Dearest gentle reader, now that the entire of Bridgerton Season 3 has been released, it seems there is much to discuss regarding the biggest reveals that have completely shaken up the ton. Most scandalous of all is the fact that Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan) has finally chosen to reveal herself as the popular Lady Whistledown, particularly on the heels of her lovely wedding to Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton). But there’s more than one Bridgerton wedding that takes place in Season 3, especially now that Francesca (Hannah Dodd) has officially tied the knot with John Stirling (Victor Alli) in a more private celebration. Now, the family tree seems poised to branch out even further, especially as Anthony (Jonathan Bailey) and Kate (Simone Ashley) are destined for India, while Eloise (Claudia Jessie) is set to accompany Francesca and John to Scotland (along with John’s beautiful cousin). What will Season 4 have in store, especially for the wayward Benedict (Luke Thompson)? We’ll have to wait to find out.
Ahead of the premiere of Bridgerton Season 3 Part 2, Collider had the opportunity to sit down with Jess Brownell, who served as a writer on the first two seasons and has now stepped into the role of new showrunner. Over the course of the interview, which you can read below, Brownell discusses the biggest difference between writing for the series and taking the reins as showrunner, why they changed the order of specific events from the original Romancing Mister Bridgerton book, and why Eloise and Penelope’s relationship is the secondary love story of Season 3. She also discusses the importance of a storyline for Violet Bridgerton (Ruth Gemmell), why they wanted to lay the groundwork for Francesca’s (Hannah Dodd) love story this early, what Benedict’s biggest takeaway is from his situationship this season, a Polin exchange that didn’t make it to the final draft, and more.
JESS BROWNELL: Well, it’s a lot more responsibility. I would go up to the writers’ room, do my work, and then come home and… never entirely forget about it — I’ve always been a workaholic — but I could put it down for a little while. Now that I’m a showrunner, I don’t think I’ve put down the Bridgerton backpack for maybe three years straight, and it’s a comfortable backpack. I enjoy it.
Was there anything that you were most excited about in terms of showrunning Season 3 in particular, knowing that it would be Colin and Penelope’s story?
BROWNELL: I love the rom-com genre, and I knew that doing Penelope and Colin’s storyline, because it’s a friends-to-lovers story, we naturally could lean into that rom-com sensibility a lot more. Nicola and Luke are both so fantastic at both the comedy and the romance, so they were the perfect people to do it with.
Why Did ‘Bridgerton’ Change the Order of the Books for Season 3?
This is the first season that doesn’t follow the order of the books, and we’re getting Colin and Penelope’s story before Benedict’s. What fuels the decision to essentially have them jump the line?
BROWNELL: Penelope and Colin have been on our screens now for two seasons. We’ve invested in them, and they’ve also had this dynamic between them where Pen has had this unrequited crush, and Colin doesn’t get it. I think that dynamic is only interesting for so long before it starts just getting relationship frustrating, and we didn’t want the audience to turn on Colin, so we needed to change up that dynamic and explore and push them into a new dimension this season .
Queen Charlotte dropped in between the break between Seasons 2 and 3, but there are nuggets in that story that feel like they were going to inform Season 3 and beyond, especially in the present day. Were there conversations with Shonda Rhimes about the ripple effects that Queen Charlotte was going to have on Bridgerton?
BROWNELL: Shonda was writing Queen Charlotte, and I, with my writers, was writing Season 3 simultaneously, so we would have conversations as Shonda figured out where she was going with the show, making sure that everything would track. Our production happened after the fact, so we did have some time to update the scripts as needed. Shonda gave me so much incredible insight into those characters, like backstories, that we have tried to seed into Season 3and continue expanding upon. You see new depth, especially, from Violet and Lady Danbury and the Queen in Season 3.
