Bridgerton set loins aflame in early 2021 with John Oliver (accurately) characterizing the Shondaland series in his own special, profane way. The second round kept the fires burning despite the loss of The Duke, and then, Queen Charlotte surfaced to fill in a few blanks before Hollywood turned into a mess again in 2023.
That put Bridgerton‘s third round behind schedule, but it’s coming, so let’s mull over what’s happening thus far.
Plot
With Daphne and Anthony Bridgerton both married off, a number of siblings still remain, which means that this show needs to get busy with the matchmaking. This season will focus upon Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton), who has been the object of obsession for Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan) for far too long, so she will be determined to forget about him and move forth with new suitors. However, this is still technically romcom land, so expect for Colin to regret the error of his ways at some point.
The trickier part here, of course, is that Penelope wants to continue her Lady Whistledown antics, which will be harder to pull off while married and presumably having children and all that. Additionally, the audience already knows that Eloise Bridgerton (Claudia Jessie) knows about Penelope’s rather mean alter ego, and she was not thrilled at all. Yet the synopsis of this season indicates that Penelope hasn’t learned her lesson yet and still finds fulfillment in basically ruining people’s lives for gossip. That seems pretty relevant to our current times, but more to the point, there’s the central romance at hand.
Colin Bridgerton will have gained “swagger” this year, and he will apparently decide upon entering a scheme with Penelope “to mentor” her on being more attractive to men and finding a husband. These two should probably cut to the chase, but what good with that be? Here we go with how that will turn out:
[W]hen 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 [town] makes it all the more difficult to keep her Lady Whistledown alter ego a secret.
Cast
Coughlan and Newton take center stage, of course, but the rest of the ensemble cast will remain vast. Expect to see updates from Simone Ashley (Kate Sharma) and Jonathan Bailey (Anthony Bridgerton), which will be a nice followup since we never got much from Daphne and The Duke together again. As well, the cast includes Golda Rosheuvel (Queen Charlotte), Adjoa Andoh (Lady Danbury), Ruth Gemmell (Violet Bridgerton), Lorraine Ashbourne (Mrs. Varley), Hannah Dodd (Francesca Bridgerton), Luke Thompson (Benedict Bridgerton), Harriet Cains (Philipa Featherington), Bessie Carter (Prudence Featherington), Will Tilston (Gregory Bridgerton), Polly Walker (Portia Featherington), and Julie Andrews (the voice of Lady Whistledown).
So many Bridgertons.
Release Date
Netflix’s newfound adoration for split seasons has spread to Shondaland. The first four episodes will surface on May 16 with the final four episodes landing on June 13. Ideally, Penelope will end up married at the end of the season, or fans might rage.
Trailer
No trailer exists yet, but here’s a few hints from Netflix’s release date announcement video.
Bridgerton will get back to courting on May 2024.