Bridgerton Season 3 Release Date, Cast, Plot, Trailer And More Details

When "Bridgerton" premiered on Netflix in December 2020, the Regency-era series became an instant hit with viewers. Based on the books by Julia Quinn and developed for television by Chris Van Dusen, Season 1 follows Daphne Bridgerton (Phoebe Dynevor) as she meets and falls in love with the Duke of Hastings, aka Simon Basset (Regé-Jean Page), a man who had previously declared he would never marry. After the show's massive success, it came as no surprise that Netflix moved quickly forward with Season 2.

Each season focuses on a different Bridgerton sibling's love story, and Season 2 turns to Daphne's older brother — and the eldest Bridgerton — Anthony (Jonathan Bailey). Following his failed romance with opera singer Siena Rosso (Sabrina Bartlett) in Season 1, Anthony is determined to find a suitable wife who is smart and capable. He sets his sights on Edwina Sharma (Charithra Chandran), declaring her the perfect candidate — only to find himself falling in love with Edwina's outspoken sister, Kate (Simone Ashley).

Much to the delight of the show's many fans, "Bridgerton" has already been renewed for not just its third, but also its fourth season. With Season 2 well in our rearview, fans are thinking about the next season of the beloved series. Here's what we know so far about Season 3.

It's been quite a while since we've visited the world of "Bridgerton." Season 2 began airing in March 2022, and we got our first tease for Season 3 all the way back in July 2022 with a behind-the-scenes video. So fans have been patiently waiting for more updates from Lady Whistledown, and fortunately, we now know exactly when all the passion and gossip will play out. "Bridgerton" Season 3 will be split in two, with the first part debuting on May 16. Then, a little under a month later, the second batch of episodes will drop on June 13. In total, Season 3 will consist of eight episodes, with four coming in May and the rest coming in June. 

Season 3 will focus on the brilliant, kind-hearted, and surprisingly cunning Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan). This bright young woman is eager to move on from longtime crush Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton), especially after hearing what he had to say about her in Season 2, and make her mark on the world. As Coughlan told People, "[Penelope is] sort of like, 'I can't do this anymore. I'm out with Eloise. I'm out with Colin. I don't want to be with my family. I need a husband.' So she's like a woman on a mission. She's ready to go, ready to launch herself out into the marriage market in a new way."

Colin is initially in favor of this. By helping her transform, he can wiggle his way back into her good graces. But his lessons work a little too well, and soon, the Bridgerton boy is seeing his longtime friend in an entirely new light. How will things turn out? We don't yet know, but there's every reason to be hopeful for a happily-ever-after — Coughlan has described this season as the show's most romantic yet.

A rift has also emerged between Penelope and best friend Eloise Bridgerton (Claudia Jessie). As showrunner Jess Brownell told EW, "'Bridgerton' is about love in its many forms, and that includes friendship. The breakup between two friends can be just as earth shattering as a romantic relationship. For Penn, it is extremely difficult. But it's also a chance for the two of them to grow and learn about themselves without that safety net of always having their best friend around." Will the two besties remain apart forever? We'll just have to wait and find out.

Leading the story in "Bridgerton" Season 3 is Nicola Coughlan as Penelope Featherington and Luke Newton as Colin Bridgerton. Claudia Jessie will also return as Eloise, who is still being kept at arm's length from Penelope after Season 2's shocking revelations. There will also be an actor swap in Season 3, as Hannah Dodd is set to replace Ruby Stokes as Hannah Bridgerton.

Simone Ashley will also return as Kate Sharma alongside on-screen husband Jonathan Bailey, who plays Anthony Bridgerton. "Yes, there will be a post-marriage Kanthony story for sure," she told E! News. "And I'm super excited for the world to see Nicola and Luke rock it, but also to just play with the Anthony and Kate story now that they're loved up, and they've kind of sorted themselves out."

Daniel Francis, Sam Phillips, and James Phoon have all joined "Bridgerton" for Season 3 as potential suitors. David Mumeni has climbed aboard as well, and will portray Lord Samadani.  Hannah New will further add to the cast as Lady Tilley Arnold. We also fully expect Julie Andrews back as the narrator of the series. Notably, however, Phoebe Dynevor has revealed that she will not be returning as Daphne this time around.

"Bridgerton" will have a new showrunner going into Season 3 as Jess Brownell replaces Chris Van Dusen, who oversaw the series for its first two seasons. Brownell has been with "Bridgerton" since the beginning, so fear not. Originally a writer and executive story editor, Brownell knows the characters and story well going into Season 3.

The showrunner elaborated on Season 3, telling Variety that while it focuses on Penelope, the story will have a character heavily featured in the third book. "I think all the people you would expect to see — Benedict, who is book three, he will be a vital part of Season 3," she said. Brownell also mentioned creator Shonda Rhimes wanting to go for eight seasons, saying, "We hope to get to tell every sibling's love story and they will always be in each season."

