When Netflix announced that Bridgerton, an eight-episode series based on the Bridgerton novels by Julia Quinn, would debut in 2020 absolutely nobody could have foreseen just how hugely successful it was going to be.
It is one of the most-watched Netflix original tv series (in English) and according to their Top 10 website, season one was viewed for 625,490,000 hours across the world.
Roughly translated, that is just over 82 million households watching the full show!
And if you are not one of those 82 million, then the story goes like this…
What Is Bridgerton About?
The Bridgerton family is one of the wealthiest and most influential in England. With eight children, each season focuses on the story of one of them finding love and marriage.
In season one, the plot revolved around Daphne Bridgerton (Phoebe Dynevor) and Simon Basset (Regé-Jean Page).
Their relationship was steamy and addictive and had our pulses racing so much so that Bridgerton season two was quickly on the cards.
Fans were disappointed that Regé-Jean Page would not be back, however with the latest story focusing on Anthony Bridgerton and his quest for a wife, season two proved just as successful.
It debuted on March 25th 2022 and reached number one in 92 countries amassing 193 million hours of viewing time in its premiere weekend. That is one of the highest for any English-language Netflix series in its first three days!
So now that we are all completely invested in this period drama, when can expect to see Bridgerton Season 3 on our screens?
Bridgerton Season 3 Release Date
The good news is that Netflix has already confirmed seasons three AND four. So there is still plenty of gossip from the Ton to come.
Plus, we know that Bridgerton season 3 will be released on Netflix in 2023. So while we still have a bit of wait, hopefully it won't be too long!
Filming for the season began in July 2022, and we know that Anthony (Jonathan Bailey) and Kate (Simone Ashley) will return for Season 3.
After all, the Viscountess is now in charge of the Bridgerton household, so it would be strange if we didn't see them again.
Hannah Dodd has been cast to replace Ruby Stokes as Francesca Bridgerton as Stokes exited the show due to scheduling conflicts. She is currently starring in Lockwood & Co.
Bridgerton Season 3 – What Will Happen?
The first two seasons of Bridgerton followed the sequence of the Julia Quinn novels.
However, Bridgerton season 3 will skip ahead and focus on Colin Bridgerton, based on Quinn's fourth novel Romancing Mister Bridgerton.
We all know that Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan) has been in love with Colin for years, but we left her in season 2 when she finally gave up on him, after hearing him talk about her to his friends.
With the debutants in the spotlight once again, Penelope will focus on finding a husband who will respect her independence so she may continue her double life as Lady Whistledown.
Colin is back from his summer travels and is disheartened to find out that Penelope is giving him the cold shoulder. To win back her friendship he helps to boost her confidence and attract the perfect husband.
But before you think it's all over between these two, Colin starts to fall for Penelope and must work out what his true feelings for his friend really are. (Insert shocked emoji face here!!)
So can these two find their happy ever after or will they both just stay in the ‘friends basket'?? We will find out when Bridgerton Season 3 hits our screens in 2023.
Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story
Bridgerton fans simply can't get enough of their favourite characters, so Shonda Rhimes has written a limited series for Netflix.
Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story is a prequel spin-off and will focus on young Queen Charlotte's rise to prominence and power.
With six episodes, the limited series will premiere in 2023 with India Amarteifio starring as young Queen Charlotte.
Bridgerton Cast
The two main leads in Season 1 are Phoebe Dynevor, who plays Daphne Bridgerton and Regé-Jean Page who plays Simon Basset, the Duke of Hastings.
In season 2 it is Jonathan Bailey as Anthony Bridgerton and Simone Ashley as Kate Sharma. And for season three, it will be Luke Thompson as Benedict Bridgerton. Sophie's character has not yet been cast but we will keep you posted!
Also firmly in the mix is Nicola Coughlan (Derry Girls) who plays Penelope Featherington. Of course, we now know that she is also behind the Lady Whistledown gossip newsletters and that her best friend Eloise discovered her secret in season two.
