Nicola Coughlan poses in front of a black backdrop with the "Bridgerton" and Netflix logos.

Why ‘Bridgerton’ Season 3 Will Likely Have a Christmas Day Release

Could season 3 of Bridgerton be set for a release on Christmas Day? Netflix isn't telling, but here's our theory...

by India McCarty

Published on February 25, 2023

2 min read

When Season 1 and Season 2 of ‘Bridgerton’ premiered

Nicola Coughlan attends a”Bridgerton event in 2022 I Araya Doheny/Getty Images

The first season of Bridgerton premiered on Netflix on December 25, 2020 and became an overnight sensation. Within its first 28 days on the streamer, Bridgerton became its most-viewed English-language series at the time, with 625 million hours viewed.

With this level of popularity, it’s no surprise that expectations were high for the second season of the historical romance drama. Season 2 of Bridgerton released on March 25, 2022. The follow-up proved just as popular as its predecessor — in its opening weekend, viewers watched 193 million hours of the second season.

Will Season 3 of ‘Bridgerton’ be released this spring?

Some have wondered if Season 3 of Bridgerton will also have a spring release date, but it seems unlikely, for a few different reasons.

Firstly, Queen Charlotte, a prequel series about the Bridgerton-universe king and queen’s romance, is set to premiere May 2023. Since this show has a spring release date, it’s doubtful that another Bridgerton series will drop at the same time.

While many have looked to Season 2’s spring release date as evidence that a third season will come any day now, others have pointed out that COVID regulations were likely the cause of that. Season 2 of Bridgerton was filmed in 2021, immediately after the release of the first season.

Due to the pandemic, filming regulations were extremely strict during this shoot. Sets could be completely shut down after just one case of COVID. Since filming Season 2 took longer, the series couldn’t be released at Christmas that year.

Could the third season of ‘Bridgerton’ drop on Christmas once again?

Season 3 of Bridgerton has been filming since July 2022. It’s unclear if the series has wrapped production yet, but a 2023 Christmas release date would give the show’s crew time for any post-production work that needs to happen.

A holiday premiere would also put a substantial amount of time between Queen Charlotte and Bridgerton’s third season, avoiding oversaturation of Bridgerton content and ensuring that fans will be eager to tune in.

Why a Christmas premiere for Season 3 is a smart move

This news might disappoint fans, but it’s a pretty smart move for Netflix. Christmas Day is one of the biggest days for movie theaters in America, according to the Washington Post. It makes sense that the streaming service would want to capitalize on this by releasing its own blockbuster series on the same day.

With another Christmas Day release, it’s possible that Netflix and the Bridgerton showrunners are looking to make a Bridgerton release a holiday tradition, maximizing viewership and making each premiere part of the audience’s Christmas routine.