.”
When can we expect Bridgerton season 3 to release on Netflix?
On July 20, 2022, Netflix disclosed that Bridgerton season 3 began filming along with sharing an announcement video featuring the core cast members of the show. Not only that, but the UK site Metro also released some snapped photos of the cast filming in Bath, England as of January 17th, 2023. Recently, the cast and the crew of Bridgerton season 3 announced that they have wrapped filming.
In conversation with E! News, Coughlan joked about her nervousness of filming when asked if she was ready to film the steamy scenes in the show. She mentioned that it’s “terrifying” being the lead in the upcoming season, but, the blow seems to be cushioned since she has “known for a really long time.”
Speaking to People, she said, “I’ve known [since], like, two weeks into filming season two, so I had a lot of time to adjust to it. But then, last night when they were like, ‘The news is coming out. You can talk about it’, I was like, ‘I don’t want to. I’m too scared.'”
Based upon this information, we don’t suspect Bridgerton season 3 to release in June ’23; in fact we presume it to release sometime in late 2023, provided they wrap filming soon, so they have enough time for post-production.
Is there a trailer for Bridgerton season 3?
Netflix hasn’t dropped an official trailer of Bridgerton season 3 as of yet. However, on July 20, 2022, the cast gave us a glimpse of some behind-the-scenes looks, confirming that the show is currently under production in London.
In addition, during Netflix’s annual TUDUM event, Bridgerton season 3 shared the title of the first episode, written by Brownell and directed by Tricia Brock: “Out of Shadows”.
During the same event, Coughlan read the first few lines of season 3’s opening monologue:
“Dearest Gentle Reader, we’ve been apart for far too long. At last, London’s smart set has made its return, and so, too, has This Author. As the season begins, the question on everyone’s minds is, of course: Which newly minted debutante will shine the brightest? The crop this year appears to be rather dazzling indeed. Unfortunately, not every young lady can attract the light.”
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