Shonda Rimes explains what ‘Bridgerton’ renewal, for seasons 3 and 4, means for the show
It looks like fans of the hit costume drama Bridgerton have more to look forward to beyond the show’s second season. On Tuesday, April 13, it was announced that Netflix has greenlit the third and fourth seasons of Bridgerton—yes, even before its earlier announced second season has begun streaming.
The show announced the third and fourth season renewal on its official Twitter account.
Dearest readers, this author brings a most exciting announcement... pic.twitter.com/sV0QiYcn8z
— Bridgerton (@bridgerton) April 13, 2021
It was in January when the show announced its second season renewal.
The multiple season renewal isn’t a surprising announcement; after all, Bridgerton took the world by storm, with over 80 million households tuning in to the show. It is Netflix’s most-watched series ever.
“Bridgerton swept us off our feet. The creative team, led by Shonda, knew the material and delivered a beautiful, emotional, romantic drama for our members. They have some exciting plans for the future, and we think audiences will continue to swoon for this show. We’re planning to be in the Bridgerton business for a long time to come.” Netflix’s head of Global TV Bela Bajaria said in a statement.
The announcement does not indicate which storyline it will focus on in its third and fourth seasons; according to earlier reports, the second season will focus on Lord Anthony Bridgerton. The show is based on a series of romance novels by Julia Quinn, about the wealthy Bridgerton family in Regency England.
But what does the long-term renewal mean for the highly popular show? In an interview with Vanity Fair, executive producer Shonda Rhimes said that the multiple season order will allow them to plan the show and its stories “in a creative way.”
She explained, “You can plan a long arc character, for instance.”
Executive producer Betsy Beers also said, “It’s also great for the fans, because I think you invest in a show differently if you know there’s more coming.”
As for the cast, Rhimes did not say if they’ve locked down longer contracts for their actors, following the announcement that Regé-Jean Page is departing the series.
“I don’t want to talk about people’s contracts, but once again, the concept is that every season, there’s a couple and that couple is the hot couple that you’re falling in love with, right? And there are eight Bridgertons. So by the time you get to [prepubescent] Hyacinth—oh, dear God, she’ll be grown up by then. Obviously we’re not going to match up a child!—we’ll grow Hyacinth up and you’ll see her story too,” she said.
Banner photo from Netflix/Released