When asked by Entertainment Weekly (via Yahoo) what she brings to the "Bridgerton" table, Brownell had a well-tempered answer. "I really believe in the vision that Chris [Van Dusen] and Shonda and everyone at Shondaland set up," she remarked. "For the most part, I am continuing that vision. I do think that every season has a slightly different flavor. This year, because we're doing a more traditional friends-to-lover story, it's going to have a slightly more playful, lighter, more cozy feeling to it."

The official trailer for "Bridgerton Season 3" takes us back to the upper-crust world of the ton, where Penelope Featherington decides it's time to find herself husband. With a hunky Colin Bridgerton as her guide, we watch her as she learns to properly flirt and catch the eye of an eligible bachelor. But as beautiful people dance by and Penelope finds herself courted by a handsome and well-to-do newcomer, we witness Colin falling for his old friend ... and Penelope falling for him too. Perhaps the theme of the season can best be summed up by the final line from Lady Whistledown: "What is the primary force that guides us down our paths? Is it our minds? Or our hearts?"

Season 3 will focus on Penelope and Colin, but other lovers will also see their stories continue. Specifically, Kate and Anthony Bridgerton, the stars of Season 2, will explore what it means to be married. "Kate is the head of the household now as viscountess," Simone Ashley, the character's actress, told Shondaland. "Kate's always had a lot of strength in her vulnerability, and her softness as well as her fierceness, and I still think we see that. [But also] she's very humbled by her position as viscountess and really honored to be a part of it. I think she just wants to be able to depend on the family as much as they depend on her." Jonathan Bailey, who portrays Anthony, concurred, noting, "Anthony and Kate are always going to be there as the viscount and viscountess, but they have so much that they're experiencing themselves ... for this season, it's exciting to explore his life post-marriage."

This is seriously enticing news; Kate and Anthony were a hit with the fans from the moment they met in Season 2. Seeing proud, intelligent, warm-hearted Kate learn to balance her new responsibilities will doubtlessly be fascinating, as will watching the ever-so-slightly high-strung Anthony grow into married bliss. Fans of Daphne and Simon, Season 1's main couple, aren't as lucky as "Kanthony" devotees, however; actress Phoebe Dynevor has made it clear that she will not be returning to the former role in Season 3.

Prequel spin-off series "Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story," which debuted between Season 2 and Season 3 of "Bridgerton," brought entirely new scope to the "Bridgerton" universe. It goes back in time to 1761, when the snuff-snorting, quip-dispensing Queen Charlotte we know and love was a young princess, set to marry King George. Though the series focuses primarily on their complicated love story, it also spends time with Lady Danbury and Violet Bridgerton, both as young women of the late 18th century and the mature matriarchs they are in 1817. The 1817 storyline is definitely less prominent than the 1761 one, but it still sees Lady Danbury and Violet reexamine their friendship, Violet realize she might still be interested in romance, and Queen Charlotte work overtime to secure the future of her bloodline.

Will these storylines continue on into "Bridgerton" Season 3? According to showrunner Jess Brownell, the answer might be yes. She told EW, "It's certainly something I had to be mindful of when writing season 3. Shonda [Rhimes] and I would chat and make sure that what was happening in the past, or the near past, matched up with our present day for season 3. You'll see some further exploration of their backstory."

Like  the rest of "Bridgerton," Season 3 will fall under the TV-MA umbrella. "Bridgerton" is given this rating for substance use, language, and sex. As such, "Bridgerton" may not be suitable for children and teenagers under 17. 

What are the specifics of this rating, exactly? Well, if you've never seen the series before, you should know that "Bridgerton" is pretty light on the substances and language, but heavy on sexual scenarios. There are sex scenes in the "Bridgerton" novels, but the show makes them much more explicit. We don't know what will happen in Season 3, but we feel comfortable assuming it will incorporate some adults-only sequences featuring significant nudity. It should be noted, though, that Season 1 of the series is significantly racier than Season 2, so it's possible Season 3 might follow the pattern and be a little tamer.

"Bridgerton" is a Netflix original series, so the show will live forever on the platform. Catching up on Seasons 1 and 2 is easy as pie, with all 16 episodes available for your viewing pleasure. "Bridgerton" has been one of Netflix's biggest successes, smashing records in both Season 1 and 2. According to IndieWire, the period series broke its own record when Season 2 debuted to become the most-watched English-language show, with 627.11 million hours viewed in the first 28 days.

The series could not beat "Squid Game," the most-watched Netflix series ever, with over 1.8 billion hours viewed in its first 28 days of availability. "Bridgerton" might be one of the best series on Netflix, but we'd be shocked if Season 3 toppled the South Korean series, whenever it debuts.