With the filming of Bridgerton Season 3 underway and a cast spotlight already out, fans are clamouring for more news about the acclaimed Netflix show, based on Julia Quinn’s series of the same name. In a behind-the-scenes photo, the show features Season 3’s two romantic leads – Colin Bridgerton and Penelope Featherington – along with confirmation that one of Season 1’s leads – Daphne Bridgerton – is returning!
While the Viscount and Viscountess – Anthony and Kate – have already been confirmed to be returning for the third season in a behind the scenes photo, there has been no news if Season 1’s stars, Daphne and Simon, would be returning as well.
Following the finale of Season 1, the actor who plays Simon, the Duke of Hastings, Regé-Jean Page confirmed that he would not be returning for the second season. Despite a photo on his Instagram featuring himself with Jonathan Bailey, who plays Anthony, Page again insisted that he would not be returning for Season 3. He even confirmed that he would be happy if the role of Simon is recast for future seasons.
That being said, until now, there has been no confirmation whether Daphne and her son, Augie, would be returning for the third season. In this behind-the-scenes photo, primarily featuring Colin and Penelope, fans have confirmation that while the Duke will not be returning, his Duchess is still very much a part of the Bridgerton family and will return to the ton in Season 3.
The third season of the acclaimed series is skipping out of order of Julia Quinn’s novels and will feature Colin and Penelope, telling the story of Romancing Mister Bridgerton, the fourth novel. Fans will have to wait to watch Benedict’s story, Offer from a Gentleman, which features his Cinderella-esque romance with Sophie Beckett, the illegitimate daughter of the Earl of Penwood and stepdaughter to the evil Countess Araminta.
Instead, the third season of the series will tell the story of how Penelope is finally trying to attain a husband, having given up on her unrequited love for Colin, that has been featured in both the first and second seasons of the show. Thanks to Colin’s insistence at the end of the second season that he would never marry Penelope, she gives him the cold shoulder upon his return from his travels, resulting in him assisting her in finding a husband this season. However, Colin’s lessons start working a little too well, leaving Colin wondering whether or not his feelings for Penelope are romantic or platonic, as he had previously thought.
Another complication for Penelope is her fall-out with her best friend and Colin’s sister, Eloise, upon the latter discovering that Penelope is Lady Whistledown. Due to Penelope’s growing presence in the ton and her departure from her previous wallflower status, her identity as Lady Whistledown may not be a secret for much longer….
Although this new behind-the-scenes photo of Season 3 of Bridgerton confirms Daphne’s return, there are two actors (and one character) who will not. Francesca Bridgerton, the sixth Bridgerton child and third daughter, has been recast, with Hannah Dodd replacing Ruby Stokes. This is due to scheduling conflicts and with Francesca’s marriage to the Earl of Kilmartin, John, in the books taking place before Colin and Penelope’s marriage, it makes sense that the show would feature Francesca in a bigger role than the previous two seasons.
While the Netflix series is less adamant upon following the chronology and timeline of the books, with a fourth season already ordered and five books left to cover, it is understandable that Francesca would need to come to the fore more. Eloise and Benedict are quite central characters and have yet to be have their love stories told, but Gregory and Hyacinth are still children – literally – which would result in Francesca’s love story being told before theirs.
The second casting announcement that has been made is that of Edwina Sharma. Edwina is Kate’s half-sister and was originally Anthony’s intended bride. Now that the love triangle has been resolved and Anthony’s marriage to Kate complete, the question remained if Edwina would return for the new season. Actress Charithra Chandran has confirmed that she will not returning, however her lack of an appearance makes sense – unlike Kate, who returns in subsequent books as the Viscountess – Edwina does not appear in any future books and is hardly mentioned.
Until viewers get more news about the third season of Bridgerton, click here to read our speculations about the love story that will take place in the already-ordered fourth season of the book series. Stay tuned for more news from Lady Whistledown and until then, read Julia Quinn’s novels about the beloved Bridgerton family.