A new Bridgerton courtship might just be the talk of the season.
At Netflix’s Tudum fan event on Saturday, the streamer released the first photos of Bridgerton season 3, which will follow the relationship of Colin Bridgerton ( Luke Newton) and Penelope Featherington ( Nicola Coughlan) as she continues to lead a double life as Lady Whistledown (deliciously voiced by Dame Julie Andrews).
In one image, Colin can be seen smirking at a giddy Penelope, as the duo is captured glaring lovingly into each other’s eyes in another shot.
At the end of season 2, Penelope’s best friend Eloise Bridgerton ( Claudia Jessie) learned about her secret, causing a rift in their friendship.
Filming for season 3 started in July and three newcomers — Harry Dankworth (James Phoon), Lord Debling (Sam Phillips) and Marcus Anderson (Daniel Francis) — joined the mix. Netflix has said that what Phoon’s character “lacks in wit and intelligence, he more than makes up for with serious good looks.” Phillips will play a “genial lord with unusual interests” who intrigues the young ladies looking for love. Francis’s Marcus has “a charismatic presence” that “lights up any room he enters, attracting the notice of certain matriarchs in the ton — and the ire of others.”
Bridgerton costume designer Sophie Canale told outlet in May 2022 that one of Penelope’s season 2 outfits actually hinted at her upcoming story arc. In episode 4, Penelope traded her usual yellow gowns for a softer green-hued dress. Canale confirmed a fan theory that the swap symbolized a merging of Penelope’s family’s yellow color palette and the Bridgertons’ blue color palette.
“I’ve known for a very long time,” Canale said about season 3 following the fourth Bridgerton book, Romancing Mister Bridgerton. “I forgot actually that no one else knew until last night. That’s useful as a tool to know where your characters are going as well.”
She added that the combining of Penelope and Colin’s family colors mirrors how the blue color palette worn by Daphne Bridgerton ( Phoebe Dynevor) changed following her marriage to Simon Basset, the Duke of Hastings ( Regé-Jean Page), who donned red in season 1.
According to Canale, “When you see Daphne, we pushed her into lilacs in season 1 because of the marriage of the families and I think that’s quite important to be seen.”
In April 2021, Netflix renewed Bridgeton for a third and fourth season, but the streaming service has not yet announced release dates for either.
Executive producer Shonda Rhimes said the seasons won’t follow the sequence of the books, as evidenced by season 3 focusing on Penelope and Colin, while Julia Quinn’s third book, An Offer from a Gentleman, tells the story of Benedict Bridgerton (Luke Thompson) and Sophie Beckett’s courtship.
“There’s eight Bridgerton siblings, so we’re planning on following each one of the siblings’ romantic stories,” Rhimes, 53, told Entertainment Tonight. “We’re not necessarily going in order but we are going to be seeing each of the siblings and their stories.”
Seasons 1 and 2 of Bridgerton can be streamed in full on Netflix, as can its spinoff Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story.