So what will Queen Charlotte (Golda Rosheuvel) and Lady Danbury (Adjoa Andoh) have to say about it all!
The Bridgerton Family Cast
As many of you may have noticed, the Bridgerton siblings are named alphabetically. So here goes:
Anthony Bridgerton – Jonathan Bailey
Benedict Bridgerton – Luke Thompson
Colin Bridgerton – Luke Newton
Daphne Bridgerton – Phoebe Dynevor
Eloise Bridgerton – Claudia Jessie
Francesca Bridgerton – Ruby Stokes
Gregory Bridgerton – Will Tilston
Hyacinth Bridgerton – Florence Hunt
With eight children there have to be parents. As the story goes Mr Bridgerton has already passed away, leaving Lord Anthony Bridgerton as the man of the house. But the matriarch is Ruth Gemmell as Lady Violet Bridgerton – the mother in charge!
The Featherington Family Cast
The show may be called Bridgerton but they are not the only family in town. The Featherington's also make up many of the cast and storylines and they are headed up by Polly Walker as Baroness Portia Featherington. With her husband, Baron Featherington (Ben Miller) now deceased, she is raising three daughters:
Bessie Carter as Prudence Featherington
Harriet Cains as Philippa Featherington
Nicola Coughlan as Penelope Featherington
So there you have the bulk of the Bridgerton cast.
Where Was Bridgerton Filmed?
Filming for the first season wrapped in February 2020. Bridgerton was mostly filmed in London and Bath but because of the size of the production, various estates and parks around England were also used.
Most street scenes were filmed in Bath, York, and Chatham. The garden scenes were filmed at Painshill near Cobham and the Commissioner's House in Chatham.
The exterior of the Bridgerton family home is actually Ranger's House in Greenwich with the interior of the house filmed in Halton House at RAF Halton.
Holburne Museum was used for Lady Danbury's estate with Somerly the setting for the Queen's House and Somerset House.
In all, there were over 30 different places around the UK used for filming the various scenes in Season 1.
Production for season two began in March 2021. On July 17th production was halted indefinitely due to covid but resumed in August 2021. Filming for the second season wrapped on November 20th 2021 and it aired on Netflix on March 25th 2022.
How Many Seasons of Bridgerton Are There?
At the time of writing, there are only two seasons of Bridgerton. Season three will be released by Netflix in 2023.
However, the very good news is that Netflix has officially renewed Bridgerton for a fourth season as well.
Each season has eight episodes. So there are 16 in total to watch currently.
Who Narrates Bridgerton?
For those of you watching the show, you may have noticed that the narration of Lady Whistledown is not Nicola Coughlan. So who narrates Bridgerton?
It is none other than the legendary Dame Julie Andrews, the original Mary Poppins!
What Year Is Bridgerton Set In?
Bridgerton is set in London during the Regency Era. That is technically between 1795 and 1837. However, Bridgerton is specifically set in 1813.
While critics may have pointed out that Bridgerton is not historically accurate, what they failed to see is that it is indeed a fictional drama based on an alternate history.
Basically – it's not real!
Who Wrote the Bridgerton Books?
The author who brought Bridgerton to life is Julia Quinn. She is a best-selling American historical romance writer.
Hugely successful, her novels have been translated into 29 languages and she has appeared on the New York Times Bestseller List 19 times.
There are eight Bridgerton books in the series – one for each of the Bridgerton siblings. They are:
- The Duke and I (2000)
- The Viscount Who Loved Me (2000)
- An Offer From a Gentleman (2001)
- Romancing Mister Bridgerton (2002)
- To Sir Phillip, With Love (2003)
- When He Was Wicked (2004)
- It's In His Kiss (2005)
- On the Way to the Wedding (2006)
As a final goodbye to the Bridgertons, Quinn then wrote an epilogue for each book plus a short story about Violet and that collection was published as The Bridgertons: Happily Ever After (2013).
And if, after all that, you still can't get enough of Bridgerton, then check our list of Shows Like Bridgerton to keep you going until the third season is released!
