Bridgerton Season 3: Release Date, Cast, Trailers, News, and More

The Ton is buzzing with anticipation as we wait for Season 3 of Bridgerton. Iconic gossip girl Lady Whistledown has yet to announce when the hit Netflix romance will return, and after the long break between Seasons 1 and 2, we're hoping Season 3 will arrive a little quicker. But even though we don't know when we'll get our next Bridgerton fix, there's a lot we do know about what we can look forward to from the steamy period drama.

By the end of Season 2, Eloise Bridgerton (Claudia Jessie) and Penelope Featherington's (Nicola Coughlan) friendship was on the rocks after Eloise realized Penelope was the one publishing a gossip column about the scandals in her family. To add to the tension, Eloise's blossoming relationship with Theo was shattered, and Penelope's crush on Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton) was dashed to pieces as well.

We did, at least, see a happy ending for Viscount Anthony (Jonathan Bailey) and the beautiful, independent Kate Sharma (Simone Ashley), who found love despite constantly butting heads in their tumultuous courtship. It's been confirmed that we will be seeing more of this love story in Season 3, along with the blossoming romance between Penelope and Colin. But not every cast member from the first two seasons will return.

Here is everything you need to know about Season 3 of Bridgerton.

Latest news

The Daphne and Simon era is really over now. Phoebe Dynevor, who played Daphne Bridgerton in Seasons 1 and 2, announced in January that she will not appear in Season 3. "I've done what I wanted to do with that character and she had a great arc," Dynevor told Variety. "If they ask me back in the future, who knows?" The actress told ScreenRant that she was "excited to watch as a viewer." 

While the news wasn't a huge surprise, given that Regé-Jean Page, who played her love interest in Season 1, has not appeared on the show since, it's still significant that Bridgerton is closing the book on the characters who started it all.

Bridgerton Season 3 storyline

The first two seasons of the series coincided with the timeline of the books by Julia Quinn, but Netflix has confirmed that while they plan to develop each of the books into the show, Season 3 will be out of order in that sense. Season 3 will skip the third book, An Offer From a Gentleman, which details Benedict's (Luke Thompson) journey for love, and instead move to book 4, Romancing Mister Bridgerton, which focuses on Penelope and Colin's storyline. 

And for those viewers disappointed that Season 2 didn't live up to the steamy precedent set by Daphne and the Duke in Season 1, Nicola Coughlan has confirmed if the show follows the book, there will be plenty of racy scenes in Season 3 — so much that the actress is considering requesting a special PG cut for her family to watch, per Digital Spy. "There's a scene in the carriage. And it's just if they're sort of arguing, and then it all gets very romantic, shall we say, but I think it will be such a good scene in the show. It terrifies me to think of filming but I think it would be really great," Coughlan said. "So I know that it gets extremely racy in that scene. I know already stuff that's gonna happen."

Netflix released the official Season 3 synopsis below:

"From Shondaland and new showrunner Jess Brownell, Bridgerton is back for its third season and finds Penelope Featherington has finally given up on her long-held crush on Colin Bridgerton after hearing his disparaging words about her last season. She has, however, decided it's time to take a husband, preferably one who will provide her with enough independence to continue her double life as Lady Whistledown, far away from her mother and sisters. But lacking in confidence, Penelope's attempts on the marriage mart fail spectacularly.

"Meanwhile, Colin has returned from his summer travels with a new look and a serious sense of swagger. But he's disheartened to realize that Penelope, the one person who always appreciated him as he was, is giving him the cold shoulder. Eager to win back her friendship, Colin offers to mentor Penelope in the ways of confidence to help her find a husband this season. But when his lessons start working a little too well, Colin must grapple with whether his feelings for Penelope are truly just friendly. Complicating matters for Penelope is her rift with Eloise, who has found a new friend in a very unlikely place, while Penelope's growing presence in the ton makes it all the more difficult to keep her Lady Whistledown alter ego a secret."

Bridgerton Season 3 release date

Netflix has yet to announce the release date for Season 3. Season 1 was released on Christmas Day 2020, while Season 2 debuted on March 25, 2022. Since Season 3 began production in the summer of 2022, we're hopeful for a release before the end of 2023.

Bridgerton Season 3 casting 

Nicola Coughlan will obviously be returning as Penelope Featherington, as will her love interest Colin, ex-bff Eloise, and other Bridgerton family members. However, the role of Francesca has been recast. Hannah Dodd will replace Ruby Stokes as the Bridgerton sister, since Stokes has moved on to star in Netflix's Lockwood & Co. 

Three new male actors have signed on for the new season: Daniel Francis (Stay Close) as Marcus Anderson, Sam Phillips (The Crown) as Lord Debling, and James Phoon (Wreck) as Harry Dankworth. 

Hannah New will play the young widow Lady Tilley Arnold, who enjoys being head of her late husband's estate and all of the financial, societal, and sexual freedom that comes with it.

Phoebe Dynevor's Daphne will not appear in Season 3. Regé-Jean Page, who played the smoldering Duke of Hastings in Season 1 but left the show for Season 2, will not be returning for Season 3, either.

Main cast members:

• Nicola Coughlan as Penelope Featherington
  
• Luke Newton as Colin Bridgerton
• Claudia Jessie as Eloise Bridgerton
  
• Jonathan Bailey as Anthony Bridgerton
  
• Simone Ashley as Kate Sharma
  
• Luke Thompson as Benedict Bridgerton
  
• Florence Hunt as Hyacinth Bridgerton
  
• Adjoa Andoh as Lady Agatha Danbury
  
• Golda Rosheuvel as Queen Charlotte
  
• Julie Andrews as Lady Whistledown narrator

Bridgerton Season 3 clips

Nicola Coughlan, Claudia Jessie, and Luke Newton stopped by Netflix's TUDUM in September 2022 to tease what's coming in Season 3 while making some "Bridgerton sibling portraits." Newton dished on why it has taken so long for Colin to realize that he and Penelope belong together, while Claudia made it clear that Eloise is still smarting over the fact that Penelope lied to her about Whistledown for so long. 

Coughlan had the juiciest tidbit to reveal, though, when she read a sample of the first Lady Whistledown column from the Season 3 premiere, titled "Out of the Shadows." There are a few "dazzling" candidates for the diamond of the season, but based on what Coughlan revealed, we won't be too focused on any of them.

Netflix also posted some behind-the-scenes footage from filming, which began in summer 2022. The clips show some of our favorite members of the Ton getting ready to shoot Season 3.

Bridgerton Season 3 photos

No official photos have been released yet.

Bridgerton Season 3 trailer

No teasers or trailers have been released yet. 

Everything else to know

Season 3 won't be the last season! In April 2022, Bridgerton was renewed for Season 4. "Bridgerton swept us off our feet," Bela Bajaria, Netflix's head of global TV, told Vanity Fair. She added that Netflix plans to "be in the Bridgerton business for a long time to come."

In December 2022, there were rumors about a delay in Bridgerton Season 3 filming over a conflict with the script. Tabloid sites like Daily Mail claimed the show's production was on hold due to producer Shonda Rhimes ordering some script changes to rewrite a "dark" storyline to put more "fun" back into the show. However, Netflix reportedly denied any delay to Hello! Magazine.

Where to watch Bridgerton

Bridgerton Seasons 1 and 2 are now streaming on Netflix. Season 3 will be available at a later date.