Bridgerton‘s second season brought the need for smelling salts in equal proportion to the first outing, which was actually a surprise considering the show’s newfound Duke-less state. The show is gearing up for the third round of corset-bound adventures based upon Julia Quinn’s book series and plenty of (thank you, John Oliver) “jizzing in blankets.”
Following a diversion into Queen Charlotte’s past, the show has reemerged in the “present” (19th Century Regency era) to take on yet another Bridgerton’s son’s journey towards marriage. It’s been quite a wait for viewers, so let’s work through what to expect from the third season, other than Anthony Bridgerton and his wife, Kate, still ^^^ getting it on together.
Plot
Yes, there will still be too many lookalike Bridgerton dudes to tell apart from each other. Here’s Anthony once more with Edmond, and even though these two don’t look like twins (like the rest of them), those genes are strong.
The main focus of this season will be Colin Bridgerton’s push-and-pull courtship of Penelope Featherington.
Of course, Penelope also sits in grave danger of being outed as gossip queen Lady Whistledown, and Eloise Bridgerton (who knows about this ruse) will surely give her grief over this duplicity.
Expect Penelope, however, to grow wary of waiting for Colin to decide that he loves her, so she will take her chances elsewhere in the dating pool. We can predict that Colin will then realize what he’s missing after relegating Penelope to “friends only” status so that he can perhaps attempt to “rake across the continent” like the Duke once did. The show has revealed that Colin will have gained some “swagger,” and for some reason, he’ll also determine to help Penelope in her courtship quest. Good luck with that via the synopsis:
[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
Tons of Bridgertons and Featheringtons will take center stage this season.
Granted, the former is always front and center, but Ms. Penelope Featherington will move from background gossip and maneuverer to the central courtship story. She will, of course, be portrayed by Nicola Coughlan with Luke Newton returning as Colin Bridgerton. As well, Simone Ashley (Kate Sharma) and Jonathan Bailey (Anthony Bridgerton) will continue to work their onscreen chemistry.
Also returning will be Julie Andrews as the voice of Lady Whistledown along with Luke Thompson (Benedict Bridgerton), Harriet Cains (Philipa Featherington), Bessie Carter (Prudence Featherington), Will Tilston (Gregory Bridgerton), Golda Rosheuvel (Queen Charlotte), Adjoa Andoh (Lady Danbury), Ruth Gemmell (Violet Bridgerton), Hannah Dodd (Francesca Bridgerton), Polly Walker (Portia Featherington), and so many more.
New characters will be portrayed by Daniel Francis (Marcus Anderson), James Phoon (Harry Dankworth), and Sam Phillips (Lord Debling).
Release Date
Netflix has been edging into the split-season format, which might not be the ideal format for bingewatchers, but it seems to be working out for Netflix since they are favoring this approach more often lately. As such, viewers can expect the first four episodes of this season to arrive on May 16. The second chunk of four will follow on June 13. Then, it’s probably onto planning for the next Bridgerton dude’s clumsy courtship since Season 4 is already greenlit.
Trailer
No trailer has materialized yet, but Netflix damn well knows what they are doing with this teaser.
Bridgerton will get hot and bothered again in May 2024.