Now that Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story has aired, with spectacular reviews, Season 3 of the renowned Bridgerton series is the next installment in the Bridgerton world. Netflix’s third Tudum event and the first in-person one was held in São Paulo, Brazil, and released some incredible sneak peeks about Colin and Penelope’s romance and the upcoming third season of Bridgerton via exclusive picture releases and an interview and comments from Nicola Coughlan, who plays Penelope Featherington.
Unlike the book series, this third season focuses on the third son of the Bridgerton family: Colin Bridgerton, and his long-time friend, Penelope Featherington, also known as the scandalous gossip writer, Lady Whistledown. Seeing as Penelope has been a main character since the first season of Bridgerton and has played a large role in the series, it makes sense that the third season would focus on two well-known characters, instead of introducing another new character – Sophie Beckett – who is Benedict’s Bridgerton’s, true love.
Nicola Coughlan, who plays Penelope Featherington, declared in an interview for Shondaland:
“This year is the year Penelope thought she was having last year, if that makes sense. Because I think she thought that she and Colin were a thing and it was happening, and then she got a really rude awakening at the end. I always say year one (Season 1) is ‘girl,’ year two (Season 2) is ‘not a girl, not yet a woman,’ and this year (Season 3) is ‘woman.’ So, she’s entering into a woman era this time.”
Nicola Coughlan
While Luke Newton, who plays Colin Bridgerton, was not present, Coughlan gave some insight into their shared experiences:
“Luke [Newton] and I sharing this experience together has been great because he’s someone who completely gets what you’re going through, and we can kind of be a united front on stuff. We can talk about scenes that we’re nervous about or whatnot. Obviously, we’ve had scenes together since the beginning, but it’s definitely different this time around.”
Nicola Coughlan
Newton also offered a comment during his recent interview with Shondaland:
“[There’s been] a nice payoff for me [this season] because when [Colin] came back from his travels in season two, his head was kind of still in the same place that it was in season one. He still wanted to resolve the things with Marina and kind of felt guilty about that. Whereas there’s definitely a massive shift this season, and I got to use my experience over the last two years to almost define a new character and a new role [for Colin].”
Luke Newton
Coughlan also described her character’s growth and development in greater detail, stating:
“She’s really grown up in these three years. I often think about playing characters who are a lot younger than you, and one of the most important things is not to patronize them and to realize that everyone, regardless of age, is a human being. I’ve been on a bit of a journey with her this time around — she’s embracing her womanhood, and then I’m, in a way, having to sort of step up and film these romantic scenes and all this stuff that’s totally out of my comfort zone.”
Nicola Coughlan
The four pictures above are some exclusive first looks at Colin and Penelope in the upcoming season of Bridgerton. In addition to the two leads for the season, also returning is the majority of the Bridgerton family – including Viscount Bridgerton’s wife, Kathani “Kate” Bridgerton (née Sharma), now the Viscountess Bridgerton, and excluding Phoebe Dyvenor’s Daphne Basset (née Bridgerton) and her husband, Simon, the Duke of Hastings.
*Spoilers ahead for those who have NOT read the books*
Additionally, Ruby Stokes has been recast with Hannah Dodd in her role of Francesca Bridgerton, third daughter and eventual wife of the Earl of Kilmartin, John Stirling, and later, his cousin, also Earl of Kilmartin, Michael Stirling. In addition to the Bridgertons, Penelope’s family is expected to return as well – Portia, Prudence, and Philippa, but not their cousin, Jack – and Lady Agatha Danbury (Simon’s godmother and grandmother to Gareth St. Clair, who will go on to marry Hyacinth Bridgerton) and Queen Charlotte.
Bridgerton Season 3 will air on December 14, 2023, exclusively on Netflix, meaning that fans have just over six months to wait to see more about the beloved Regency family, their romances, and how they navigate the ton. A trailer for the third season has yet to drop, although a production teaser video was released, as well as the title of the first episode – “Out of the Shadows” – via a behind-the-scenes video featuring Nicola Coughlan (Penelope), Luke Newton (Colin) and Claudia Jessie (Eloise Bridgerton, younger sister to Colin and Penelope’s best friend).
Until we get more sneak peeks of Bridgerton Season 3, reread the book series here, rewatch the first two seasons and the prequel series on Netflix, stay up-to-date on the latest Bridgerton news here and prepare yourself for the Polin romance to take the Bridgerton world – and the world at large – by storm!