'Bridgerton' Showrunner Explains Why They Skipped Benedict's Story for Season 3

The third season of Bridgerton is coming up soon, but fans of the book series will be curious about the change coming.

If you don’t know, the series, so far, has followed the exact same order as the Julia Quinn-written novels that they’re based on.

Seasons one and two followed the same trajectory as the book series with the first focusing on Daphne Bridgerton (played by Phoebe Dynevor) and the second following Anthony Bridgerton (played by Jonathan Bailey).

This would mean that season three of the Netflix series should be following Benedict Bridgerton (played by Luke Thompson). But, that is not the case.

Now, the showrunner, Jess Bromnell, is explaining why season three is instead, skipping Benedict’s story and moving onto a different book in the series, which focuses on Colin Bridgerton (played by Luke Newton) and Penelope Featherington (played by Nicola Coughlan).

Keep reading to find out more…

EW asked, “A lot of people assumed that we would be going in book order and Benedict (Luke Thompson) would be season 3. What made everyone decide to skip ahead to [Penelope and Colin's romance] here?”

Jess responded, “Fair assumption, but we’ve spent two seasons really getting to know Pen and Colin. We’ve been watching Pen’s crush and seeing how oblivious Colin is to it. That’s a dynamic that you can only play out for so long before something has to change. This really felt like the right time to lean into what’s been set up with them.”

If you’ve watched the first two seasons, the tension between Penelope and Colin has been escalating, especially as season 2 progressed.

Jess continued, “On the Benedict side, he’s such a fun character and such a fan favorite that we are really excited to play with him for a little bit more and let him have more fun before he settles down.”

Season three will be split into two separate parts. Part 1 (consisting of four episodes) will be released on May 16 and the final four episodes will stream on June 13.

Two major stars exited the series ahead of this season, and one actress was replaced.