‘Bridgerton’ Season 3 Will Be Filming ‘Well Into the New Year,’ According to Nicola Coughlan
Fans of Bridgerton rejoice: the third season is shooting! The anticipated follow-up to the Netflix period drama hit has audiences excited to see new sides of old characters. But there’s some disappointing news to go with the announcement of the third season.
Bridgerton is presented more like a BBC drama, with short seasons and irregular breaks in between. It’s never clear when the show will return or for how many seasons it will ultimately run.
Thankfully, there are some hints about the status of the third season, with actors finally opening up about the progress of the lighthearted drama.
Coughlan says filming for ‘Bridgerton’ season 3 will extend past 2022
“We’re filming well into the new year, it takes months and months to film a season,” Coughlan said of progress on the new season. When speaking to Women’s Wear Daily in September of 2022, she said they were “two episodes” into filming.
More details of the season are finally being released to the public, BuzzFeed reports. It will focus on the long-teased romance between Penelope and Colin Bridgerton. And while that core concept is simple, the season should be deceptively complex to film.
The season two leads will both return with their own subplots alongside season one star Phoebe Dynevor (Daphne). The focus on Penelope/Lady Whistledown means expanding the complex plotlines around the two aspects of the character’s personality.
And, because this season is skipping ahead to Colin as the romantic focus, the third book’s protagonist, Benedict Bridgerton, will likely have his plot begin this season.
What does the ‘Bridgerton’ season 3 production schedule mean for the premiere date in 2023?
With a layered, plot-heavy season of Bridgerton coming up, when will the next season finally be available on Netflix? Unfortunately, it might be a long wait yet. According to Radio Times, the current production process is on a different timeline from the second season.
Season two premiered on March 25, 2022. Filming wrapped for that round of episodes months before, in late November 2021. Meanwhile, the current pace — per Coughlan — is months behind that timeline.
Fans have a wait to see where the hit Shondaland series is headed. Summer 2023 is likely the earliest the season will drop on Netflix. If it ends up taking even longer, all isn’t lost.
There has already been a teaser for the upcoming Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story. It’s a mystery, for the time being, whether the show is done, but it’s at least partially filmed and edited.
It could be that the slow pace of a third run of the main series is simply leaving room for its sister show. 2023 should be a banner year for Bridgerton, regardless of when one or the other series finally releases.
‘Bridgerton’ actor Nicola Coughlan drops more hints about season 3
It’s a great time to be a fan of Bridgerton. The second season set up several major story threads. The main plot will be followed up with a third season of the main show, while the past will finally be fleshed out in a spinoff series focused on Queen Charlotte.
Nicola Coughlan, who plays Penelope Featherington, dropped some fashion-forward hints about the new season to Women’s Wear Daily. She says that in light of the ending of season two, her character’s wardrobe is finally getting a major overhaul. Her looks as Lady Whistledown will have “a whole different color palette.”
“I know it sounds silly, but it’s amazing seeing the evolution of the character, her becoming a woman and the cuts of the garment,” the Irish actor elaborated. She implies that much of the show will see a refreshed look and color palette — whenever season three is released.
