Bridgerton Season 3 Delay Means Bad News for Benedict Fans

Even before its release, Bridgerton Season 3, which follows the love story of Penelope Featherington and Colin Bridgerton, aka Polin, has the massive Bridgerverse fandom going through all kinds of emotions.

First, the fans were happy that the show was renewed for not one, but two more seasons. Then the news that Season 3 will focus on the Colin story was received with mixed feelings. Polin fans were happy to get their pairing's happily ever after sooner than expected, and fans of Benedict Bridgerton and his romance were disappointed that his story was pushed aside.

But the latest Bridgerton updates are simply depressing for both Polin and Benedict fans.

Season 3 could premiere in spring 2024

The news from the picket lines is not very encouraging. It looks like the actors will be on strike for much longer than expected. Of course, that means delays in the production of fan-favorite shows, including Bridgerton.

While everyone was initially expecting Season 3 to be released in December due to some leaks, there are now signs that the Polin story will be pushed back to spring 2024, most likely May.

Shonda Rhimes said back in April that Season 3 was almost ready and just needed some finishing touches, which proves that reshoots or writing additions were never an issue, even during the writers and actors strikes.

So why is Netflix delaying Bridgerton's new chapter for so long? It could have to do with less content and the need to spread out the anticipated premieres, or the inability of the actors to do the usual promo runs. But it could also be related to the production of Season 4.

The wait for the Benedict-centered season is going to be long

It takes about 7–8 months to film a Bridgerton season. Although Seasons 3 and 4 were greenlit at the same time, there is no confirmation that work has begun on the Benedict story.

With the WGA strike over, the writers can return to the writing room, but that has not been announced by either Netflix or Shondaland. Plus, there's no telling how long the SAG-AFTRA strike will last, but so far the odds don't look good.

With all that in mind, we don't see Season 4 coming out until late 2025. And that might explain why Season 3 got delayed.

2023 has already seen a Bridgerverse release with Queen Charlotte. And if the studios are treating it as another season (which is a dubious decision), they might be deliberately delaying Season 3 so that the gap between the Polin and Benedict stories is not too large.

Source: Virgin Radio UK.