Bridgerton Season 3 is making a big change.
The sudsy Netflix drama will be diverging from Julia Quinn’s third novel.
Bridgerton Season 3 will focus on Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton) and Penelope Featherington’s (Nicola Coughlan) love story.
Coughlan broke the news Sunday during an FYSEE panel.
“Like Lady Whistledown, I have been keeping a secret for quite some time and I can confirm to you all that season 3 is Colin and Penelope’s love story,” Coughlan said.
“I have kept that secret since two weeks into season 2. This is the first time I am saying it here.”
Colin and Penelope’s love story was originally charted in Quinn’s fourth novel in the Bridgerton series.
This marks the first time the Netflix juggernaut is switching things up in terms of the couples, coming after the first season that focused on Daphne and Simon and the second which followed Kate and Anthony’s love story.
However, the TV series has accelerated some plots, such as the Lady Whistledown reveal at the end of the first season.
That doesn’t occur until the fourth novel.
It’s unclear whether the third book in the series will be adapted or whether elements of the book will be peppered into other seasons of the show.
Little is known about Bridgerton Season 3 aside from the fact that creator Chris Van Dusen is stepping down.
Jess Brownwell has been named the new showrunner.
“Bridgerton will always have a special place in my heart and I think I did what I set out to do,” he told RadioTimes in March.
“The fact that this show has become Netflix’s biggest English language speaking series ever is something I’m incredibly proud of, and something I’ll always be incredibly proud of.”
“But at the end of the day, you know, it was time for me to move on, and hopefully create that magic again in the near future.”
Additionally, Ruby Stokes is stepping down in her role of Francesa Bridgerton due to a scheduling conflict, with Hannah Dodd recently being confirmed as the Francesca.
Bridgerton is currently renewed at Netflix through its fourth season, while a spinoff focused on Queen Charlotte is in the works.
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Catch the first two seasons of Bridgerton on Netflix.
Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.
