Following endless fan anticipation, Netflix has finally announced the Bridgerton Season 3 release date — er, dates. On Dec. 12, the streamer shared that the third season would be divided into two parts of four episodes apiece, dropping on May 16 and June 13.
Viewers on X (formerly Twitter) were a little disappointed that after waiting two years for more Bridgerton, they’d have to wait an additional month to see Colin and Penelope’s love story in full. “There’s no good reason” for the split, wrote one user, while another said it was simply “NOT NECESSARY.”
So, why would Netflix divide the season into two? Recent trends — and an intriguing new fan theory — might help make sense of the new release schedule.
Netflix’s New Pattern
Even though Bridgerton has never divided a season in half before, Netflix has recently been a fan of the two-part rollout, with the latest seasons of The Crown, Stranger Things, The Witcher, and You all dropping in two installments.
There could be several advantages to this from the streamer’s perspective. For one, it gives the series more time to go viral and generate interest (i.e. more viewers) in the time between parts. Given Netflix’s frequent use of the release strategy on its biggest titles, it’s unsurprising that Bridgerton is getting the same treatment.
A Silver Lining?
While the month between Bridgerton parts will be a challenge, one Reddit user pointed out why it’s not necessarily a bad thing.
If you’ve read Romancing Mister Bridgerton (and minor spoilers ahead if you haven’t), you know that Penelope’s identity as Lady Whistledown is revealed to Colin and, eventually, the ton. As u/bookmovietvworm noted in a recent post, that reveal and #Polin’s love story could create a “tonal dissonance that needs to be separated” into two parts.
The Redditor suggested that Part 1 would follow Colin and Penelope’s relationship through their proposal, “leaving us with a cliffhanger and a transition into more Whistledown territory.”
The next part could center more on the resolution of Lady Whistledown’s arc, which is a bigger phenomenon in the Netflix series than the books it’s based on. “Overall, I think that the splitting of the season might be a good choice for the narrative if they are trying to pack in as much as I think they are,” the user writes.
Indeed, Lady Whistledown is the heart of Bridgerton in many ways — so it can’t hurt to give her storyline a bit more focus with a special rollout, even if fans need to wait a while.
