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Bridgerton Season 3 is officially happening. The new season will follow Colin Bridgerton and Penelope Featherington’s friends-to-lovers story rather than detailing Benedict’s romance. Fans of Bridgerton know that Penelope has been pining for Colin for quite some time, but he has only ever seen her as a friend. The new season may flash back to the moment Penelope met Colin, a story that Luke Newton finds adorable.

Bridgerton Season 3 actors Luke Newton as Colin Bridgerton and Nicola Coughlan as Penelope Featherington
(L-R) Luke Newton as Colin Bridgerton and Nicola Coughlan as Penelope Featherington | Liam Daniel/Netflix

‘Bridgerton’ Season 3 is skipping ahead to Colin and Penelope’s love story

Bridgerton Season 3 is straying from the order of Julia Quinn’s novels, on which the series is based. Quinn’s third novel, An Offer From a Gentleman, actually tells Benedict Bridgerton’s love story. Instead, season 3 will follow the novel Romancing Mr. Bridgerton, which details Colin and Penelope’s friends-to-lovers story.

In terms of creating a TV show, it actually makes a lot of sense to skip ahead to Colin and Penelope’s romance. Jess Brownell, who will step up as showrunner for season 3, explained the choice to Variety.

“I feel like, especially in the last season, there are these moments of tension between them where it’s like, Colin walks up to the line of almost realizing that Penelope has feelings for him but doesn’t quite get there,” she stated. “Instead of treading water on that dynamic, we wanted to push it into their season. It really felt like the perfect moment to tee it up.”

Luke Newton loves the way Penelope and Colin first met

As fans already know, Penelope falls for Colin long before he notices her in a romantic way. The pair have been good friends for some time, but Penelope was smitten with Colin from the moment they met.

Julia Quinn’s Romancing Mr. Bridgerton opens with a flashback to that very day. Penelope and Colin first meet when she is out walking with her mother and sisters. They stop to talk with Lady Bridgerton and Daphne when Penelope’s bonnet flies off with a gust of wind right into Colin’s face.

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The surprise causes Colin to fall off his horse, horrifying Penelope. However, Colin laughs about the whole thing, and Penelope falls for him right then. At the time, she is not quite sixteen years old.

In a video from Netflix, Colin actor Luke Newton answered why his character can’t see that Penelope is his true love match. “Because they met when they were so young, in the cutest way possible. When I was reading the book – it’s such a lovely story, the way they met.”

“I think there’s just a lot going on that he can’t really see what’s right in front of him,” Newton continued. “Which is obviously for the fans of the show, very frustrating, and they take that frustration out on me sometimes.”

‘Bridgerton’ often uses flashbacks to tell its characters’ stories

Bridgerton is no stranger to including flashbacks. In season 2, the series showed the horrific moment when Edmund Bridgerton died of a bee sting. Season 1 also included flashbacks to Simon Basset’s childhood.

Colin and Penelope’s meet cute is an interesting part of their story, and it’s very likely that it will be included in Bridgerton Season 3. The third season does not yet have a release date but is anticipated to drop on Netflix sometime in 2023. The cast announced that filming for season 3 was underway in the summer of 2022.

All episodes of Bridgerton are currently streaming on Netflix.

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