Although some wondered whether Bridgerton could continue after it lost Regé-Jean Page’s debonair spoon-licking Duke after its first season, Netflix’s Regency Era romantic drama has certainly proved the doubters wrong.
After a hugely successful second season in 2022 and a much-praised spinoff, Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story, released in time for King Charles’ coronation in 2023, the Bridgerton franchise — the Bridgerton Cinematic Universe? The Bridger-verse? — continues to expand in 2024 with its widely anticipated third season.
As fans of the series should know by now, each Bridgerton season follows a different member of the titular family in their quest for love. We’ll get to which characters this particular batch of episodes is about in due time, but for starters, exactly when can we expect Bridgerton season 3 to promenade its way onto Netflix in the first place?
When will Bridgerton season 3 be released?
Look out, folks, because Bridgerton season 3 is set to fall prey to one of Netflix’s most frustrating trends, which is fast becoming the bane of bingers everywhere.
Following the experiment paying off dividends with Stranger Things 4, Netflix has taken to splitting the latest seasons of its most popular shows in two. And, yes, that’s also how Bridgerton season 3 is releasing as well. The traditional eight-part season will be dropped in two chunks of four episodes. As revealed in December 2023, expect Bridgerton season 3 part 1 to arrive on May 16, 2024 with season 3 part 2 to follow on June 13.
What’s the betting that part 1 will end on some heart-wrenching cliffhanger that leaves viewers clutching their pearls and desperately waiting for Lady Whistledown’s latest society paper to drop on their doorstep a month later?
What will Bridgerton season 3 be about?
Bridgerton enthusiasts were shocked when season 3’s plotline was announced, as it marks the first time the show has made a major change from the format of the original novels by author Julia Quinn. According to the books’ sequence, the next romance to be told after Daphne and Anthony should be the second oldest sibling, Benedict.
Instead, however, the show’s creators have decided to jump straight to fan-favorites Colin (Luke Newton) and Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan), who we were expecting to take center stage in season 4 instead. If you’ll recall, season 2 ended with Pen heartbroken after overhearing Colin say he’d “never dream” of courting her to his friends. But the official synopsis for season 3 suggests he might’ve been fibbing:
“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.”
Likewise, Pen and Eloise’s friendship has been wrecked by the revelation that the former is truly Lady Whistledown, a secret that is going to be more difficult to keep than ever in season 3. As the synopsis continues:
“Complicating matters for Penelope is her rift with Eloise, 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.”
For those Benedict backers out there concerned if he’ll ever get his chance in the spotlight, though, don’t worry, as Bridgerton season 4 has already been commissioned. Could it manage to adapt the love lives of all eight siblings? At this point, it seems entirely possible. And all without a spoon-lick in sight.